Awaiting Your Spring Ratings

Whether you are in an Eastlan or Arbitron-rated market, you've survived the Spring rating sweep ... and you are now awaiting the fruits of your labor. How do you deal with the book when it comes in? Consider the Lund Consultants' checklist:

Write down now what your station and the competition did during the Spring sweep. Note changes in marketing, music, morning show, other talents, contests and commercial loads. Create your multi-book ratings trend report now to track history fluxes. Many PDs find The Lund Consultants' State of the Station Report a useful outline to compare specific market and station activities to the various time frames of the sweep. E-mail us for a copy.

Hold a pre-release staff meeting to discuss the station and market activities before the advances are released. Relate your positive attitude. Fashion a good sales story about every rating outcome.

Release the ratings the moment they come in. The staff wants to know how they did. Once management solidifies the ratings story, tell the staff -- first with a general picture, and then by individual meetings. Show the air staff the breakouts for their time slots and how they compare to the market. Detail listening spans, demo strengths/weaknesses and TSL. Both the Program Director and Sales Manager should conduct meetings with their respective departments.

Be ready to deal with the local media who want the ratings story. Have one person in your building who has media contacts be the individual who manages the release information. He or she should be the station spokesperson, and others should defer comment to that person. Create a positive spin.

Have a quick sales piece ready to fax, e-mail and hand-deliver to clients for whom ratings influence their buying. This is a place to be "first-est with the most-est." When ratings increase, adjust the rates accordingly.

If the news is terrific, act gracious and grateful to listeners. Thank listeners on the air for their support in making the station #1.

Strategically plan for the Fall. Fully digest the wealth of rating info and meet with your consultant for his input about changes and enhancements for fall. Focus on cume and TSL. What will be changed for this Fall? Set your goals.

Research the market. Find solutions and new paradigms to pesky problems and challenges. Listen to competitors for their changes and alter your game plan accordingly. Freshen the on-air sound.

Just as Wal-Mart and Target know their customers, stations must know their audience. Research is essential. Listening is important, and that means listening to the core, not just to those around. Great ratings come with being The Chosen One among all market stations when your Arbitron is released.