Top 10 Reasons An SWFL Small Business Might Fail

Some of the bravest people in Southwest Florida are small business owners.  These hearty entrepreneurs invest their passion, their hope, their time, and, of course, their money despite the odds.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), the good news is that 80% of small businesses make it through the first year. After that, though, only about half will make it to their fifth anniversary. Even fewer, 33% will keep their doors open for ten years.

CBInsights performed an analysis to determine the top ten reasons small business owners fail.  I have included the entire list. But, of particular importance, is reason #8, "poor marketing". This subject will be discussed in more detail because this is where advertising on Fort Myers radio stations can help business owners not to fail.

Top 10 Causes Of Small Business Failures

1. No Market Need
2. Ran Out Of Cash
3. Not The Right Team
4. Got Out-Competed
5. Pricing Issues
6. User Un-Friendly
7. No Business Model
8. Poor Marketing
9. Ignore Customers
10. Mistiming

A Fort Myers small business could fail for just one of these reasons, or, more likely, for a combination of several.

How To Market Better

The SBA advises, "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 many ways for Southwest Florida small business owners to advertise. Options include local newspapers, local magazines, local television, and online. But to achieve the “3-Rs” of advertising success, Reach, Recall, and Return, no other medium delivers results as effectively and efficiently as advertising on Fort Myers radio.

A study by Nielsen indicates that the number of people who are exposed to an advertising message (reach) is a primary contributor to sales conversion.  In Southwest Florida, no other advertising medium has a greater reach than radio.

Last week, 807,219 adult consumers tuned to their favorite Fort Myers radio stations. This is significantly more than the 742,100  consumers reached by area TV stations, the 246,853 reached by local newspapers, or the 296,232 reached by audio streaming sites Pandora and Spotify.

Also, radio reaches everyone. Unlike other SWFL media, which tends to skew towards older audiences, Fort Myers radio stations reached consumers of all ages. This includes members of Generation X, Y, and Z; Millennials, and Boomers. Everybody.

To be effective, advertising must be remembered by the consumer when it comes time to choose which SWFL business owners to patronize.

Local Ad Recall, a research company that measures the effectiveness of advertising, found that brand recall was five times higher for companies that advertised on radio versus the companies that did not. Consequently, SWFL small business owners who advertise on radio have a much better chance of being recalled and, therefore, frequented by prospective customers than companies that do not advertise on radio.

Consumer insight company, Nielsen found similar results. Across several different business categories, on average, radio advertising improved recall by 82%. The businesses measured were a health and beauty company; an information technologies company; an auto aftermarket retailer; a motorcycle company; and a mobile app company.

Return-on-Investment (ROI) is a measurement of revenue growth that an SWFL business owner can expect for each $1 invested in advertising. 

According to Advertising Age Magazine, when executed correctly, radio advertising can deliver a greater ROI for a local business than investing in TV, digital, or social media ads.

Over the past few years, Nielsen has conducted more than 20 studies to determine how much ROI a business owner could expect when advertising on radio. In every case, radio’s ROI was, in the words of Advertising Age, “Eye-popping.”

The most recent ROI study released by Nielsen is no exception. According to Westwood One, the company that commissioned this latest study, a radio campaign for a men’s personal-care brand produced $11.96 in sales-lift for every $1.00 invested in radio advertising.

Overall, according to Nielsen, among all of the studies conducted, radio ads produce a very impressive 10x return-on-investment.

Radio Advertising Contributes To Small Business Success

Hundreds of SWFL small businesses have made it past their 10th anniversary with the help of advertising on Fort Myers radio stations.

Conditioned Air is a Naples-based heating, ventilation, and air conditioning company.  Theo Etzel joined the company in 1995 as President and CEO.  That was the same year the company began advertising on Fort Myers radio as part of an aggressive growth strategy.

"When my partners and I purchased the company 24 years ago, we had 25 employees and $2.5-million in annual sales," says Mr. Etzel. "Today we employ 375 people and generate north of $50-million a year in sales throughout Southwest Florida."

"To accelerate our growth at the beginning, we needed a strong platform to share the company's story," recalls Mr. Etzel. "So, we invested heavily in radio advertising."  To this day, Fort Myers radio is still Conditioned Air's predominant form of advertising.

Conditioned Air advertises continuously and evenly throughout the year. "People assume we are a seasonal business because we primarily sell and service air conditioners," says Mr. Etzel. "But it is critical that our company is always at the top of the customer's mind.  No one will wake up tomorrow thinking about their air conditioner unless it isn't working.  That's when we need them to think of us, and that's why we are always advertising on Fort Myers radio."

Advertising On Fort Myers Radio Was A Big Part Of Our Growth

Until October 2007, there was no Chevy Dealer in Estero, Florida. That was the year Patrick Denson and Charles Winston built Estero Bay Chevrolet from scratch.

"During our first full year of sales," says Mr. Denson, "we sold 600 cars, 100 more than General Motors expected from us. This year, we are on track to sell 2000 cars. Advertising on Fort Myers radio has been part of our growth since the very beginning."

Mr. Denson became a big believer in radio during the 15 years he spent managing dealerships in Ft. Wayne, Phoenix, and Sarasota-Bradenton. "When I became an owner here in 2007, I had to make sure every dollar we spent counted, because, now, it was my money. Since we opened, advertising on Fort Myers radio has proven to deliver the value and return-on-investment we need to continue our year-over-year growth."

According to Mr. Denson, his dealership invests continually in Fort Myers radio. "Advertising on radio provides us with the biggest possible reach for a lot less money. We do some TV during our peak sales periods, but the expense doesn't make it viable for us to do consistently. And, since we've opened, we have never advertised in the newspaper."

Radio Built This Fort Myers Small Business

Advertising on Fort Myers radio built this business," says Dann Krinsky. He oversees the marketing efforts of Rock Solid Countertops & More, a Naples-based retailer of natural stone countertops.

"Fifteen years ago, when Hugo Vargas opened for business, the showroom was one-quarter the size it is now. There was half the number of employees. And there was no fabrication shop. It was a shoestring operation," explains Mr. Krinsky.

"Eleven years ago," he continues, "I convinced Mr. Vargas to advertise on the radio for the first time." Originally, Rock Solid committed to a weekend-only campaign on a Fort Myers rock-and-roll station for one month. "We saw results almost immediately and have been advertising on Southwest Florida radio every day ever since."

After a few months of advertising on a single radio station, Mr. Vargas noticed that a new auto dealer had moved into the area and seemed to be advertising on every local radio station multiple times each day. "He asked me," says Mr. Krinsky, "if we increased the number of Fort Myers radio stations Rock Solid was on and added more commercials, would we see greater results?"

"So," continues Mr. Krinsky, "we added a second radio station and we saw a huge increase in customers pretty quickly. We then added another, and another, and another. At one point, we were on running eight commercials per day on 16 different Fort Myers radio stations."

A Fort Myers Radio Station For Every Budget

Some budget-conscious small business owners may avoid advertising on Fort Myers radio because they perceive it might be too expensive.

The reality, though, is that each of the 28 Fort Myers radio stations is priced by the number of listeners it attracts. So, for a cash-strapped business owner, there are stations that can be purchased with budget constraints.

It is not necessary for a small business owner to purchase the top-rated radio station in SWFL to be successful. 

Bob McCurdy, Senior Vice President of Beasley Media, writes in the article, 'The Paradox of Rank', "There’s beauty and value in every radio station regardless of audience ratings/size. The average radio listener has no idea where or how their favorite station ranks, nor do they care."

"The only thing they know," continues Mr. McCurdy, "is that they like listening to that station and that’s good enough for them. Listeners to all radio stations, regardless of audience size, respond to what they hear, so audience rank should be near the bottom of any list of reasons to purchase any station. Qualitative profile, demographic skew, audience consistency and efficiency should easily transcend rank."

The final word comes from Deloitte, the world's largest business consulting firm who recommends "Radio should be a big part of the mix for every business who buys advertising."