How can you reduce operating costs without hurting your operation? You have got to be creative. Actually, a little common sense goes a long way to helping you reduce costs and bring more money to the bottom line. Here are some ideas and a few areas to check in your operation. Good luck!
Utilities
Phone Bills
When is the last time you did a total analysis of your phone lines
and their usage? Make a point of doing this at least once a
year. Call your telephone company rep and set up an appointment to review
all of your phone lines and related charges. Cancel unused phone
lines and don’t be afraid to ask for refunds where the phone company is
at fault. Your phone company may not cut you a check for a mistake they
have made, they usually will just credit your account. What about
long distance charges? # 1 Shop around for the lowest rate. #2- Take
control of long distance access. If you want to stop long distance abuse
you’ll need to make staff members accountable for their long distance calls
they make. Most LD companies offer a system where an account code
needs to be entered after each LD number is dialed. Unique codes
can be assigned to each staff member.
If you don’t want to take on the big chore of monitoring your phone charges, there are private companies that specialize in analysis of your phone bill. How much does this service cost? These companies will usually come in on a contingency basis. If billing errors are discovered , you share a percentage of the refund with the investigating company.
DID Lines
If all your clients/listeners could dial your staff members directly,
your receptionist’s work load would go down substantially. But who can
afford to put in a phone line for each employee? Have you ever heard
of the DID telephone line? This special type of phone line interfaces
with your phone system and automatically routes calls to the proper person.
A unique phone number is assigned to each staff member. Callers simply
dial directly, bypassing the receptionist. DID lines are incoming only
and can handle one call at a time. You typically would install a number
of DID lines for incoming calls and a number of regular lines for outgoing
calls. When an employee is not at their desk and a call comes in,
calls can be forwarded to a voice mail system or routed to
the receptionist. Check with your telephone equipment supplier to see if
your system is equipped to handle DID lines. If you’re planning to upgrade
make sure the telephone system can handle DID lines and voice mail.
Request Lines
What’s the most cost effective way to allow callers to dial your station
toll free? 800 lines are becoming more and more popular. These lines bring
in calls from all calling areas, offer low monthly charges, but you
pay for each call that comes in (usage sensitive). Another avenue is the
foreign exchange line (FX). FX lines bring in calls from specific
calling areas and offer fixed monthly costs. Some telephone companies
offer seven digit local phone numbers that act like 800 numbers. Check
with your phone company rep to see what’s available to you.
If you go with an 800 service, it is very important to review
this bill on a monthly basis.
Power bills
Your transmitter site and studio complex probably have air conditioning
systems running 24 hours a day. You may be able to substantially
reduce your power usage by installing high efficiency AC units.
Check with your engineer to see what vintage AC units you have currently
and when they will need to be replaced. High efficiency units typically
cost more but you’ll recover the extra money spent in a short period
of time. It might be in your best interest to replace old inefficient units
now.
Maximizing your facility
Before you go building an additional production studio, you should investigate whether an additional after hours production shift(s) will eliminate the need for an additional studio. Many production chores can be done overnight when no interaction is needed with sales or continuity.
Transmitter site
Rebuilt tubes are available for most transmitters. These tubes are not only less expensive than the “new out of the box” tubes, they often outperform the brand new ones. Companies such as Econco sell rebuilt tubes at bargain prices and then give you an additional discount when they receive your old tube (commonly referred to as a “dud” tube ). If your engineer has a bunch of duds sitting around, you may be able to send them back in exchange for rebuilt tubes or cash!
Subcarriers
If you own an FM station, you might consider leasing a subcarrier. A subcarrier (SCA) is a signal that is transmitted along with your programming but can only be picked up by special radios. The amount of money you can charge varies market to market, but SCAs can bring as much as $5,000-10,000 per month in the major markets.