ASIA

Customer Service or Customer ExperienceSelling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonI have the privilege of working with some very good sales staffs. Over the years, we have progressed from learning the basics to polishing our diamonds. One of our latest initiatives is moving from good customer service to a great customer experience.

In case you don’t know the difference, customer service is usually initiated by the customer. They contact us needing something. Were they able to connect with us easily? Was our receptionist (are there still any of these left?) or our voice mail efficient? Did they need an invoice or copy? Did we take good care of their needs? We’ve all experienced good customer service and bad customer service.Have we experienced a great customer experience? The “customer experience” involves what happens before and after customer service. It is every contact a potential customer has with our brand. “Customer experience” becomes a new mountain to climb.One of my salespeople recently sent me a note about a customer experience she had had. I was more than impressed.This lady has two dogs that are the light of her life. One of the dogs, Annie, was a blue heeler that had reached 105 in human years. Since 2018, Cheryl had ordered dog food from Chewy. Over the past few years, Annie required medication which she also bought from Chewy. She always experienced rapid delivery, correct orders, ease of purchase. She got good customer service.Recently Annie passed on. This was a difficult time: Annie was a member of the family, and the remaining pup was lost without her.

Cheryl called to cancel Annie’s medicine and part of the monthly dog food. The last order had already been mailed, but Chewy refunded her money and told her to donate the product to the local animal shelter. That’s very nice, in itself.What happened next comes under the heading of “great customer experience.”Pics: suppliedCheryl received the above flower arrangement from Chewy. The people at Chewy chose a local florist (who happens to be one of our clients) to deliver the flowers. Cheryl’s comment, “They have a customer for life!”In the coming weeks we will talk more about how to raise our customers’ experience to new levels. What do we do now? What can we do?Creating an extraordinary customer experience will create customers for life.Happy Servicing and Happy Selling!Main Pic: Shutterstock […]

Mediacorp’s talent reality competition Suara Juara – The Star Voice 2023 has crowned Ezam Ernady as its winner after weeks of intense competition.Ezam edged out fellow finalists Farihin Anwar and Raihan Yacob, won a $10,000 cash prize and a Mediacorp contract to be a radio presenter with Malay radio station RIA 897.Launched as an initiative to allow individuals to fulfil their passion in radio broadcasting and hosting, the competition tested contestants on their hosting and interviewing skills as well as content creation ability.

Hosted by RIA 897’s Azura Goh and Fadli Kamsani, the finals saw Ezam, Farihin and Raihan go head-to-head in two rounds of competition.In the first, the three showed off their artistic skills by putting up enthralling song and dance items. Creatively mashing up popular traditional tunes, Ezam delivered a lively stage act and captivated the live audience who burst into applause at the end of his performance.In the second round, the finalists were tested on their spontaneity and ability to deliver an engaging interview segment – essential skills required of a radio presenter. With 60 percent of their scores at stake here, the three were tasked to conduct individual interviews with Najip and were assessed for their creativity, content, personality and phonetics. Ezam sought Najip’s thoughts on the potential of success between an aspiring artiste driven by financial rewards versus another who is fuelled by passion, and whether social media alone is sufficient in ensuring one’s relevant in the industry today. Ezam’s thought-provoking topic impressed the judges and secured his win, given his equally remarkable performance in the previous round.Expressing surprise at the results, Ezam described his victory as “a dream come true”. He added: “I am beyond delighted to have made my supportive family proud with this win. Throughout this journey, the team of encouraging mentors has imparted valuable advice and knowledge which greatly helped me in improving my linguistic and presentation skills.”Simone Lum, Head for Growth & Audio, Mediacorp, said: “Today, we witnessed exceptional performances from the Top 3 and we are extremely proud of them.” […]

India’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has approved new rates for advertisements to be issued on private FM radio stations for its policies and programmes.The new rates, which have been announced after eight years, include a 43 per cent increase in the base rate taking in to account the rising costs dynamics for the period of December 2015 to March 2023. The move would benefit more than 400 community radio stations across the country.The pricing formula for finalising the advertising rates takes into account various factors such as city population and listenership data from the India Readership Survey (IRS) of 2019, said a statement issued by the Ministry.

With this increase, the Gross Base Rate for FM radio advertisement will increase from Rs 52 to Rs 74 per 10 seconds.  The adjustment is intended to maintain parity with current market rates. Based on this formula along with the enhanced base rate, almost all private FM radio stations will benefit from the new recommended rates at varying percentages depending largely on their listenership giving value for both FM stations and the clients of Central Bureau of Communication.Based on this formula the rates for 106 stations will increase by 100 percent, a 50 to 100 percent increase for 81 stations, and a less than 50 percent increase for 65 stations for which listenership data is available.The Rate Structure Committee for Private FM Radio Stations was set up by the Ministry last year to evaluate and recommend new rates which were last revised in 2015. The Committee submitted its recommendations after holdings several rounds of meetings with industry experts and stakeholders in addition to taking inputs from bodies like Association of Radio Operators of India. […]

Key DRM stakeholders in India, and other parts of Asia and the world, gathered virtually for a news-packed meeting on October 12, stressing once again the need for the Government to take a decision on the FM band digitisation. The 40 key participants represented the automotive industry, public and private Indian broadcasters, chipset, module and receiver manufacturers from India, China, UK and Germany; other important decision-makers interested in the success of digital radio DRM in India also took part.The event offered a unique opportunity to get the latest and important DRM news from Asia. They refer to the Indonesian government pronouncing DRM as the standard for Digital Radio Broadcasting in MW and FM bands, and in VHF Band III, China’s commitment to DRM and the recommendation for the automotive industry to include DRM AM receivers in cars, as well as the firm commitment to DRM in all bands and its rollout in Pakistan.The update on digital radio in India and the latest TRAI recommendations, as well as the extra services offered by DRM (like Emergency Warning Functionality) and the new revenue possibilities opened up by DRM were at the heart of the presentation.

The new DRM1000 module of CML Micro/Cambridge Consultants, its integration into new Gospell receivers, the developments announced by the Indian company, Inntot, and the global perspective brought by NXP (NXP) rounded up a strong event. This underlined the growing strength of digital radio (in the AM and FM bands), the continued investments in DRM and the need for completing the Indian DRM roll-out.The conclusion of the meeting was that the Indian government needs to take a clear decision on digitising the FM bands. There was also the suggestion made to the government to add to the recent cell phone recommendation (to include FM) that of adding DRM and EWF requirement. At the end of the meeting the Indian and other major DRM stakeholders committed once again their support and readiness to get involved in the full DRM roll-out in India. […]

NYF Radio Awards Unveils Eight Exciting New Categories to Reflect the Dynamic Shift in Audio Content CreationThe New York Festivals® 2024 Radio Awards competition is open for entries.The New York Festivals Radio Awards provides a showcase to celebrate world-class storytellers from around the globe. NYF’s Radio Awards 66-year legacy honors creative innovation and excellence in broadcast and audio content across all genres and platforms.

“Our categories for investigative journalism and nonfiction series documentaries and social justice across all genres recognized how individual actions can change the world and the ability of the human spirit to triumph over adversity,” said Rose Anderson, SVP & Executive Director, New York Festivals Radio Awards.  “Today’s storytellers are finding innovative ways to keep listeners informed, entertained, and engaged in our ever-changing and interconnected world so the New York Festivals Radio Awards has introduced eight new categories that encompass that robust creative spirit.” NYF’s new SciFi/Fantasy/Horror and Mystery Programs categories expand the Entertainment roster. Editorial/Viewpoint News Feature rounds out the journalism-based News Reports/Features category group providing a new outlook on current events and thought-provoking perspectives.  Short Form Documentary offers additional opportunities to showcase distinctive points of view.New Podcast categories shine the spotlight on storytelling in a wide variety of topics.  Investigative Journalism Podcast features in-depth reporting into significant issues, events, or topics, and Mystery Podcast showcases narratives that keep listeners on the edge of their seats. On-Air talent categories honor top audio talent, new categories this year include News Correspondent/Reporter and Sports Correspondent/Reporter.The National Press Club is the World’s Leading Professional Organisation for Journalists™. The National Press Club Award, launched in 2023 in partnership with the National Press Club, goes to the highest scoring entry in the following News program categories: Coverage of Breaking News Story, Coverage of Ongoing News Story, Nonfiction Series, and News Podcast.For 2023, “Start Here” by ABC News in the News Podcast category earned the inaugural National Press Club Award. This year’s winner will be announced during the 2024 Storytellers Gala in April.

“Our partnership with the National Press Club continues, honoring journalists who are using their talents to tell the stories that matter and keep listeners informed,” added Ms. Anderson.View the 2024 NYF Radio Awards extensive category roster: HERE.The 2023 Radio Awards winners were honored in a virtual ceremony on April 18th during the NAB Show in Las Vegas.  This was the 14th consecutive year of NYF’s and NAB’s strategic partnership. Anchored from New York City’s Lincoln Center, over 160 teams sent their acceptances from around the world. Special vignettes featured industry leaders who shared what motivates their passion to create award-winning work. View the 2023 Storytellers Gala.NYF’s Radio Awards receives entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from over 30 countries around the globe. The mission of the competition is to honor the achievements of the men and women who make up the global audio storytelling community.New York Festivals invites award-winning industry leaders from 6 continents around the world to become members of their world-class Radio Awards Grand Jury. The 2024 Grand jury will be recruited in the coming weeks. Those jurors will include some of the most world’s recognizable voices and captivating content producers in the radio industry. Entries are judged on production values, creativity, content presentation, direction, writing, achievement of purpose, and audience suitability.All Entries in NYF’s 2024 Radio Awards will be judged by the NYF Grand Jury of 200+ producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe.Award-winning entries for 2024 will be showcased in the Radio Awards winners gallery. To view the 2023 Radio Awards winner’s gallery, visit HERE.The entry deadline for the 2024 Radio Awards competition is January 31, 2024.To enter the 2024 Radio Awards please visit: HERE, for additional information visit: Rules and Regulations and 2024 Radio Awards categories.About New York Festivals: New York Festivals ®Celebrating the World’s Best Work since 1957About NAB ShowThe 2024 NAB Show will be held April 14-17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. NAB Show is the world’s largest and most comprehensive convention encompassing the convergence of media, entertainment, and technology. NAB Show is where global visionaries convene to bring content to life in new and exciting ways.About NAB The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org. […]

Content from BPRThere’s safety in numbers – right?Sometimes there are good reasons to follow the advice contained in these old aphorisms but in using this principle to choose the music you play on your radio station might be the worst thing that you could do.Let me explain.

Take the example of a ‘hit’ song that becomes a hit mostly because everyone else is playing it but not many people actually like it. The programmer who spends a lot of time following the music played on their competition or on the station they particularly like in another city but nobody knows the songs.Often decisions about songs played can be justified by  “ ….. station XXY is playing it a lot, they must have good research on it …”  however listeners don’t often share the same interest in other stations and are even less interested in what may be playing in another city.In BPR’s recent All Audio Survey the main reason that people return to radio after listening to streaming, podcasts, their own playlists etc etc is MUSIC. That means that radio’s curated music mix is one of its key strengths and for many people the reason they choose the station they listen to.Whether your station is chosen because it plays the best new songs, contemporary music or older hits the principle is the same – playing music your listeners know and like is the most important thing that you can do to attract or satisfy them.In the digital age when listeners can choose any station anywhere, people mostly don’t! Successful programmers who understand this also know the importance of well-crafted music programming based on well-chosen songs to deliver both passion and variety for their listeners.

Great music research comes after you have agreed on a clear strategy, and is based on the right mix of core and secondary listeners. Music programming must deliver music passion. – songs that listeners love.  You will never do that by following the crowd and simply doing what everyone else does.In recent times we hear the criticism that  ‘.. all stations play the same music …’ due to factors like more networking, group playlists or cost savings at the cost of hometown heroes. Music that is chosen for your listeners in your market can help focus on individual needs and market preferences.If listeners choose music as a reason to listen don’t they deserve better?By Peter Don, BPR […]