The Strategy

To tackle these hurdles, Marshall Marketing intervened. The Marshall Representative’s proficiency in market analysis and targeted advertising enabled them to identify the perfect audience for Matt Jones Auctions & Estates. This strategic approach provided the company with a clear path for their marketing endeavors. With the assistance of Marshall Marketing, Matt Jones is enthusiastic about this new chapter and anticipates enhancing his visibility and attracting fresh business prospects.

It turns out that Marshall Marketing has collaborated with auctioneers in various markets before. This prior experience was a significant advantage. The 2024 KHBS KHOG Marshall Marketing survey included essential information on both Major Business Decision Makers and Real Estate. By utilizing this data, we assisted the client in gaining a deeper understanding of the market and determining the most effective media for Matt Jones.

Marshall Marketing stressed the importance of the creative messaging for this client and provided valuable recommendations, such as a two-tiered strategy. This involved a focus on long-term branding, along with short and long-format advertisements showcasing Matt Jones’ narrative, including testimonial ads. Additionally, short-format ads highlighted upcoming auctions/events, complimented by digital strategies tailored to target specific decision-makers and buyers. As a result, Matt Jones launched his campaigns and has already received positive feedback!

Conclusion

The Marshall data serves as the cornerstone of our Marketing System, but the insights and experiences your Marshall representative can provide are invaluable sales assets and a competitive edge for your station. When faced with challenges, don’t hesitate to contact your rep and leverage the full benefits of Marshall Marketing.

Customers shopping today may differ significantly from those who visited in the past. They could be younger with higher incomes or perhaps newcomers to the area. Therefore, it’s essential for retailers to consistently assess the profiles of their current buyers and the shoppers entering the market to ensure they are on the right track. This evaluation might reveal that the retailer is perfectly aligned with customer needs and should continue their current strategy. Conversely, it may indicate that adjustments are necessary to attract active customers.

The following example demonstrates how a furniture store can analyze its past performance and future direction using Marshall data. The key questions for this type of audit include:

• “Where will you shop FIRST for furniture?”
• “In the past two years, where did you make your last furniture purchase?”
• “In the next 12 months, do you plan to buy furniture?”

Store A is the leader in this market. It is a mid range furniture store that caters to several customer segments. It’s Last Purchase share of 23.5% nearly doubles that of its closest competitor. Also, it is the leader in Shop First share among customers planning to buy furniture. Finally, 79.4% of customers that made their last purchase at Store A would shop Store A First for their next purchase. This is all very impressive.

So, where does the opportunity lie? Store A’s media mix includes the largest portion of dollars going to direct mail, then linear TV. Millennials and Gen Z furniture buyers index very low as readers of direct mail, but they’re extremely high users of digital media. Store A could build awareness and shop share by adjusting media to fit the buying profile. This also is a great opportunity for vendor/supplier dollars to reach a secondary target customer. Match a vendor/supplier to a target group of Millennials and Gen X. Then, build a schedule directly aimed at that target. Track results with your Marshall data to gauge impact on Shop First share.

IN CONCLUSION, integrating questions that uncover past consumer behaviors and future intentions allows you to develop profiles based on profitable demographic segments, such as generational cohorts. These profiles can then be cross-referenced with media, ultimately aiding you in crafting a robust strategy for your clients.

Peak Flow Plumbing is attempting to grow their brand in a very competitive category in Colorado Springs & Pueblo. Another challenge is the market has a very active advertising spend in HVAC/Plumbing. After initially spending approximately $1,000 with our station, we delved deeper into the client’s advertising budget. We discovered the client was allocating $3,000 to a competing station and about $1,500 to radio. Utilizing our Marshall Marketing Research, we conducted a comparative analysis of their reach across their three media spends – our schedule, our competing station’s schedule and radio. 

During this meeting with the client, in real-time, we shared the Marshall Marketing information using the Media Reach section of Marshall’s software (see below). We used the research to analyze the reach achieved by each media partner.

The research revealed to Peak Flow Plumbing that their highest spend was giving them their smallest increase in awareness. The research also showed the client should maintain their radio relationship, but advertising on the competing TV station was not necessary.

RESULT: Having a resource like Marshall Marketing equipped us with a tool to build the client a campaign that optimized the client’s marketing dollars to achieve the greatest possible share of voice without increasing their total advertising spend. Eventually, Peak Flow Plumbing decided to allocate the additional spend with FOX21 SOCO CW! We would not have seen an increase in this client’s spending from $1,000 to $4,000 per month without Marshall Marketing Research! Not only did Marshall Marketing help increase this client’s spending with our stations, but it also greatly improved our relationship and trust with Peak Flow.

Media Reach is used to identify the best combination of media options to maximize reach of the target customer without unnecessary duplication or oversaturation. For perspective, here is an example of the Marshall Marketing Report on MEDIA REACH that you can build with your MyMarshall software.

Go into your MyMarshall software and select your target and media in the Media Reach function. Next, build a chart showing the reach of the top 7 radio stations (in this example they are all iHeart Radio stations).

Now, take a look at your station’s programming. Notice how just three programs have a reach of 40% where 7 radio stations had a total reach of only 24%!

Next step is to add the 7 top radio stations to your TV programs. This addition of radio only boosts reach by 14 percentage points.

Finally, add your station’s live streaming news and the station’s website, and you will see, in this example, a net reach of 68%! As a comparison, the reach of the 7 iHeart Radio stations was only 24%, out performed significantly by a station’s linear + digital.

In conclusion, these questions, along with top of mind awareness, advertising awareness and image awareness, will help you map out a sound strategy for your attorney clients.

Designing an Effective Marshall Survey

When considering a Marshall Survey, remember that crafting an effective and successful questionnaire is not a one-week task; it requires ongoing effort throughout the year. By sharing your clients’ inquiries, observing market changes, and identifying opportunities, you enable us to gain a deeper understanding of your market. This collaboration helps us create a survey tailored to your specific needs while developing a reliable resource for your clients.

You also benefit from two significant advantages with Marshall: Customization and Market Exclusivity. The customization of your survey lays the groundwork for the success you can achieve through our research. This process begins with choosing the categories you’d like to include and, with input from local clients,
determining the questions to ask. With market exclusivity, you can provide local businesses with insights and sales strategies that are unavailable to your competitors!

To simplify the questionnaire design process, consider the following points for your upcoming survey:

Questions & Categories:

Reflecting on your last study:

• Which business categories yielded the most success, such as your top revenue generators? Remember, we can track many categories year-over-year. These trends can help you identify which clients are experiencing growth or decline in awareness and consideration within your market.
• Which clients have increased or decreased their spending? Are their awareness and consideration trends rising or falling? Are you receiving requests from clients for more information in their business category? Do we need to expand on that category?

For example, in health care, instead of merely asking, “Which hospital would you choose?” , we can delve deeper into specific health services or specialties gaining popularity in your market that deserve measurement: Cancer, Heart Care, Maternity, etc. The health care category is just one example; we can broaden any category that serves your needs!

Ideas to Explore:

• Market Changes: What shifts are happening in your market? Have any new businesses or industries moved in or out of your area? Are there questions we can pose to help navigate these changes and identify potential opportunities?
• Underutilized Categories: Were there any categories from the previous survey that didn’t receive full attention or didn’t generate revenue? If so, let’s consider either reducing those questions or replacing them with inquiries about other promising business categories!
• Alignment with Corporate Promotions: Are your questions aligned with what your corporate team is currently promoting?
• Future Purchases and Plans: Which upcoming purchases or plans would be advantageous to explore? Consider local travel destinations, events, fairs, or sports teams that could create revenue streams for your station.

Media Considerations:

• Streaming Questions: Are you including questions about Streaming Television (CTV), local D2 channels, or Streaming News?
• Local News Comparison: How does your local news stack up against competitors?
  Think about metrics like “Watched Most Often”, “First Choice for Severe Weather”, or “Favorite Local News Personalities”.

Remember, our aim is to equip you with valuable data that remains relevant throughout the year, not just for a few weeks after you receive your database! We are here year-round to discuss challenges and strategies that support your success and that of your clients.

The dental industry is generally experiencing growth. Factors that contribute to this positive outlook include an increasing awareness of oral health, an aging population, and advancements in dental technology.

The U.S. dental market is projected to experience significant growth, with spending expected to reach $216.33 billion by 2030, according to Fortune Business Insights.

With that in mind, there are two ways to determine consumer activity within the dental category:

1. Questions concerning what a consumer has done in the past year or 2 years. What have they purchased? Where have they made a purchase? Where have they shopped?

2. What do they plan to do? What will they consider?

For a dental client, asking a question concerning an office visit, a cleaning, or an x-ray will provide a broad clientele since these are routine procedures.

In the past 12 months, which of the following procedures have you had done?

In numerous cases, it is often more beneficial to ask about future intentions regarding these procedures rather than past activities. The most profitable dental procedures include smile enhancements, implants, and Invisalign braces.

The “consider” question produces a better picture of what consumers are thinking about their dental needs. It captures consumers at the top of the funnel and provides valuable data for a dental client.

There is also good news for local
dental practices. Consumers rank
“Local Practice” as one of the top two
important factors when choosing
where to go. This increases the
number of potential dental
advertisers in your market.

The “consider” question serves as a valuable tool for Marketing Consultants/Account Executives to categorize consumers by Lifestyle Group. This detailed profile provides your dental clients with an insightful snapshot of their potential customers, thereby paving the way for innovative and impactful commercial ideas.

With the data revealing what dental patients desire, what matters to them, and their demographics, it’s now essential to investigate where your clients should position their media to maximize their chances of success.

For these segments, Television and Internet emerged as the two “most influential” media types. Armed with this information, an Account Executive can effectively showcase strategies to engage key consumers through both TV and digital platforms.

In conclusion, incorporating questions that reveal consumer intent enables you to create profiles based on lucrative population segments, which can subsequently be cross-referenced with media. These inquiries, combined with awareness of top-of-mind, advertising, and brand image, will assist you in developing a robust strategy for your dental clients.

In a Northwest market, Mattress Store A and Mattress Store B are two fiercely competitive retailers. The Account Executive from our client station shared top-of-mind awareness data with Store A to reinforce and secure their 2024 purchase of $22K for TV and digital advertising. Upon reviewing the same data and noticing that Store A had a higher ranking AND knowing that Mattress Firm was a significant spender on Linear TV, Store B boosted their investment by adding an additional $5K for YouTube advertising, $5K for digital and another $15K for Linear TV.

In addition to the success with Store A and Store B, this awareness data was instrumental in securing a meeting with another local retailer. This highlights the competitive nature of the mattress industry.

Top-of-Mind awareness is crucial in the mattress market, given the long purchase cycle of 7-10 years.
Key considerations include:

• Infrequent Purchases: Brands must stay memorable over time to be the preferred choice when consumers decide to buy.
• Competitive Landscape: The highly competitive environment leads to price sensitivity; familiarity with brands helps customers trust and select recognized brand names.
• Digital Influence: A consistent presence on social media and digital platforms enhances brand familiarity during consumers’ sales processes.
• Health Trends: With increasing awareness of sleep benefits, brands that emphasize wellness features can attract health-conscious consumers.

In summary, sustaining top-of-mind awareness encourages long-term customer relationships, ultimately boosting sales and loyalty in this seldom-purchased category. Furthermore, if competition is intense and opportunities exist in your market, consider expanding the mattress category in your next Marshall survey!

The Marshall data serves as an essential tool for assessing a client’s overall Awareness and Consideration. The next step involves leveraging this data to identify opportunities, particularly within key demographics. An appliance store (Store A) in a medium-sized market was effectively using our client’s digital platforms; however, the Account Executive aimed to incorporate a broadcast schedule into the client’s advertising strategy.

The Marshall research revealed a three-year trend of growing overall awareness. Yet, further analysis was required to see where a TV schedule could increase awareness and grow market share.

Examining the trend by age groups highlighted that the rise in awareness was primarily driven by adults aged 18-34 and those 50 and older, while awareness was declining among the 35-49 age group. Additionally, the data indicated a decrease in awareness among households earning over $100,000.

The charts above illustrate the growth potential within two significant demographic groups. The Account Executive presented this information to the owner of the local appliance store, along with a proposal for a TV schedule targeting the higher-income segment aged 35-49, which showed the most promise for growth. The owner agreed to increase the advertising budget and adopt the suggested program schedule while also maintaining their digital advertising initiatives.

As a result, there was a notable rise in overall awareness, accompanied by an impressive 50% increase in consideration among households with members aged 35-49 earning $100K or more!

There are several reasons a local dealer might decide to pause or cut back on their advertising efforts. Car dealerships may stop their promotions not only when they encounter difficulties in selling due to inventory shortages or economic conditions but also when they find themselves unable to effectively serve, represent, or fulfill customer expectations. The following success story occurred during the COVID pandemic.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency began on January 19, 2020, and officially concluded on May 11, 2023. Throughout this period, the automotive industry experienced significant vulnerability and negative effects, with U.S. vehicle sales dropping by 15 percent from 2019 to 2020. This decline was nearly double that of the 2008-09 global financial crisis, which saw an 8.1 percent decrease in sales.

During this time, the automotive sector encountered two major disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first was the initial closure of automotive facilities in the first half of 2020 amid the first outbreak in the United States, which severely restricted the supply of vehicles. The second disruption involved the persistent shortage of semiconductor chips across the automotive supply chain, which hampered production needed to meet the recovering consumer demand. As a result, vehicle sales in 2021 remained almost 12 percent below the figures from 2019.

The information below illustrates the pandemic’s impact on a local automotive dealer in the Northeast. 

Question: Are you aware of ABC Motors?

Note: Click to enlarge the image

When the automotive supply chain was disrupted by COVID-19, ABC Motors faced crucial decisions. With inventory dwindling and sales leads dropping; they had to determine the fate of their employees and overall operations. The choice was made to reduce staff and brace for the challenges of the pandemic.

Advertising was halted entirely for three years. The impact of having Marshall’s trending research during this period is illustrated in the slide below, highlighting the decrease in awareness across different trade zones around the dealership. Over three years without advertising severely impacted ABC Motors’ visibility, with the most significant decline occurring in the 11–20-mile trade zone, which saw a 16% drop from 2020 to 2023. After analyzing Marshall’s data from recent years, ABC Motors decided to restart their advertising efforts in the first quarter of 2024.

Their primary goal is to enhance the overall brand awareness of the dealership while strategically establishing a robust digital presence within the 11–20-mile trade zone.

Remember, you can always use your trending data to illustrate the awareness of a client when they are advertising versus a decline or cut in spending on your station. It’s like conducting a Pre & Post advertising awareness study.