Forty-percent of contractors nationwide report that they have turned down jobs this year because they don't have enough skilled blue-collar workers. In Florida, over one-third of contractors say they would add 25 more employees this year if they could recruit qualified candidates.

The labor crunch isn't confined to construction. Overall, half of all Southwest Florida employers say they are having difficulty hiring enough blue-collar employees to fulfill the increasing demand from customers. This includes truck drivers, plumbers, HVAC technicians, electrical workers, machinists, metal workers, landscapers, janitors, and mechanics.

SWFL business owners can benefit from a study by The North Carolina Works Commission. The NCWC found that the recruitment efforts of many employers in that state are failing because they depend on hiring strategies from a time when qualified candidates were plentiful.

These failing strategies include posting on job boards like Monster and Indeed; publishing employment ads in local newspapers; and pleading on social media pages. Some small business owners still depend on hanging help-wanted signs.

What many local business owners on the west coast of Florida have discovered is that the best way to recruit blue-collar workers is by advertising on Fort Myers radio stations.

Advertising on Fort Myers radio stations is the best way for local small business owners to reach the lucrative, local mother market.  Here's why.

Southwest Florida consumers will spend $22 billion over the next 12 months. Forbes magazine reports that it is moms who control 85% of all household purchases. Locally,  there are more than 143,000 mothers with children under the age of 17 at home.

SWFL small business owners need to pay special attention to these mothers and their wallets. For example, compared to the general population, over the next 12 months, local moms live in households that are

• 122% more likely to purchase a mattress
• 92% more likely to buy furniture
• 15% more likely to purchase a car or truck
• 44% more likely to take a family vacation
• 50% more likely to buy a major appliance
• 48% more likely to look for a new job
• 44% more likely to move
• 42% more likely to buy a house or condo
• 59% more likely to get married
• 35% more likely to purchase a pool or hot tub

Thousands of Southwest Florida small business owners depend on radio advertising to claim their share of the $22.5 billion local consumers will spend this year. Cha-ching.

These advertisers have, typically, 30 or 60 seconds to convince the 807,219 listeners who tune-in to Fort Myers radio stations each week to become customers. So, it is essential to know how to use that time effectively.

Gathering a sample of 6003 respondents, Westwood One in partnership with audio testing experts Veritonic studied how different elements of award-winning radio commercials affect a listener's intent to buy the products or services advertised. 

Here are the results of the study that SWFL business owners could find useful.

Professional advice is always welcome. Especially when you are a Southwest Florida business owner investing your own money trying to capture a larger share of the $22.5-billion local consumers will spend this year.

Thousands of business owners depend on Fort Myers radio stations to market their goods and services.  What they say in their commercials and how they say it are the most critical factors for turning listeners into customers.  This is referred to by the professionals as the "creative."

A study by Nielsen indicates that the creative elements of a commercial are responsible for 47% of an advertiser's sales result. 

Creative, it turns out, has a more significant effect on sales for SWFL small business owners than does reach, targeting, or branding elements. 

Producing and judging effective creative, though, can be a challenge for an SWFL business owner. So, here is some advice from an award-winning, advertising professional.

There are two reasons why advertising on Fort Myers radio stations is more effective than advertising on TV.

The first reason is reach.  In a study conducted by Nielsen, the number of consumers who are exposed to a commercial contributes profoundly to the number of sales it will create.  This is discussed in depth in the free eBook, "Seven Steps For Advertising Successfully In Southwest Florida"

Among all media available to local business owners, Fort Myers radio offers the biggest reach.

The second reason why radio advertising is so powerful has been revealed in a new study Mindshare, an advertising agency that buys media for some of the most successful companies in the world including General Mills, Nestlé, Domino's, IBM, Rolex, and John Deere. The Mindshare study indicates that when a brand tells a story using audio media, it elicits a 21% higher emotional intensity than the same story told using visual media.

The Greek philosopher Plato was born 2368 years before there were radio stations in Fort Myers.  There's no doubt, though, he could have written some great commercials.

Plato once said, "Those who tell stories rule society." This quote sounds very familiar to rule #7 for creating a memorable commercial for Fort Myers radio:

Rule #7: Tell a story… listeners are hardwired to emotionally respond to features and benefits when presented in story-form rather than as a list. The advertiser should be the hero of the story.

Lee Habib wrote in the National Review a few years ago, "Stories are packed not with hard data but with something far more powerful: emotional data. That’s why we remember them and why they’re so easily transported, even through generations. Stories stir our souls."

When a Southwest Florida small business owner buys a 60-second commercial on a Fort Myers radio station, she is limited to about 160 words to persuade listeners to become customers.  To be successful, then, each word needs to be carefully selected to fulfill the desired marketing objective. 

A telephone number comprises seven words. Ten if the area code is included.  If the number is repeated three times during the commercial, then it will consume 21-30 words or up to 18% of the total.

So, should a SWFL business owner sacrifice a significant portion of a radio commercial to insert a phone number? Except for certain circumstances, described below, the answer is no. 

Here are the facts.

Advertising is critical for Southwest Florida small business owners looking to cash in on the $22-billion local consumers will spend at retail this year.

To successfully stay top of mind, many business owners advertise on Fort Myers radio stations. These local companies depend on radio's reliable reach, recall, and return-on-investment to convert listeners to customers.

For those local business owners who do not advertise on Fort Myers radio stations, here are five facts they need to know right now about the power of advertising on radio. 

Southwest Florida consumers will spend $22.5 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.

Since 1940, when WFTM became the first radio station in Fort Myers, thousands of local business owners knew, intuitively, that advertising on the medium was a potent way to be remembered when a purchase was imminent. 

Now there is proof that radio advertising creates the brand awareness necessary to drive sales.