The Best Piece Of Advice Mark Cuban Ever Gave Me - And What It Means For Local Radio

A few years ago, one of Mark Cuban's business interests was a client. The best piece of advice he gave me was "to be successful in the media business, you have to provide something that people can't get anywhere else."

My company was working a side venture to support professional soccer in the U.S.; most notably, our top domestic league Major League Soccer and our local club Columbus Crew SC. Mark Cuban ran a network of exclusively high-definition programming called HDNet -- back when most TV programming was still in standard (crappy) resolution. HDNet became an advertiser of a very popular website we created. We didn't speak frequently at all, but I've always appreciated his support.

His advice still rings true today -- and especially for local radio.

The two local stations I listen to most are WWCD (CD102.5) -- a local Alternative music station in Columbus, OH, and WBNS 97.1 aka "The Fan." Both of these stations give me things that I don't get anywhere else. Not from streaming music services, iTunes, YouTube or anything else online.

The Fan obviously is where I listen to live sporting events when I can't watch the game on TV or online. They also have local sports talk that focuses on the local pro and college teams I care about and support. Good luck getting that by watching ESPN.

CD102.5 is not the most polished, most high talent or most powerful radio station. But in my mind, it's what a good radio station should be. Their Alternative playlist is eclectic, not computer-generated nor the same 20 songs over and over. They interview artists from the local music scene and athletes from the local sports teams. They tell me what concerts are coming to town and, of course, give me the local news, weather and traffic on my way to work every morning. Even the commercials give me information I'd otherwise miss by listening to nationally syndicated shows or streaming Spotify through my speakers. They also regularly contribute to local causes and projects in my community.

We almost lost this independently-owned station a few years ago and, even though it's never been a top-ranked station in the ratings, Columbus is lucky we didn't.

Being unique is not only a good way to build an audience, it's a great way to build revenue. More listeners mean more potential customers for advertisers. It also means more promotional events that really matter to people. That builds loyalty, word-of-mouth and goodwill.

Voicetracking and national syndication may in some ways be cheaper, but that doesn't mean it's better. Even if it does pull in ratings, it lacks the one thing radio has always done particularly well -- establish an emotional connection between the station and the listener. How many other media companies compel people to slap their logos on people's car bumpers?

Mark Cuban was right. To be successful, radio stations need to provide something people can't get anywhere else.