Happy Halloween!

One of the phrases I’ve heard repeatedly in the last few months is “Back to basics!”

That might mean a host of things, yet let me suggest what it SHOULD mean ~

First off, there’s NO going back to any good ole days of newspapering! I believe the sentiment many are attempting to express is, we should return to the fundamentals that will allow us to take better care of our advertising and reading customers.

On the sales side, at least two “basics” come to mind:

1.  A disciplined and perpetual approach to prospecting!  As an example, commit to contacting 25 prospects each-and-every week.  If you close 10% - totally plausible, right? - that represents 130 new customers annually, and very likely, a nice commission check!  Congratulations!

(By the way, there should be even greater prospecting urgency since we offer more digital solutions!)

I mention “prospecting” first for one simple reason.  No business will grow if they don’t add new customers.  Yet, retention is every bit as important.

2.  So, KEEP what ya got!

One suggestion (more if you want) – make sure the ad creative is effective!  How often are we accepting what the customer wants and not advising them on better artwork.  We’re the experts, right?  Let’s act that way!

Related to both growth and retention – Tis my long-standing conviction one of the metrics you should be tracking is business penetration.  If you prospect successfully and minimize churn, your business penetration percentage should steadily grOW!  Is anyone doing this?  If so, please let me know.

On the content side:

What’s the old Ray Williams line?  “Give people more of what they say they want and less of what you think they need?”  That pretty well sums up what you need to know about publishing/distributing content. [It’s true, the same advice applies to sales!]

That means less canned, less national, probably less state, less weather, less “group” and certainly less international news UNLESS there’s a meaningful and relevant local angle.

On the other hand, focus on distributing more LOCAL news and information.  News, sports, traffic, events, graduations, analyses, people, politics, awards, churches, schools, road work, crime, Life Tributes (some call them obits) and if you have columnists with a local “personality”, she/he could be golden!  Maniacally track what works best, then do more of the same, yet better and more frequently.

Why not go absolutely bonkers and actually ASK those you serve what they want – what a novel concept!?

Furthermore, the HUMANS who capture, gather, curate and share this information, should be FAR MORE visible throughout the community!  Chamber and Rotary events.  Volunteer organizations.  Grand openings.  Etc.  A more ubiquitous human presence will serve all our organizations well. Not just reporters, but sales reps, photographers, pressmen, circulators, designers, inside sellers, and, yes, Publishers! 

In all likelihood, that means abandoning long-standing practices, products or channels that served you very well for ages.  This is exceedingly hard to do.  Nevertheless, it must be done, and I believe we’re up to the task.

And, speaking of fundamentals, there’s magic in a few easy, yet way too frequently overlooked words:

“Thank You!”

“I’m sorry!”

Use both liberally.

There’s PLENTY we can all do, so what are we waiting for!

P.S.  There IS a circulation component to discuss, but not within my self-imposed word limit.  Stay tuned!