Cliché phrases waste valuable time in your radio commercial, when every second is worth its weight in gold. You only have a handful of words to capture your audience’s attention and connect with listeners in a 30- or 60-second spot. Wasting their time with chichés could cost you real results.
Generic phrases like “conveniently located,” “locally owned,” and “knowledgeable staff” may seem innocuous, but they don’t tell your audience anything that they couldn’t figure out on their own. Worse than that, they blend your message into the noise of every other commercial out there.
The ultimate problem with cliché phrases is that they’re forgettable. That means listeners will tune them (and you) out. Instead, it’s better to focus on specific, concrete details about your business, such as what makes your services different, the experience at your store better, or why you’re faster than the competition.
Let’s discuss four common cliché phrases on radio commercials and show you how to replace them with things that stick, sell, and help your business stand out from the noise.
When you tell an audience that you’re “conveniently located,” it may not always be true. This phrase doesn’t tell listeners your exact location, and because commercials can be broadcast across a wide listener area, it ends up wasting two valuable words on a meaningless claim.
“Nothing is convenient for me if I live in South Bend and have to travel to Goshen for a product or service,” says Zach Miller, program director for Froggy 102.7. “Instead, it’s better to tell audiences exactly where you are, like Main Street in Downtown Goshen.”
You can take things one step further and use landmarks, like “across from the Lerner Theater,” which helps build a mental picture for the listener. Additionally, even when talking about approximate locations, it’s good to be as precise as possible, and by being specific about proximity, for example: “Located on C.R. 17, right off the U.S. 20 bypass.” Lastly, if mentioning multiple locations is important, list as many cities or towns as possible!
Being descriptive and precise in your location gives listeners actionable information that connects with real-world locations they already have stored in their memory. Then, they can determine if your business is actually conveniently located for them!
We get it, you want people to take an action and call your business. But be honest here, when was the last time that you memorized a phone number to save for a person or business?
People aren’t memorizing phone numbers in the Internet Age. The fact is, unless your phone number is exceptionally catchy, no one is going to remember it when it comes time to make a call.
The reality is that a 10-digit phone number uses up to 10 words out of your 30-second spot. On top of that, radio audiences are often listening in their car, which means they can’t write your number down.
“Unless your phone number is super easy to remember, like 1-800-FLOWERS, that’s seven words you’ve wasted in a commercial,” Miller says. “That time is better spent telling me the name of your business or your website.”
Frequency is key in radio, and that applies to reminding listeners who you are. Repeating your business name 3 to 5 times in a short window has been shown to increase brand recognition and recall. That means the more often your business says its name or website, the more likely a listener is to remember your brand when they search for your products or services.
Being locally owned or family owned is great, but that alone doesn’t set you apart from your competitors (who may also be locally owned!).
“Think about it. Are people going to eat at your restaurant just because it’s local?” Miller says. “Tell them instead about what separates your food from the rest, like: ‘locally sourced ingredients from XYZ Farm.’”
Simply stating that the owner lives in town isn’t enough to persuade people to make a purchase. Your audience wants to know what makes your products or services better than those of other businesses.
Get as specific as possible! Share the name of the farm where you locally source ingredients, or even mention that you craft your furniture at your shop in Middlebury.
A great way to show (and not tell) your audience that you’re local and have roots in the community is to tell your business’s story. Your story creates an authentic connection with your audience and is more powerful than being simply “locally owned”!
Explain that you’re a third-generation roofer in Michiana, or that you started your business out of your garage in 1992 in Mishawaka. In fact, when a brand tells a story, it can increase customer loyalty by 20%!
The minimum expectation that every customer has going into every business is that the staff are going to be knowledgeable about the products and services and treat them in a friendly way. Saying this in a radio commercial is equivalent to telling people that your employees showed up for work.
“If you’ve hired these people, you better hope they know what they’re talking about,” Miller says. “Not only that, you’re setting yourself and your employees up for failure if someone on your team has an off day.”
Instead of being vague in your description, show off your team’s expertise with specifics. Tell audiences that your mechanics have an average of 15 years of experience working on European cars, or that your garden store has a certified master gardener on staff seven days a week.
Being specific allows you to demonstrate your business’s value to listeners. On top of that, when you’re specific, it proves that your staff are knowledgeable and it’s not simply a claim to be true.
The biggest problem with all these clichés is that they’re vague, unverifiable, and often subjective. They don’t give your audience any actionable information, they’re forgettable, and they waste precious time in your 30- and 60-second ads.
Here’s what you need to know to fix all these clichés and improve your radio ads:
When you’re preparing to make a radio commercial, ask yourself: “Could my competitor say something identical about their business”? If the answer is yes, you probably have a cliché on your hands! Replace that language with something that only you can say about your business.
If you’re currently running ads, review your copy and ask yourself the same question above. Identify any clichés and think about how you may be able to be more specific and memorable with what you’re saying.
Still need help with your radio commercials? The team at Federated Media can help! Our talented staff are happy to help you build a cliché-free commercial that rises above the noise.