The Super-Core Listener

The loyal listeners of your radio station are the most important people in your world. I am not speaking about your P1 listeners; I’m referring to an even more specific crowd – your station’s super-core listener. Take a lesson from the successful businesses and super-serve your super-core.

According to a diary study conducted by Rating Point Management, less than 10% of the people who listen to your radio station are super-core listeners. However, these listeners represent 45% of your AQH listening each week. These are the people who are brand loyal to your radio station. They drive your station’s ratings. Many of your super-core listeners tune in for more than 16 hours a week. They are the ones that know the names of the personalities of your station. They know some of the new music you play. They attend your station promotions.

Super-core listeners understand your station. They know the difference between your station and your competitors. Get opinions from these listeners in focus groups and Listener Advisory Board meetings. Get their feedback and then use their thoughts and ideas in station promos. Create new specialty programs that address their overwhelming desires.

If you do research, make sure you get a significant amount of super-core listeners in your study. Half of the people in your perceptual and music tests should be from your super-core. Your research company will howl when you raise the TSL requirement on your screener. These people are harder to find, but the results you get back from the study will be much more meaningful.

Testing with light listening P3’s is a waste of time. The P3 low listeners make up 26% of your total audience, but they only listen for one to five quarter-hours per week! While it is easier to recruit these listeners, testing the impressions of P3 listeners is not going to have any significant impact on the ratings of your radio station. These people already have another station they are loyal to. They use your station as filler when their favorite station is playing commercials or a song they don’t like. This is particularly true for stations that appeal to adults. It is very difficult to change the habits of adults. If you think you’ll be able to convert P3 listeners to P1’s, think again. It’s a long, hard battle. It is just not worth the effort.

To win, put your focus in keeping your super-core happy. It will give your station a sense of direction and a strong sense of character. Instead of being the station that tries to get anyone and everyone to listen, be the station that knows who it is, who its listeners are, and what they like. That kind of confidence and self-assurance makes your station a leader. Listeners who are searching for something new in their life will tend to follow a leader, rather than attach to a station that is spreading itself thin.