26 Mar THE POWER OF LISTENING, I MEAN LEARNING!
Did you know that more and more professionals are turning to audio-based content such as podcasts to ingest vital information they will use in the execution of business? Fact!
With more and more professionals looking to optimize their time by pausing the music during a workout, commute, or morning run, it’s no wonder podcast listening is up more than 4% since 2019. *The Infinite Dial 2020 insights show that listening reached over 155M people last year, representing more than 55% of the population and the monthly frequency was up 19% year over year, suggesting most listeners are loyal to the format.
**Some of these additional stats that further support the use of podcasts in business may surprise you:
- 50% of all US homes are podcast fans (Nielsen, Aug 2017)
- 55% (155 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast – up from 51% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)
- 37% (104 million) listened to a podcast in the last month – up from 32% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)
- 24% (68 million) listen to podcasts weekly – up from 22% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)
- 16 million people in the US are “avid podcast fans” (Nielsen Q1 2018)
- 51% of podcast listeners are male – same as US population (Infinite Dial 20)
- 45% of monthly podcast listeners have household income over $75K – vs 35% for the total population
- 27% of US podcast listeners have a 4-year college degree – vs 19% for US pop
- Age of monthly podcast listeners versus US population (Infinite Dial 20):
- 12-34: 48% (vs 37%)
- 35-54: 32% (vs 40%)
- 55+: 20% (vs 23%
- 49% of podcast listening is done at home, down from 51% in 2017
- 22% listen while driving (in a vehicle), same as 2017
- Podcast listeners subscribe to an average of 6 shows in the last week (Infinite Dial 20)
- Podcast listeners listen to an average of 7 different shows per week, up from 5 in 2017
- 80% listen to all or most of each episode, down from 86% in 2017
- Podcast listening on a computer went up from 29% to 31% (smartphone listening went from 71% to 69% respectively)
- 19% of listeners increase the speed (listen faster)
- 65% of monthly podcast listeners have been listening for less than 3 years
At Revenue Rocket we have been using podcasts to share our experiences and insights with our listeners/target audiences for almost two years now. The show; tagged “Shoot The Moon” has provided us with a more intimate relationship with the industry. After all, we don’t see sharing our knowledge diluting our value proposition but rather strengthening it. Our clients have told us time and time again that our organic content helped them prepare their business or even themselves for a structured M&A process.
In a typical month, we will publish 3 podcasts. Our host/moderators are usually our founder and CEO, Mike Harvath and Ryan Barnett, the firm’s CMO. Mike has over 35 years of experience in IT Service focused M&A and Ryan has been a serial marketer within corporate development for many industries that have transcended through significant consolidation. These two establish a great debate that really captures the attention of our listeners.
As we see it and in the spirit of all things marketing, “Content is King” and if people want to ingest that content with their ears instead of their eyes we will invest the time to enable those wishes.
Here are the most listened to podcasts from the last 12 months:
#10 Episode 41: The Secret Sauce of Deal Making
Let’s walk through what it is like to go through the deal-making process of an M&A transaction. We get many questions from new clients about what it’s like during the negotiations of a transaction and the principles of deal-making.
#9 Episode 27: Simple Forecasting Models for IT Services Companies
Creating realistic, sustainable, and accepted financial forecasts for your growing business, whether before, during, or after a business combination process.
#8 Episode 25: The Impact PPP and SBA Loans can have on a Merger or Acquisition
The presence of Government secured loans in business today is extremely pervasive. Not all PPP and SBA are created equal, and in most cases are not transferable during a change in control event such as being acquired. Listen in on how we are handling these balance sheet items during transactions.
#7 Episode 35: M&A A to Z: Timelines & Expectations
Setting the record straight on what to expect during a transaction including likely timing, sequence of events, milestones, and more.
#6 Episode 37: Benefits, Upsides, and Risks of Recurring Revenue
See why recurring revenue is yielding the highest multiple during the valuation period. Predictability and repeatability within your business model are some of the most important fundamentals in building a sustainable and attractive business.
#5 Episode 2: How to Optimize Profit to Grow your Business Quickly
Reinvesting into your business’s growth without breaking the bank or cap table. How we are helping IT Services firms redirect business proceeds back into the most profitable and sought-after factions of the business.
#4 Episode 39: Let’s Build a Target List
When your business is ready to buy or sell, the important exercise of producing a quality list of targets or suitors becomes one of the most important deliverables. In this episode, we discuss how we identify a quality target and why that target would be accretive to the combined business. Having the right list will ensure fewer cycles (time) are needed to accomplish a quality combination.
#3 Episode 26: Due Diligence in an M&A Deal: The Return to Earth
In this episode, we discuss the importance of a proper due diligence process before during and after a transaction. A comprehensive understanding of the companies by both parties is a fundamental requirement to establishing valuations, integration opportunities, and determining the combined value proposition.
#2 Episode 5: Profit is Important
It’s tough to stay focused on what really matters in a consolidating market. With inflated valuations in many early-stage categories, solely based on growth and subscribers with little to no dependency on profitability or even viability, it’s paramount that mature growing segments like IT Services keep an eye on the bottom line. Listen in as to why!
#1 Episode 1: Microsoft Inspire: Takeaways from M&A Done Right
If you missed us at Microsoft Inspire (or joined us for our favorite event and want to learn more), listen to our takeaways from M&A Done Right, our growth strategy event. The event included 5 M&A experts who joined us for a Q&A panel, all relating to mergers and acquisitions in the IT space.
Ready to dive into an episode? Find them on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.