Advertising on Philadelphia television and cable is becoming less attractive to local business owners as viewers rapidly defect to alternative video entertainment sources including, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon and Disney+.

Collectively these streaming services are referred to as Over-The-Top Television (OTT) and Connected-TV (CTV). Viewers can only access this OTT and CTV content via smartphone, tablets, computers, smart-TVs, Amazon Fire Sticks, and Roku Sticks, Nielsen reports that 92.1% of Delaware Valley adults own at least one these devices. Furthermore, they are using them.

According to Nielsen, OTT and CTV networks now reach 42.8% of all Philadelphia area consumers every week.

New data from the US Census Bureau has optimistic news for Philadelphia area companies that sell business-to-business.

There are approximately 108,000 businesses in the Delaware Valley, according to the Census Bureau. Indeed, many of these businesses have suffered since the onset of the Coronavirus, especially in April.

Census information is now showing positive indicators that the fortunes of area companies are improving. This includes those with 500 or fewer employees. These small businesses account for 94% of all Philadelphia area firms.

During the week of April 26, 52% of Philadelphia area small businesses reported temporary closures.  By July 1, the number dropped to 21%

Also, during that same week, 73% of Philadelphia area small business owners were reporting decreases in revenue versus the prior week.  By August 22, that number fell by more than half.

In both June and July of this year, national data shows all retail and food services spending significantly outperformed the prior year by between two and three percent.

As the business climate improves in the Delaware Valley, the fortunes of B2B companies will accelerate as well. These include those businesses that sell office supplies, restaurant supplies, cleaning services, legal services, accounting services, transportation services, banking services, technology, and commercial real estate.

Despite all of the media options available for small business owners to market their goods and services, advertising on Philadelphia radio is still the best way to reach local consumers.

Adult consumers are spending 741 minutes per day consuming electronic media, according to a new study by Nielsen.  This is 7.8% more time than they spent last year and 11.2% more than in 2018.

The typical daily media diet consists of radio, live TV, time-shifted TV, DVD/Blue-ray devices, game consoles, internet-connected devices, as well as internet via computers, smartphone apps, and tablet apps.

According to Nielsen, despite all of these media options, local radio reaches the most consumers every week.

By April 15th next year, 2.1 million residents in the Delaware Valley will file a tax return.  More than 53% of these returns will be completed by the taxpayer themselves, either by hand or with the help of an online provider like Turbotax.

Every season, Philadelphia area small business owners who specialize in tax preparation services lose customers to the do-it-yourself options.  This year, 975,000 local consumers will spend $188,000,000 with tax professionals. But, based on the average cost of services, more than $215,000,000 will stay in the wallets of the DIY crowd.

To clawback this enormous amount of money from the DIY market, local tax services will need to advertise the valuable benefits of using a professional.

The best advertising option for tax professionals is on Philadelphia radio stations. Here's why.

The first radio stations in the Delaware Valley went on-the-air in 1922.  Eighty-two years later, Facebook inaugurated the social media era.  Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and hundreds of other sites quickly followed.

As social media matured from a novelty to part of consumers' daily rituals, some Philadelphia area small business owners began to experiment with advertising.

By every key advertising metric, though, Philadelphia radio remains the best choice for a small business to market their goods and services. Here's why.

"Our main goal has always been to grow every year just like we were a brand new business," says Daniel Pilquist, Vice President of Operations for Pilquist Enterprises, Inc. "Aggressive advertising helps us make that happen."

Pilquist Enterprises owns and operates 12 NaturaLawn franchises throughout the Delaware Valley. The business was founded by Daniel's father, Dean, in 1991. "My Dad started with one truck and one service rep out of a small location in Doylestown," he says. "We are now the largest franchisee in America.

NaturaLawn provides Philadelphia area homeowners with weed-free green lawns using an environmentally friendly approach. "We offer a proprietary, organic-based fertilizer that focuses on secondary and micronutrients as well as bio-stimulants to transform the home's soil ability to produce green grass," says Daniel.

The business, which started with franchises in Bucks and Montgomery County, quickly grew to eight fueled by telemarketing, direct mail, and customer referrals.

By 2008, the Pilquist's NaturaLawn franchises were serving 3500 customers per year. To achieve greater growth, the company began investing in advertising on Philadelphia radio stations.

Delaware Valley consumers are expected to spend $103.4 billion at retail this year, according to Nielsen. This means that every household, on average, will be paying out $50,228

To capture a larger share of these dollars, local small business owners need to know the answer to two questions.

The first question is, where is this enormous amount of cash being spent?  The list below details the answer.

Delaware Valley consumers are expected to spend $12 billion on this year's holiday shopping, based on predictions by the National Retail Federation.  This would be a 4% increase over last year.

Deloitte, one of the world's top four accounting firms, forecasts similar growth.

"The projected holiday season growth is, in part, due to the current health of the labor market,” said Daniel Bachman, Deloitte's U.S. economic forecaster. “Near record-low unemployment rates, coupled with continued monthly job creation, may encourage people to spend more during the holiday season. The economy is still growing, albeit at a slower rate. Additionally, we continue to see consumer confidence elevated, which also helps boost holiday spending."

For most Delaware Valley retailers, holiday spending brings in about 20% of annual sales But, long gone are the days when the bulk of this shopping occurred between Black Friday and Christmas.

Last week, according to Nielsen, 1,053,393 single, adult women tuned-in to a Philadelphia radio station.  This is 91.1% of every consumer who fits this description.

Why should Delaware Valley small business owners take note of this demographic? A study by investment bank Morgan Stanley finds 41% of working-age women are single. That number is expected to increase to 45% over the next ten years.

The study, called 'Growth of the SHEconomy', indicates that single women outspend the average household in many retail categories. Remarkably, says, Erica Sweeney of MarketingDive, "Women purchase more than half of products traditionally considered 'male' including autos, home improvement products, and consumer electronics."

During the past 12 months, according to Nielsen research, 292,000 Delaware Valley households sought the help of an attorney. These consumers needed professional advice on matters including personal injury, bankruptcy, social security, workers'  compensation, real estate, divorce, estate planning, criminal defense, and business matters.

All in, legal services in the Philadelphia region cost consumers more than $1.2 billion in fees.

According to the US Labor Department, there are 18,280 lawyers in the Delaware Valley competing for that immense pool of revenue. So, how can a local attorney hope to lay claim to a share of that immense pool of cash?