March is the biggest single month for used car sales in the Delaware Valley. During these 31 days alone, local pre-owned vehicle dealers are expected to bring in $198 million in sales. This will represent 10% of their annual revenue.

By the end of May, these dealers owners will sell more than $550 million worth of pre-owned cars and trucks. This, undoubtedly, makes March-May 'used car season' in the Philadelphia area.

Although most Delaware Valley used car dealers are small business owners, they do really big business. In all, over the next 12 months, more than 680,000 pre-owned vehicles will be driven off their lots.

To capture a larger share of the area's $1.9 billion used car market requires pre-owned vehicle dealers to advertise. By any measure, the best way for these business owners to advertise is on Philadelphia radio.

As Valentine's Day sales begin to dwindle, that's when Delaware Valley small business owners start thinking about Mom.

Mother's Day, which happens on the second Sunday of May, is second only to Christmas in terms of holiday spending. Last year, Philadelphia area consumers spent more than $416-million celebrating the women in their lives. That number is expected to grow again in 2020.

To claim a significant share of this Mother's Day cash, local retailers and restaurants will need to advertise.  By almost every key metric, advertising on Philadelphia radio is the best choice.

In 1922, the first Delaware Valley radio stations took to the airwaves. Today, 3,830,493  adult consumers tune-in to Philadelphia radio every week. This is significantly more than watch local TV or read newspapers. 

Philadelphia small business owners, however, also want to know how local radio compares to streaming audio platforms like Pandora and Spotify, especially as it relates to advertising. The answer could surprise many of them.

Pandora was created to provide a personalized radio station catering to the musical preferences of each user.  The playlists were determined by a proprietary algorithm and then streamed directly to each listeners' computer. Over the next few years, the service became available on iPads and smartphones.

Low unemployment, a boom in housing starts, and confident consumers are propelling robust sales for Delaware Valley furniture stores.

In 2019, local consumers in the Philadelphia area spent $2.2 billion on furniture and home furnishing. This number is expected to grow.

Based on estimates developed by Furniture Today’s Strategic Insights team and Easy Analytic Software Inc. (EASI), the total furniture and bedding market is projected to expand by more than 22% by 2024.

If a Delaware Valley small business owner who sells furniture, furnishings, or home decor would like to grab a larger share of this expanding market, then advertising is necessary.  By almost every key metric, advertising on local radio is a sound marketing investment.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

Attention Delaware Valley small business owners. The five busiest shopping days of the year are imminent.

Based on data from the National Retail Federation, more than 3.2 million Philadelphia area consumers are likely to shop beginning on Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.

“The tradition of Thanksgiving weekend holiday shopping has become a five-day event with consumers spending money in stores, supporting local small businesses, and online with their mobile devices and computers,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Even as people are starting to purchase gifts earlier in the season, consumers still enjoy finding good Thanksgiving deals and passing time shopping with family and friends over the long holiday weekend.”

Based on the NRF findings, here are the number of shoppers local business owners can expect on each of these five days:

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.