Is advertising on the radio just a day job for Delaware Valley small business owners?  

Thousands of local companies depend on radio advertising to market their goods and services. But, most of these business owners choose to buy commercials only between 6:00 am and 7:00 pm.  Is this a good idea? Maybe not. Here are the facts.

Last week, for instance, 3,830,493 adult consumers tuned-in to their favorite Philadelphia radio stations. This is significantly higher than the number that tuned-in to a local TV station, read a local newspaper, logged-on to social media sites like Facebook, or streamed audio from Pandora and Spotify.

But radio listeners do not roll-up their ears just because the sunsets. According to Nielsen, 57.1% of Delaware Valley consumers who listen to the radio during daylight hours, also tune in at night.

The number one job of a radio commercial is  not  to sell products for the sponsoring Delaware Valley small business owner. 

The number one job is not to build store traffic or to create top of mind of awareness.

The number one job of a radio commercial is not to build brand or deliver ROI.

The number one job of every commercial on Philadelphia radio is to be heard. Period. When a commercial is heard, then all the rest will follow. But being heard is not easy.

At the exact second a radio commercial begins, 11,000,000 other pieces of information are all wrestling for the listener's attention.  Sadly, a consumer's brain is only capable of dealing with about 50 bits of that information at a time.

If you are a local business owner who would like to secure a larger share of the $100-billion Delaware Valley consumers will spend this year, then what you say first in your radio commercial is crucial to winning the battle for a consumer's ear.

Philadelphia area consumers cannot get enough pizza.

In 2012, there were just about 1,750 local pizza restaurants. Today, however, that number has grown to 1,900. In 2019, these establishments racked up $890,000,000 in total sales.

Fifty-nine percent of pizza sales in the Philadelphia area are rung-up by one of the top-50 chains like Domino's or Pizza Hut. The remaining 41% of revenue is controlled by independent, small business owners.

To compete for a larger share of the pizza pie in the Delaware Valley  requires local restaurant owners to bring in new customers. A proven way to accomplish this is with advertising.

The US Small Business Administration recommends that every local  small business advertise consistently.  

Consumers in the Delaware Valley spent a record $6.5 billion on home improvements in 2019. This level of spending is projected to drop modestly next year, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

“Declining home sales and home-building activity coupled with slower gains in permitting for improvement projects will put the brakes on remodeling growth,” says Chris Herbert, the center’s managing director.

“However, if falling mortgage interest rates continue to incentivize home sales, refinancing, and ultimately remodeling activity, the slowdown may soften some.”

If Philadelphia area small businesses that sell home improvement products and services would like to continue to grow despite the softening market, then advertising will be required.

Advertising is critical to the success of every Delaware Valley small business owner.  One of the most powerful elements of any advertising campaign is how many people it reaches.

Nielsen, the world's largest consumer insights company, found that advertising reach has a more significant effect on sales than branding, recency, and context.

There are many ways a local business owner can advertise. This includes traditional media like Philadelphia radio, local TV, and newspaper. It also includes online advertising options such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pandora.

They type of customer an individual business needs to reach depends on the goods and services the company sells. For instance, a daycare operator might want to reach households with young children. On the other hand, a real estate agent could be looking for consumers in the market to purchase a new home.

Delaware Valley small business owners need employees...desperately.

According to a report from the National Federation of Independent Business, 26% of small business owners say finding qualified workers is their number one problem. 

The report goes on to say that 88% of small business owners looking to hire new employees are finding there are no qualified candidates.

The historically low unemployment figures in the Philadelphia area appears to be the root cause of local hiring woes. The metro area's jobless rate stands at 3.4%. There are just not enough qualified workers to go around.

Most small business owners have exhausted the traditional methods of recruitment. These include online job board posts, newspaper ads, referral bonuses, and help wanted signs. All to no avail.

To successfully attract the qualified applicants they yearn for, local small business owners need to command the attention of 'passive' job seekers. The number one source for these candidates is Philadelphia radio.

For Delaware Valley small business owners who depend on Valentine's Day to spike first-quarter sales, this year could prove to be a battle as the decline in celebrants is expected to continue.

Based on estimates from the National Retail Federation, 2,5 million Philadelphia area consumers will be participating in the holiday this year. This is 20% fewer than ten years ago.

There is good news, however, for local business owners. Although there are will be fewer customers, local Valentine's Day spending is expected to grow to $413-million. This is 28% higher than a decade ago.

So, how does a Delaware Valley retailer or restaurant win the battle for the hearts and wallets of romantic consumers?  Advertising is a necessary weapon to win this war.

No weapon is as potent as advertising on Philadelphia radio.

"Don't believe anyone who tells you that advertising on radio doesn't work," says Jamie Riley. "We have been doing it since 2007 when I joined the company, and we continue to see our key business measurements grow."

Ms. Riley is the Director of Marketing and Promotions of Ron Jaworski Golf.

"Before I started working for Ron Jaworski, the Yellow Pages and newspapers were the only advertising the company was doing," she says. "When I suggested we do a remote radio broadcast at one of our golf clubs to bring in new people, everyone thought I was crazy."

"I guess it was a success because I wasn't fired, and we've continued to advertise on the radio, ever since."

There's a reason many Delaware small business owners target their advertising towards consumers who have completed a four-year college degree. It's because, typically, university graduates earn $29,106 more per year than those with only a high school diploma, according to The Federal Reserve.

There are, according to Nielsen, 1.5 million college graduates living in the Philadelphia  area. In total, this population generates $112.7 billion in annual take-home pay.

To tap into a similar pool of spending power, a marketer would need to reach 2.5 million consumers who did not go beyond high school. The problem is, there is 100,000 fewer than that living in the Delaware Valley.

The number of people reached by a campaign is, generally, what determines the cost of advertising. So, for a local small business owner operating on a tight marketing budget, spending can be kept in check by targeting those consumers with the most money to spend. In this case, college graduates.

Small business owners in the Philadelphia area must advertise to claim a fair share of the $100.9 billion retail economy.

“Think you have a great product?” asks the U.S. Small Business Administration. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”  The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business."

During 2019, many Delaware small business owners sought advertising guidance on the advice pages of www.AdvertiseInPhiladelphia.com. Below are the top ten most-read articles from the past 12 months.