There are 230,328 small businesses in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost every one of these businesses is competing for a portion of the $108 billion of local retail spending expected to occur in 2023.*

To capture the largest share of this giant pool of consumer cash, Philadelphia small business owners will need to consider advertising.

"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. Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your sales., and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your company."

One of the best ways to advertise in Philadelphia may be on local radio, a fact not lost on the world's largest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble. Last year, P&G upped spending on the radio by 43% to $235 million, according to Vivvix (formerly Kantar Media), led by a big jump in local radio.

Philadelphia radio reaches more local consumers each week than any other advertising medium.

According to Nielsen, 3,740,743 adults tune in to their favorite AM/FM stations every week.  This is significantly more consumers than are reached by Philadelphia TV, cable, streaming video, streaming audio, social media, or newspapers.

AM/FM radio's dominance among local consumers is driven, in large part, by the 3.8 million Philadelphia-area adults who take to the road in their car or truck every week, according to Neilsen.

To ensure success, every Delaware Valley business owner needs to advertise.

"Think you have a great product?" asks the US 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 product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business.”

There are dozens of ways for local small business owners to advertise. By most metrics, the best way to advertise is on Philadelphia radio. These measures of effectiveness, however, are often obscured by the glimmer and glitz of newer technologies. 

To help reduce the glare that often blinds business owners to the potency of advertising on Philadelphia radio, here are the top five things many local business owners get wrong.

Advertising is crucial to the success of Delaware Valley business owners. According to Investopedia, "lack of adequate marketing and publicity are among the issues that drag down small business".

According to Borrell Associates, a company that tracks advertising trends across the country, Philadelphia business owners are expected to spend $3.6 billion to advertise the goods and services they sell. This represents a 7.0% increase versus last year.

The majority of these dollars are being spent by Philadelphia business owners to capture a significant share of the $72.1 billion dollars local consumers will be spending this year. These estimates are based on a revised forecast from the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Of course, there is an over-abundance of ways a local business owner can advertise. Perhaps the best way to generate sales from local consumers is with Philadelphia radio. Here are the top five reasons why...

More than 85% of Delaware Valley households own at least one vehicle. 

Pre-pandemic, 76% of workers spent, on average, 66 minutes every weekday in these cars commuting to-and-from their jobs.  

On their way to work, many of these drivers would contribute to the Philadelphia area's $103.4 billion retail economy by visiting the convenience stores, coffeehouses, auto repair centers, gas stations, daycares, grocery stores, or hundreds of other businesses they passed.

At lunchtime, these same cars would take their owners to restaurants, dentist appointments, nail appointments, barbershops, and on an infinite number of other errands.

On the weekends, these vehicles filled the parking lots of hardware stores, furniture stores, car dealers, appliance stores, bowling alleys, movie theatres, and nightclubs, 

Then on March 17, when the Governor of Pennsylvania shut down the state to slow the spread of COVID-19, traffic came to a standstill and so did the spending.

There are strong indications, though, that in the Delaware Valley, roads are filling up again.

Delaware Valley consumers will spend $98 billion on goods and services over the next year. To claim a significant portion of those expenditures, small business owners need to be at the top of customers' minds when it comes time to buy.

The first radio station in Philadelphia signed on the air 1922.  Since then, thousands of business owners have known, intuitively, that advertising on the medium was a potent way to be remembered when a purchase was imminent. 

As a matter of fact, some of the first Philadelphia radio stations were owned by the Delaware Valley's largest retailers including Gimbel's, and Wanamaker's, 

Today, area business owners no longer need to base their advertising plans on intuition.  Now, there is proof that advertising on Philadelphia radio creates the top of mind awareness necessary to drive sales.

Delaware Valley consumers spend $1.3 billion on fine jewelry every year.  Angelo Breaux, President of Family & Co. Jewelry, invests in advertising on Philadelphia radio stations every week to successfully claim a large share of those dollars.

Mr. Breaux is the third generation of jewelers in his family.  His Grandfather started the business in 1937 from a tiny store-front in South Philadelphia.  In 1971, his parents moved the store to a 1600 square foot store in the Plaza 70 Shopping Center in Marlton, New Jersey.

Fifteen years ago, Mr. Breaux expanded the original Marlton store to 3200 square feet. Today, Family & Co. remains a family-owned, single location business selling brand name jewelry. 

"The customers at my Grandfather's original store in South Philly pretty much came from the neighborhood. Today, with the help of our commercials on Philadelphia radio, we draw customers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware."

Mr. Breaux's decision to invest his marketing dollars in radio is supported by market research. According to Nielsen, Philadelphia radio reaches significantly more fine jewelry buyers than are reached by local TV, newspapers, or audio streaming sites like Pandora & Spotify.

Of all the advertising options available to Delaware Valley business owners, streaming audio services like Pandora and Spotify are the least effective.  Here's why.

According to Nielsen, after the content of a commercial is considered, the element of an advertising campaign that drives sales the most is reach. In other words, making sure the most people possible are exposed to the advertiser's message is crucial.

When it comes to achieving reach among consumers, Pandora and Spotify rank dead last.  Advertising on Philadelphia radio stations can reach 266% more consumers than these two streaming-audio platforms combined.

If you don't have time to read this entire article, then I will tell you right now. The best way to advertise in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley is on Philadelphia radio.

A vital function of advertising is to build mental availability, which nudges a consumer toward the purchase of a product or service. It also serves to provide public notice that a product or service exists and is available for purchase.

Consumers in the Delaware Valley area are expected to spend at least $98 billion at retail this year. To claim a greater share of this giant pool of cash requires local business owners of every size to advertise their goods and services. As Professor Jef Richards at Michigan State University points out, “Advertising is totally unnecessary…unless you want to make money."

It's time to set some misguided Delaware Valley small business owners straight.  When we say everybody listens to Philadelphia radio stations, we mean everybody.  Generations X, Y, and Z. Baby boomers, and, yes, the millennial generation.

You know...millennials. Those are the "kids" who came of age at the turn of the millennium (which is, debatably, either 2000 or 2001).  This means 18-34 year olds. 

In the Delaware Valley, 1,245,444 millennials make-up 29.4% of the adult population and will deliver $32.3 billion to local cash registers.

But here's the thing about millennials that many small business owners get wrong: millennials listen to the radio.  Almost all of them. 89.8% of them to be exact.