Tuesday, April 24, 2012 | Edited by Daniel Moores
|
'The Pitch' Provides Sales Leads, Insights and Ideas for Automotive, Real Estate, Gifting The categories of Automotive, Real Estate and Gifting are highlighted in the second installment of "The Pitch," the specially-prepared sales tool from the Radio Advertising Bureau. This targeted email communication provides strategic, relevant product category leads for local radio salespeople and managers, featuring information designed to create new revenue streams. The focus of the newest issue of "The Pitch" will be on business opportunities that are historically strong during the spring and summer months for the three featured categories. The Automotive section looks at promotional events and corresponding sales spikes that typically occur around holidays such as Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day, while the Real Estate portion presents ideas for capitalizing on the usually strong spring and summer house-shopping period. The section devoted to Gifting offers strategies for generating sales from advertisers that benefit from gifting for Mother's Day, Father's Day and school graduations. In addition to the demographic and pertinent background information relating to these topics, there are links to download PowerPoint decks for each highlighted category that will allow you to customize a client presentation that can be used immediately. Each issue of "The Pitch" also includes sales tips from clients, agencies and other senior executives, as well as message boards for sharing your own ideas and successes with other RAB members across the country regarding the featured sales categories. "The Pitch" is created by Tammy Greenberg, Senior Vice President of Business Development for the RAB. |
|
Survey Explores the Wireless Shopping Process Shoppers care most about network and cost when considering mobile device and service purchases. In fact, 58% said network reliability was most important; 56% said cost of data plan; 51% said cost of voice plan; and 50% said that device price was the most important consideration, according to a study released by Google. Upgrades -- and for the most part, the need to have the latest and greatest equipment -- drove new purchases during the Google Q4 2011 study. When asked why the survey participant purchased the upgrade, 48% said they were eligible, 31% wanted the latest technology, 17% wanted to buy their first phone, 14% switched to the provider plan offering the best deal, and 14% switched for a faster and more reliable network. Kyle Keogh, Google's tech industry director, said the most surprising insight came from a lack of consumers wanting 4G connections, for its rapid speeds and uninterrupted flow of streaming video content. For some, research has been a lengthy process. About 48% start more than three weeks before making a purchase. Others are more compulsive. Some 28% said they make the purchase on the same day they begin research, followed by 24% within two weeks. It's no surprise that digital content continues to become a more important part of the research process. Some 63% relied on search to research information about wireless devices before making a purchase. OEM sites followed with 48%; online customer reviews, 47%; carrier sites, 46%; and online retailers, 35%. Consumers also called on family and friends as the highest offline resource, and magazine ads for traditional. Purchases still often occur in stores, but online activity continues to influence decisions. When asked how the consumer made the decision to purchase their most recent phone, 45% said in-store; followed by 25%, online; 24%, and 6%, other. Sometimes the decision isn't easy. About 72% consider two or more cell phone models, and 57% research content on more than five Web sites. Search ads leading to informational landing pages could help consumers make a choice. Keogh said about half of the U.S. population owns a smartphone, and consumers typically purchase a new one once every 1.5 years. One interesting stat released by ABI Research recently suggests that smartphones will drive the semiconductor market to $170 billion in revenue within five years. That's huge, by the way. More mobile phones mean more purchases -- which mean more ads. Forrester Research Analyst Shar VanBoskirk also believes these ad-supported devices will enhance audience targeting. In the U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2011 To 2016, she writes: "More interactive marketing investment will spawn more ad-supported content. In time this will open the door for ad supported hardware, too: big online user networks like Google and Facebook will option 'freemium' devices to consumers in exchange for embedding ads into their displays." (Source: MediaPost, 04/17/12) |
|
'New Cultural Mix' Influencing Grocery Sales A new cultural mix is shaping the retail food market, according to the What’s In Store 2012 report from the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association. The burgeoning U.S. Hispanic population and single-person households are steadfast forces in the grocery aisle. Active Baby Boomers and newly empowered Millennials are also a mushrooming presence in the market. At the same time, women and men are transforming gender stereotypes in retail. The U.S. Hispanic population was responsible for more than half of the increase in U.S. population from 2000 to 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. That population growth will continue amid higher birth rates and steady immigration from this group. Hispanic buying power hit $1 trillion in 2010, and is set for a 25 percent climb to $1.5 trillion by 2015, according to The Multicultural Economy report from the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. Hispanic households spend more on groceries than the general population and tend to have larger families with nearly twice as many children younger than 18. Hispanic consumers are more alert to in-store promotions and less affected by advertising and product placements. Singles are another flourishing demographic. Single-person households have tripled in the last 30 years to 27 percent of U.S. households, outnumbering those of married couples with children, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. People are marrying later, if at all. And 45 percent of seniors are single, the U.S. Census Bureau found. The count of single households could see another boost as the economy rebounds if adult children living at home venture out on their own. For these reasons, single-serving packages and packages with fewer servings can cater to a sizeable market. Mature populations, notably active Baby Boomers, are staying in the work force beyond retirement age. Many are accustomed to an active lifestyle that requires steady income; some lack retirement savings. Compared to other generations, Boomers account for the largest share of sales across most product categories. Boomers break stereotypes of conservative older consumers; they are more active and health conscious than ever before, and seek shopping destinations that stock fresh, healthful foods. Millennials, born between 1981 and 1995, have 11 percent more buying power than Baby Boomers did in their youth, according to an OMD study. They spend considerable time and effort researching prospective purchases and ferreting out deals. Perhaps this is because they came of age during the recession and are more inclined to be frugal. Millennial consumers are most often identified as tech-savvy, yet 57 percent of them hear about products and services for the first time via television, Yahoo survey data showed. Millennials crave authenticity, self-expression, affordability and quality in their product choices. Men continue to shop more for their families as many males have been left jobless by the stagnant economy. Fifty-one percent of men said they are the primary shopper in the family, according to Advertising Age. In effect, product marketing is more gender neutral, rather than being aimed at stay-at-home moms. The female consumer demographic is also shifting noticeably. Women continue to assume a more assertive gender role, particularly in the work force. They're not necessarily married or mothers -- no matter their age -- and bear children later in life than ever before, if at all. Women's evolving social stratification alters the marketing and merchandising outlook for retailers. Advertisements are more gender neutral, and products for women of child-bearing age are not necessarily geared toward the wedded mother. (Source: Progressive Grocer, 04/19/12) |
|
Daily Sales Tip: Prearing for the Sales Call |
 |
1-800-232-3131 | www.rab.com | To unsubscribe, CLICK HERE and enter REMOVE in the subject line. |