Kickstarting your commercial revenue streams for a post-Covid media world
A sustainable commercial revenue business requires a list of clients and a means for communicating with them, says Ross Settles at HKU.
Takeaways
Commercial revenue isn’t for everyone. Selling advertisements is likely not fundamental to the mission of most media startups. In fact, for newer startups, a misguided focus on advertising revenue can detract from the core product and do more harm than good. In more established media companies, however, the additional revenue can be used to explore and scale in ways that might not be otherwise possible.
Cultivate and maintain strong relationships. Commercial revenue is all about sales; sales are about strong relationships; and relationships are built on trust, empathy, understanding, and communication. Prioritize these qualities when building client relationships.
Each situation is different. In Covid, no two countries, cities, or even people have felt the effects of the virus in the exact same way. Media companies are no different. Therefore, it is critical to understand the unique situations facing your company, clients, and consumers, and respond to them appropriately.
Context
Covid has had a dramatic impact on advertising and other B2B revenue streams for media companies across the globe. Even with 30+ years of experience in the media business, Ross Settles, an Adjunct Professor at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at University of Hong Kong, has never seen anything like it.
At Splice Beta, Settles discussed the various ways media companies can tap into commercial revenue and ensure financial success in a post-Covid world.
Reforming your business
The commercial media landscape one year from now will look very different than it does today.
Settles outlined two areas ripe for reform: The first comes at the intersection of newsrooms and business strategies. It is no longer sustainable for advertising and content teams to work independently. Instead, everyone must come together and figure out how they are going to sell on the commercial revenue side. Secondly, develop a deeper understanding of your clients, both generally (in terms of who you can sell to) and more personally (on an individual client basis).
Understanding the details
Economic activity is down — and even that isn’t absolute. If you are looking to kickstart your revenue streams in the near future, figure out where things are operating at the macro level and how your company fits in. Here are some interesting indicators that Settles mentioned:
Economic activity shows that some upper and middle-class markets have been less affected while emerging markets have collapsed entirely. Similarly, advertising is only somewhat down online but has fallen flat at the local level.
Consumer behavior trends have shown an increased trust in brands, as they signal a sense of familiarity online. O2O (online-to-offline) and virtual services have done similarly well.
Client advertising intentions have shifted during the pandemic as business plans realign. For instance, activation advertising has been anecdotally popular as companies use this period to expand their footprint.
Building a virtual sales strategy
The point of commercial revenue is to have a regular, recurring, dependable revenue source. Using a top-to-bottom funnel approach, the same strategies that work in the physical world can be translated into the digital world.
Client communications A sustainable commercial revenue business requires a list of clients and a means for communicating with them. From advertising sites to newsletters, there are countless ways to draw in potential clients online.
Expression of interest The goal is to get the client to express interest in your offering. Anything from white paper requests to Zoom webinars sign-ups could do the trick.
Virtual enquiry This step calls for a more tailored offering to the client. For instance, a client-specific situation analysis or potential sales pitch.
The virtual sales call What are you pitching? What are the benefits? What is the pricing? Gone are the days of closing a deal over dinner. Now, a done deal may be better-signaled by logging off Zoom and shutting your laptop. But hey, at least you can do it in your pajama pants.