There are 30,689 small business owners in the Fort Myers-Cape-Coral-Naples area, according to the US Census Bureau. Each of these companies will need larger advertising budgets to successfully compete for a fair share of the expected explosion in consumer spending this year.

Based on new forecasts from The National Retail Federation (NRF), Fort Myers area consumers are expected to spend between $18.8 and $19.2 billion at retail in 2022, a six to eight percent growth over the previous year.

The NRF's forecasts exclude restaurants, gas stations, and automotive dealers. Included in the numbers, though, are non-store and online sales, which, in Fort Myers, could reach as high as $4.6 billion this year. This level of spending would be 13% more than in 2021.

Even though the rate of growth rate for 2022 is lower than the 14% jump in 2021, the NRF points out that this year's spending will be well ahead of the 10-year, pre-pandemic growth rate of 3.7%

To participate in the expected surge in retail spending will require Fort Myers business owners to advertise. Especially if retailers want to hold their own against the continued growth of non-store and online competition.

If you're anything like the 852,000 Southwest Florida consumers who, according to Nielsen, listen to or download a podcast every month, you probably already see the value in podcasting as a relatively new audio medium that entertains, enlightens, motivates, or informs listeners.

But if you're part of the 79% of local adults who are not regular podcast listeners, you're probably wondering why on earth would anyone want to listen to a podcast, let alone create one for their Fort Myers-Naples business.

Launching a podcast might seem like a daunting test for small business owners without much technical background or an understanding of how to structure a compelling conversation that will engage prospective customers.

In reality, local small business owners can easily reach new customers with podcasts and complement their traditional advertising in Fort Myers-Naples with a longer-form, conversational medium that showcases the company's knowledge in an authoritative manner.

The current high rate of inflation is tempering how much Southwest Florida business owners can spend on advertising.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 31,000 small businesses in the Fort Myers area. There is one thing each of the owners of these companies has in common, whether they own a hardware store in Naples, a furniture store in Cape Coral, or a restaurant on Sanibel Island. They are all experiencing the negative consequences of inflation.

In a monthly survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners (NFIB), inflation now ranks second as the single most important problem companies face. A year ago, inflation was barely an issue.

Inflation has not hampered the enthusiasm to spend among Fort Myers area consumers keeping retail sales hovering above pre-Covid levels. But, inflation is taking a dramatic toll on the amount of revenue business owners can keep.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, small business owners see inflation-fueled price increases in almost every cost of operation, including inventory, utilities, rent, and wages.

Because of these rising operational costs, Fort Myers business owners are looking to cut expenses where they can, including advertising expenditures. But, because there is still robust consumer demand for goods and services, these companies need to make sure that the amount they do invest in advertising has the best return possible.

By almost any marketing metric, advertising on Fort Myers radio provides the greatest return-on-investment (ROI) of any medium available to local business owners.

Attention Southwest Florida small business owners and retailers: nearly half of holiday shoppers are already spending money. According to the National Retail Federation, 49% of consumers will start their Christmas season shopping before Hallowe'en. 

Consumers plan to spend $997.73 on gifts, holiday items, and other non-gift purchases for themselves and their families this year, according to the annual survey released today by the NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

In all, based on forecasts from Deloitte, the world's largest accounting firm, Fort Myers area consumers are expected to spend between $4.8 and $4.9 billion during the holiday shopping period. This would be a 7-9% increase over 2020.

"We anticipate strong consumer spending for the upcoming holiday season. As vaccination rates rise and consumers are more comfortable being outside of the home, we are likely to see increased spending on services, including restaurants and travel, while spending on goods will continue to hold steady. A steady decline in the savings rate to pre-pandemic levels will support consumer spending and keep retail sales elevated this season," said Daniel Bachman, Deloitte's U.S. economic forecaster. "Further, e-commerce sales will continue to grow as consumers demonstrate an ongoing and steady movement toward buying online across all categories."

SWFL retailers are noticing that the opening bell for holiday shopping has rung earlier than ever for local shoppers.

Since 1939 when WFTM signed on, Southwest Florida small business owners have been advertising on Fort Myers radio to market the goods and services they sell.

Lately, some of these advertisers are voicing concerns, though, that the accelerating use of smart speakers could erode the effectiveness of commercials on local stations. Current research, however, reveals that these devices actually extend the reach of the medium and its ad content.

More than 240,000  consumers in Fort Myers have a smart speaker in their homes, according to Nielsen. This is 24.9% of the local adult population.

Smart speakers are internet-enabled devices controlled by spoken commands and capable of streaming audio content, relaying information, and communicating with other devices. 

According to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) data, Amazon Echo (aka Alexa) accounts for 69% of all smart speakers in use. Google's smart speaker makes up another 20% of the market. The remaining 11% of the market comprises Apple Home (aka Siri), Sonos, and Bose.

SWFL consumers can use their smart speakers to accomplish a diverse range of tasks, including accessing news, weather, and sports information; turning on lights in the house; shopping; and food delivery.

The most common use of a smart speaker, though, is streaming audio, including Fort Myers radio stations, according to eMarketer. Edison Research's Share of Ear Study indicates that consumers devote 13% of their total time using a smart speaker listening to AM/FM radio stations. This is second only to the time spent listening to Amazon Music at 19%.

If you were one of the 831,247 adults who tuned in to Fort Myers radio last week, then chances are excellent that you heard advertising for ZipRecruiter.  That's because the company purchased 764 advertisements to air on local stations during the month of August, according to Media Monitors.

ZipRecruiter is an online recruitment site that helps companies of every size advertise open jobs. Overall, more than 2.8 million companies have posted an opening on ZipRecruiter.com

It is no wonder that ZipRecruiter and its competitors like Indeed have been making significant advertising investments on Fort Myers radio. Finding qualified workers is one of the toughest challenges facing local business owners. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings in the U.S. has reached a record high 10.1-million jobs with just not enough candidates to fill them.

If you've heard these commercials on Fort Myers radio, then you know that ZipRecruiter is not advertising to attract job seekers to its website.  Rather, the company's goal is to convince local business owners to buy help wanted ads from them.

So, why has ZipRecruiter chosen Fort Myers radio as a business-to-business (B2B) advertising resource?  The first reason is revealed in the first line of their commercial.

"According to research," says the announcer, "82% of people remember radio ads."

Every week, according to Nielsen, Fort Myers radio reaches 831,247 adult consumers. This is significantly more people than are reached by local TV, cable, social media, streaming video, streaming audio, or newspapers.

Because of its humongous reach, area small business owners advertise on Fort Myers radio to successfully market the products and services they sell.

Many first-time advertisers on Fort Myers radio will ask how many times a consumer needs to hear a commercial before they become a customer.  Often the business owner is told that to be effective, a consumer needs to be exposed to a message three times before they will buy.  Unfortunately, this prescription for a three-time frequency is more myth than substance.

A study by Nielsen provides some data-based insights about effective frequency, But first, here's the origin of the mythological rule of three.

To maximize success, every Southwest Florida 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.”

According to the US Census Bureau, there are 51,360 small businesses in the Fort Myers area. This geography includes Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Immokalee, Naples, San Marco Island, and every point in between.  Most of these diminutive companies have limited dollars to invest in advertising.  

Advertising successfully in SWFL is achievable, though, with a small budget if the available funds are invested wisely.  Oftentimes, this means selecting one medium rather than spreading money over several.

So which medium makes the most sense for small business owners with limited budgets? By most key advertising metrics, advertising on Fort Myers radio is the best option.

Advertising is crucial to the success of Southwest Florida 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, SWFL business owners are expected to spend $607 million to advertise the goods and services they sell. This represents a 7% increase versus last year.

The majority of these dollars are being spent by Fort Myers-Naples area business owners to capture a significant share of the $17.2 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 Fort Myers radio. Here are the top five reasons why...

More than 97% of Fort Myers-Naples area adults have access to the internet.  Ubiquitous technology such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and connected TVs allow Southwest Florida consumers to go online whenever they choose, which, for some adults, is always.

The Pew Research Center, a public opinion research company, reports that one-in-three consumers say they are online constantly. A 50% increase from 2015.  In total, 85% of consumers say they connect at least one time every day.

So, how are Fort Myers-Naples consumers spending all this time connected to the internet?

According to Nielsen, streaming audio and video content, social networking, checking the weather, and banking are the top online activities for Fort Myers consumers each month.