John Harlow said:
If you were to offer suggestions to a station to make it better, what would you suggest?
Be honest and please be nice.
John, I've been chewing on your question for a week or so. I believe you're asking what kind of general suggestions would one make without getting terribly specific that might help them make their station better, right? We're not talking about any specific station, right?
Here's a thought. I'd encourage that broadcaster to study radio markets nationwide, and then hone-in on markets that are similar to their own. TV has helped America become pretty homogenous. "American Idol" does just as well in Austin as it does in Altoona. Same for Jay Leno... NFL football. And in general terms, radio formats have similar performance tracks from market to market. But--and it's a big but--each market is different. So if you can identify markets that are like the one you're in, it can be valuable.
Then I'd encourage that broadcaster to step back and try to study the market that he or she is in, without any preconceptions. Pretend you just got plunked in ____________ (State College) from outer space. What would you see? Examine all the data available regarding the population, the geography, and the radio competition that is already there. Get the lay of the land. Then look for opportunities. And look at what the roadblocks are. Sometimes the roadblocks aren't direct competitors. Sometimes they are disguised--but close enough to keep you from succeeding. (Example: Is there room in SC for a Classic Country station? Or does Froggy play enough of that stuff to keep those people satisfied--even though Frog isn't a CC station. I'm guessing there isn't room).
This is one of the reasons I brought up WPSU in the "numbers" thread. If a broadcaster doesn't understand that WPSU has the largest radio audience in Centre County, there is no possible way they can make clear-headed decisions about their own radio station. If a person doesn't understand that WTLR & K-Love are both whipping their own CHR butts, there is no way they can make clear-headed decisions about their own stations.
Gotta take the blinders off, and look at the market the way it really is. Not the way you want it to be.
Was that nice enough?
