Operation Destination
I recently decided to buy a new pair of glasses, so I did what most do. I went to my local mall to visit LensCrafters. I’m not particularly loyal to LensCrafters. I just happen to like their frame selection and the manager there always makes me laugh (hi Avril!).
Something occurred to me when I did that a few months ago. I did what I always do when at the mall. I went to the Apple store. I didn’t need any Apple products. I just like to play with everything. And I wanted to hold their new Vision Pros. As I left, it dawned on me that every time I go to the mall, I always go to the Apple store. Always. Even if I don’t want to buy a product.
The Apple store at the local mall is a destination store. Where the men’s clothing store on one side and shoe store on the other side barely register a customer, the Apple store is always packed.
Which made me think: is your show a “destination program”? In the myriad of choices for morning entertainment and connection, what does your show do that separates it from all the others? What do you do that compels people to tune in each day given their endless options?
Have you recently done an inventory of things you do? Do you have a lot of different reasons listeners might actively choose you and turn you on because of them? That might be a great exercise to do this week. What are your significant points-of-differentiation from all the other choices that would compel your fans to use you again or seek you out? On the dial, how are you like the Apple store at my local mall, compelling me to go regardless of the original reason I went to the mall? What new ideas have you developed to keep things fresh for your fans? Because you must keep churning out new products like Apple (i.e. Vision Pros) to keep fans from straying elsewhere.
The other thing that rings true is why I go to the Apple store. It’s because of how it makes me feel. Those of you who’ve met or know me are well aware of something that rings quite true: I am not the coolest person around. I’m awkward and uncomfortable and have a self-image of insecurity, wondering how I fit in (that’s lasted since I was a kid). But not when I am in the Apple store. When I am there, I feel like one of the cool kids. And even though that evaporates once I leave, for a brief time, I feel like I fit into the cool kid’s club.
Which leads to my last question I’ll ponder you can tackle with the strategists on your team: how do you make listeners feel when they take delivery of your content? Be honest here. Because we associate with brands not primarily for the products they offer, but for how they make us feel.
What is the goal for the content you choose and how you do it? For those I get the honor to work with, we know the show plot, how we’re different, and how we want people to feel when they depart us for the next thing in their life that day.
That might be an epic conversation that brings clarity to how you fit in, as listeners choose who they’ll spend their time with each morning.