Garrett Belvin is a Clarksville native. He grew up around radio and says he never considered a career outside the signal. He’s studying for a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in marketing from Austin Peay State University. Garrett says being a Marketing Consultant for 5 Star Radio is the perfect way to work in marketing and fuel his passion for radio.
“The impact radio has on people – whether it be news, music or sports – the impact is massive,” he says.

Lauren Ours graduated from Austin Peay State University with a degree in communication arts. Radio worked its way into her heart during an internship at Jacobs Media in Gainesville, Ga. Over the past two years, she’s been surrounded by social media, radio sales, public relations and communications and says she loves everything about it.

Kim Pena-Molnar came to Tennessee from Ohio and married into the Austin Peay community. She spent most of her professional life in sales in the Automotive Remarketing Industry but is looking forward to helping Clarksville businesses make sales and move up in customers’ minds. She was drawn to radio because she likes the high energy level and “circus-like excitement.”
“I’ve enjoyed working with people and am always up for a challenge. This position allows me to meet people, learn about their business and come up with a collaborative strategy to help them meet their goals,” she says.

Chris Harris graduated from the University of Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She came to radio from a newspaper in Missouri. She enjoys the creative and energetic atmosphere of radio and values the omnipresence of 5 Star Radio on air and online in the Clarksville area.

Read more about all of the 5 Star Radio sales team members at www.5starradiogroup.com.

I know sometimes we get busy shopping, going to holiday parties, pigging out on the abundance of sweet treats that always seem to magically appear in the break room. But my hope for you this Christmas is that you have at least one moment that stops you and makes you go, “Wow. God is good.” I don’t know what that moment may look like to you. Maybe you hit that annual goal you thought impossible. Maybe you see a heartwarming good deed in the checkout line. Maybe you simply get a hug from a small child.

For me, those “wow moments” are when a sales rep rushes into my office, windblown with excitement because they signed a new business and get to help it grow. My “wow moment” is seeing a charity keep its doors open after receiving an unexpected donation – a ray of hope in dark economic times. My simplest “wow moment” is hearing my children tell a story about a baby named Jesus.

I hope your year is filled with moments that exceed our understanding. Whatever your moment is, I hope you have lots of them. Relax, enjoy your family, don’t get caught up in the big things – it’s the little things that leave lasting memories. What moments will you make this holiday season?

-Katie Gambill, VP/General Manager of 5 Star Radio Group

I have been very blessed in my life.  God has given me a wonderful husband, two beautiful healthy children, a lovely home and a job I am truly passionate about.  I love what I do.  I look forward to coming to work and getting to do my job.  In fact, this is what has got me thinking, what is it about my job I love so much?  What is it that ignites that passion?

What I truly enjoy is putting together advertising campaigns, from the very first meeting, and watching them accomplish the goals they were intended to achieve.  I absolutely love putting together marketing campaigns, and watching our products do their jobs, which is delivering success.  The best comparison I can come up with is a contractor who visits with the family about the needs of their dream home.  The contractor gets to watch the foundation being laid, organize every wall, paint colors, plumbing until eventually; they turn the home over to the family.  This is how I feel about marketing campaigns.  It’s a passion!  I want to be a part of all of it, and when we design it for our clients, I want it to be the marketing campaign that makes their dreams come true.

At 5 Star we are very blessed because we have all the tools necessary to build a successful campaign.  A one-stop shop, if you will.  We have six radio stations, all reaching very different demographics so no matter who you’re targeting, we have you covered.  We have five websites, one for each station and Clarksvillenow, so we are able to add different platforms to the mix.  We offer texting with over 60,000 subscribers. Our email database has about 25,000 people in them. We do onsite promotion, broadcast promotion, mobile, internet, Facebook, twitter . . . the list goes on and on.  My point to all this is that with all of these products and resources at our finger tips we are able to create marketing plans that are complete.

I hope that this Thanksgiving you have time to slow down and reflect on what you are thankful for.  I’m sure that you are also passionate at what you do, therefore, making you good at what you do.  We are passionate about what we do.  We are also thankful for each and every client and appreciate you trusting us to help make your goals a reality.

-Katie Gambill, VP/General Manager of 5 Star Radio Group

By Cameron English

Client referral incentives can be a valuable and inexpensive way to build a business.

Every small-business owner knows that one way to inexpensively build a client base is to get referrals from satisfied clients. But how do you induce existing clients to refer new ones to you?

You should just ask. Business and marketing consultants point out that people usually refer clients that tend to “match that client in outlook and perspective, so when a good client refers people, they are usually good clients. Make sure the person you’re asking a referral from is your all-star client.”

Word-of-mouth, advertising, and reward programs help grow referrals for entrepreneurs. Word of mouth is your company rating and fit that your existing clients will share with potential clients. Keep a good reputation and take care of your customers. Advertising is a tool that is recommended to get the attention of new and existing customers by putting your business in front of them.

Reward programs are great incentives for your existing customers to bring business to you. Whether it be a genuine thank you card, offering gift certificates for items clients would enjoy (i.e. house cleaning services, chocolates, flowers, spa days, theater tickets)  or customer credit to their accounts, a reward will soar far. It is a great way to thank your customers and also give them something that they will remember. This creates longevity in your clients and can help to keep them interested in your business (along with the great products and services you offer).

Written by Cameron English

Web banners can be an effective tool in your online marketing campaign. With an eye catching design you could see a vast increase in your click through rate. The key to creating a good advertisement is to focus as much of the user’s attention as possible on your advertisement, while, at the same time, making the content of it interesting to potential viewers to drive them to click through to your site.

Below are a few tips that can help your business creating show stopping online banner advertisements.

1. Work with a professional designer. Professional designers use industry standard formats to create web banners, so integration into any site or email campaign will never be problem. Professional designers can also produce banners to match your corporate branding. Investing in professional graphic design services also shows your prospects and clients that you value yourself and your services enough to invest in them, so they should too! Think of it this way, if you don’t value yourself enough to invest in professional materials for your own business, which will help you build your bottom line, how can you expect anyone else to value your services or products enough to pay for them?

“Investing in professionally designed marketing materials instantly gives your business an image upgrade.”

2.  Have a ‘Call to Action’. It is best to use a call to action to generate leads. The  innate purpose of a call to action is to grab-hold of your eye-balls with not only some really attractive visuals, but also “with an offer you can’t refuse”. Examples of ‘Call To Action’ are: BUY NOW, CLICK HERE, GET IT NOW, START HERE, etc. These demands are what lead viewers to follow through to becoming a potential consumer.

3.  Include Eye catching images of people or your products. Using your own images help your banners to fit the needs of what you are wanting to promote. By using your own photos ensure every banner design is unique and that you will never see your banner used elsewhere online. Your main objective is to sell your product or service, use strong phrases that capture the interest of potential clients that match the visual content of the images.

By using the above tips in creating your banner ads, you should be able to develop a successful ad that leaves a favourable impression on potential clients.

From the mouths of business owners, “word of mouth” is continually touted as the be-all and end-all of growing your business. For so many questions, a favorite answer seems to be a resounding “word of mouth” . What exactly does this mean? Where are your customers and prospective customers talking about you? What medias do they use to communicate?

Your business reputation is very important. With the new wave of technology, your customers are communicating online…  with Online Reviews. For example, have you ever searched a restaurant on Google and have chosen the place to eat based off the stars that the company has or viewed their existing reviews online? It makes an impact and it can turn people on or off from using your services because of what customers are saying about you. Its very important to ask for positive feedback and testimonials from your clients so that they may refer you to others or show the quality of what your business offers.

Another key factor in finding out what is being said about your brand or your company is by utilizing Social Media. Do you have a business page on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn? If not you are missing out on thousands of potential customers!

Facebook is key in communicating with your clients. Customers have the ability to Like your page, Share your page, Recommend your business (online testimonial!!), Comment on your postings, message you questions, and the list goes on. Facebook is a tool that can be used by business owners to track who to market to. The insights that Facebook offers now can be detailed by demographics, age categories, gender, income ranges, etc.

Twitter can be used to promote deals and events, get customer opinions, giving advice to other business owners and to share the human side of your company.  Twitter gives businesses a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. It brings great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn (if you look for it, and/or if you follow the right folks). Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them. Twitter helps with business development, if your prospects are online.

LinkedIn is used for small businesses for many different reasons. Linkedin helps acquire new customers through online recommendation. Linkedin can help you find the right vendors to outsource services you’re not an expert on. Think of the number of times you’ve asked your colleagues if they knew of a great web designer or photographer. LinkedIn makes it easy for you to find and vet vendors through the network of your peers. Additionally, you can also trade services with your vendor connections on LinkedIn; sort of a mutual referral system. LinkedIn helps build your industry network—online and in person. Search LinkedIn’s Groups directory to find industry associations and networks to take part in. With over 2000 groups dedicated to small business topics, you’re sure to find a relevant group to network. You can get answers to tough business questions LinkedIn Answers and Groups, which let you find answers to those vexing questions quickly. You can also raise funding. You can use LinkedIn to find mentors or potential investors for your startup because there are over three million startup professionals and over 12M small business professionals on LinkedIn and it’s always good to stay in touch with folks who’ve been there, done that and willing to mentor you. Once you’re connected, your participation on LinkedIn (answers, status updates or group conversations) may even cause them to consider investing in your small business.

In conclusion, find out what web presence you have online and start finding ways to get positive feedback with your customers. 80% of your customers use the internet so boost your online marketing and interact and communicate with your consumers. Your best advertising and promotions can come from word of mouth! Let your business speak for itself!

WRONG.

Your advertising dollars are best spent attracting the largest group of customers possible. If you can’t make your famous strawberry shortcake fast enough to keep up with orders, that is exactly what you should be promoting. Your customers are telling you what your competitive advantage is with their sales – use those numbers to attract more people who will think the same. As a by-product, sales in other areas will increase, but you always want to spend money and improve the areas that are important and attractive to your customer base. Work with human nature, not against it.  

2. Think outside the spot. 30 and 60 second spots (commercials) are the bread and butter of radio advertising, and pretty much every campaign will include them. Beyond that, there are a lot of options to make your business stand out from the crowd. Ask your marketing consultant about special features on the radio, digital opportunities, promotions (contests), and events that your business can be involved in. Partnering with the station’s content will brand your business, give you more frequency on air, and pull your name apart from the clutter.

3. Make sure that you are adapting your marketing message to work best with the medium. Radio creates “theater of mind,” which means that your radio commercial can, and should, stimulate to the listeners imaginations and emotions. Don’t simply translate a print ad to spoken word.

4. Plan your advertising long term. Not only is it good for your business’s overall success to have long term goals that you are moving towards, long term planning will improve your bottom line. The most expensive spot rates are charged for short term schedules. They get progressively better with a 13 week, 6 month, or annual contracts. Often, annual contracts include some “added value”, and they also protect you against rate increases during the year.

First of all, try not to view their action as completely negative. There are always improvements in the way that we could do business, and getting to the root of a complaint gives you a great chance to evaluate if there needs to be any changes. Even if a customer is unreasonable and dramatic, there is usually some truth to why they became upset in the first place. Embrace their passionate reaction as motivation to take a critical look at your business.

Don’t ignore it! Make sure that you respond publicly to the review – whether it was made on Yelp, Google, Facebook, or wherever. Make an honest and sincere effort to fix the issue the customer has had, and to make it up to them. Other potential customers will view this favorably.

Find ways to encourage positive reviews. You have happy customers – and many of them will be willing to share their experiences if you make it easy for them (i.e. email them a link directly) and consistently ask every customer, every time. This ensures that the one negative review from 2 years ago isn’t the only thing a new potential customer sees when they are making a decision to do business with you or not.

Search for your business name regularly (you can even set up a “Google Alert” to do this automatically for you, and email you the results) so you know what people are saying about your business.

Use the online reviews of your competitors (local or not) to learn about what consumers in your industry care about. Make improvements to your business accordingly!

Frustration from lack of results is often because you’re not sure what “results” are. This isn’t as simple as saying you would like  ”more sales” or “more people in the door”. Your measuring stick to define success must be specific and objective. Choose ONE measurement, and concentrate your ENTIRE advertising message on achieving that goal.

What are examples of good measurements? While it is your ultimate goal to put more money in bank, the sales process is longer and more complicated than that. Customers don’t go from never hearing about a business to immediately spending lots of money with them. They go through a process of learning about you, deciding if they are interested in your business (are you solving a problem of theirs?) deciding if they trust you, until they finally decide if they are going to make a purchase or not. It is much more effective (and accurate) to figure out where your clients who ultimately make purchases come from, and track those numbers.

Are they calling in?

Fans of your Facebook page?

Subscribed to your email newsletter?

Attending a class or workshop you host?

Visiting your website?

Searching for you on Google?

More leads = more sales.

Once you figure out where your sales start, you will know what your advertising goal is. In other words, you know what your call to action will be. You now also know how to track the results of your advertising. Make sure that your advertising campaign’s ONLY goal is the one that you will be measuring. Don’t give potential customers 6 different ways to get in touch of you – give them one. The one that is most effective for your business for sales conversions.

At this point, you can start experimenting with advertising on different mediums, or perhaps running two slightly different messages at the same time on the same medium to see which performs better (A/B split testing).

Happy marketing!