Dave Kirby “Do Your Listeners “Need” You?”

A key element of sales is making the customer feel like they need your product or service. That they “can’t live without it.” Marketers and sales departments agonize and strategize ways to accomplish this.

So, do your listeners (and potential donors) feel like they need you?

Back in the good old days, the only way people could access new music or even hear their favorite song was to listen to the radio. At least it was the only free option. Maybe you’re like me and remember sitting by my boom box with a blank cassette loaded up and ready to record my favorite song when it came on the radio.

Those days are long gone.

And it’s not just a challenge for radio. All legacy media are experiencing the same seismic shift. When was the last time you read an actual print newspaper? What about the losses network TV has experienced in the age of streaming? 

Here is the hard truth: they don’t need you to get their music anymore. They don’t need you to hear new music first. They don’t need you when they want to hear their favorite song. That’s all available on demand, on a phone that’s not tied to their car.

A radio friend told me recently that when his station started playing the new Brandon Lake song, his kids said, “Finally! We’ve been wondering when you’d start playing it!” They had access to that song for months before it was played on the radio. Streaming is beating you to the new music and presenting it where and when people want to consume it.

Here’s another hard truth: everyone knows it. Record companies increasingly wonder if they need radio to break new songs or artists. Artists know they can have successful albums and tours without radio support. Did you know that Forrest Frank was selling out 5,000-seat auditoriums with kids singing every word along with him before Christian radio ever started playing his song?

And I think, in our hearts, we know it too. The death of radio has long been forecasted, and it won’t happen overnight, but a change is needed if we are to survive in a world full of options that can beat us in our own game.

So, in light of this hard truth, if you’re a non-profit station, question number one should be, “What are we providing to our listeners that they can’t live without and can’t find anywhere else?” If you want them to give to your station, you must answer that question. All other strategies and questions funnel out of that one. 

What’s the answer? That’s up to you to figure out. What can you provide to listeners that brings so much value to their lives they’ll give you their money to keep it around? What’s your unique place in the market?

I think it starts with content. It’s personalities, topics, and creativity that create a unique voice and brand for your station that sits alone in the world. Not what everyone else is doing. Not what the consultants tell you to do. But what makes your station stand out from all the other options people have at their fingertips?

And before I go, here’s another hard truth: Change is hard. It’s hard to admit that your station has no personality. It’s hard to admit some of your air talent might not be connecting. It’s hard to admit that your programming is bland or cookie-cutter. But not admitting the truth doesn’t make it disappear.

I know I’m destined for some pushback. I’ve been in Christian radio for 45 years. I got the calls telling me I was going to hell for playing Christian rock on the radio. I was there when Amy Grant had that first hit on secular radio. I’ve seen this industry take chances, grow, and challenge the culture. It was the way then, and it’s still the way today.

At least, that’s how I see it.

Push back if you want. You know where to find me: dave@vidarecreative.com

Dave Kirby has more than 25 years raising money for Christian radio, with hundreds of fundraisers under his belt and more than $100 million raised. He now serves as a partner and Chief Creative Officer for Vidare Creative.