8 Things Everyone At Your Station Should Know

As a programmer or morning personality, you have two audiences. One is obvious: The listener. The other is often ignored: It's your internal team.

Reaching your listener requires every single person on your staff having knowledge of what your station is all about.

Imagine going into an Italian restaurant. You ask if they have thin crust pizza. The hostess doesn't know. You ask if they have a children's menu, and the bartender says he has no idea.

It's amazing how uninformed our promotion team is about weekend programming. The receptionist (in many ways the face of your brand) doesn't have a clue about the type of music you play. The sales team can't answer questions about morning show features.

At a minimum, every member of your team should have a strong fundamental understanding of what your station represents. They should know what is happening on the air and off. That goes for everyone who has anything to do with programming, promotion, marketing, digital and social media. And sales!

Here's a good place to start. Educate your staff with answers to these eight questions. These aren't questions listeners will ask, but provide the background that will help them understand and represent you.

1. Who is our target listener? This is not the broad, ratings demographic target, but the specific listener composite. Who are we for?
2. What role do we play in the listener's life? In other words, what are we for?
3. What do listeners think about us? What are we known for? How are we perceived?
4. What do we want to be known for? Or, what are the desired perceptions we're trying to nurture?
5. What key elements are most important to our success? What role does each team member play toward reaching our goal?
6. What is our unique competitive advantage? What do we have that nobody else has? What must we defend at all costs?
7. What is our "edge?" The line of good taste that we cannot cross over? What is our moral compass?
8. What other choices do our listeners make, and why do they use those stations?

It's easy to overlook your internal staff, but there's no better way to positively impact your external audience when everyone on the team understands your brand.