Whenever people ask me why they should put the time and expense into listener research, the following story comes to mind:
This one radio station’s morning host just wasn’t getting it. Every morning he was doing the show he wanted to do, but listeners just weren’t connecting or coming back. So, management scheduled focus groups, the kind where you put listeners around a table to talk about a topic. And, then you have folks from the organization behind the glass to watch and take notes. They invited the morning host to come hear what the listeners had to say about his show.
Predictably, the listeners trashed the show. After listening to the abuse for some time, the beleaguered morning host leaned over to his Program Director and griped, “What do they know? They’re just listeners.” And, he was serious.
His stint with the station didn’t last much longer.
We laugh (and maybe cry) at that story. And yet, sometimes, I do that! We all do that! We think we know better than our listeners regarding what they want. What they’ll come for. What they’ll stay for. What they’ll come back for.
And, so often we miss the mark. Because we are not our listeners. That’s why it’s so important that we ask them. It’s hard for us to understand without asking what they want to hear.
The whole point of listener research is to help us to see through our listener’s perspective. Because we’re daily a part of the endeavor, we actually think about what we’re creating and airing. Which means we’re just too close to it. Way too close to it. If what we want is more people listening or reading or watching, we need to understand better what they perceive, what they are familiar with, and what they like and don’t like. We need to understand what they expect.
So, why put the time and expense into listener research? Because the more we step out of our own perspectives and into theirs, the more likely they are to give us a listen, read our blogs, and watch our videos. And that right there is our goal. So unless you’re a mind-reader, you can’t afford not to!
