Southwest Florida small business owners are fighting the coronavirus battles on multiple fronts.  Their first objective is to keep their families and employees safe. Then, of course, there are the concerns of keeping their businesses healthy enough to survive current disruptions.

The business literature has an abundance of case studies showing how survival is often connected to a thoughtful communications and marketing strategy during challenging times.  

Business owners need to let Fort Myers-Naples area consumers know if they are still open. If their hours have changed. Or if they are providing alternative shopping methods (e.g., delivery, curbside pick-up).

Most importantly, it is imperative consumers know that a business will still be there for them when the crisis is over.

For those owners who are depending on communication to preserve their business, the best option may be to advertise on Fort Myers radio.

March is the biggest single month for used car sales in Southwest Florida. During these 31 days alone, local pre-owned vehicle dealers are expected to bring in $44 million in sales. This will represent 10% of their annual revenue.

By the end of May, these dealers owners will sell more than $129 million worth of pre-owned cars and trucks. This, undoubtedly, makes March-May 'used car season' in the Fort Myers-Naples area.

Although most SWFL used car dealers are small business owners, they do really big business. In all, over the next 12 months, more than 154,000 pre-owned vehicles will be driven off their lots.

To capture a larger share of the area's $449 million used car market requires pre-owned vehicle dealers to advertise. By any measure, the best way for these business owners to advertise is on Fort Myers radio.

Over 225,000 consumers in Southwest Florida now own a smart speaker. Ownership of these devices, including Amazon Echo and Google Home, has grown five-fold since the beginning of 2017.

According to Adobe Analytics, significantly  more consumers are asking Siri and Alexa to play music than any other activity.

Many SWFL small business owners depend on Fort Myers radio to advertise their goods and service. So, how does the use of smart speakers as an audio device affect their radio advertising's ability to reach local consumers? The answer is: none at all.

In 1940, WFTM became the first radio station to serve Southwest Florida. Today, 807,219 adult consumers tune-in to Fort Myers radio stations every week. This is significantly more than watch local TV or read newspapers. 

SWFL 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.

Consumers in Southwest Florida spent a record $1.3 billion on home improvements in 2019. This level of spending is projected to drop modestly next year, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

“Declining home sales and home-building activity coupled with slower gains in permitting for improvement projects will put the brakes on remodeling growth,” says Chris Herbert, the center’s managing director.

“However, if falling mortgage interest rates continue to incentivize home sales, refinancing, and ultimately remodeling activity, the slowdown may soften some.”

If Fort Myers-Naples area small businesses that sell home improvement products and services would like to continue to grow despite the softening market, then advertising will be required.

Of all the advertising options available to Southwest Florida small 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 Fort Myers radio stations, actually, can reach 200% more consumers than these two streaming-audio platforms combined.