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Consumers Stick With Fort Myers Radio Despite Pandemic

Mar 30, 2021 3:59:47 PM / by Larry Julius

In 1939, when WFTM-AM became the first radio station in Southwest Florida, many believed the medium was a fad.  Two years before, a hit song by George Gershwin, Our Love Is Here To Stay, considered radio to be a "passing fancy and in time may go".

Fort Myers radio, however, has survived the advent of talking-movies, television, eight tracks, and cassettes in stereo.  More recently, radio has withstood a tsunami of digital options including, YouTube, SiriusXM, Pandora, and Spotify.

As the Coronavirus pandemic rolls over into a second year, Fort Myers radio has hung tough and not ceded its ground despite listener's shifting lifestyles.  This is crucial news for local small business owners who depend on local stations to market their goods and services.

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Topics Reach, roi, best way to advertise, return on investment, in-car listening, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, advertising reach, reach & frequency, in-car audio, pandemic, listening location, time spent listening, radio listening, work from home, commuting

Advertise In Fort Myers: Shoppers' Needs Are Changing...Again!

Sep 29, 2020 8:11:49 AM / by Larry Julius

There are over 956,000 adult consumers in the Fort Myers area. Collectively, in a typical year, these shoppers would generate $22.7 billion in retail sales. This money would be spent on cars, shoes, fast-food, entertainment, groceries, mattresses, adult beverages, haircuts, makeup, and an over-abundance of other of goods and services. Their money was being spent on both the essential and the frivolous. 

The way Fort Myers consumers spend money changed radically in March as COVID-19 began to spread. Six months into the pandemic, shopping strategies are about to change again.

It started with panic buying. Consumers began ignoring prices and were paying what was ever necessary to ensure the safety, health, and comfort of their families.  According to Nielsen, this sudden spike in demand caused widespread price increases. To put it in perspective, retail prices shot-up in 64% of all product categories stocked in grocery stores.

Almost immediately, advertising messages from local retailers shifted from promises of low prices and convenience to product availability and shopper safety.

Based on new research from Nielsen, consumers' shopping strategies are beginning to shift again. This will require Fort Myers small business owners and retailers to also change their advertising strategies, too.

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Topics roi, retail, small business advertising, small business owner, swfl small business, southwest florida small business, return on investment, small business, retail sales, retail store, retailer, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, small business marketing, business to business advertising

How Has Working From Home Affected Advertising On Fort Myers Radio?

Aug 24, 2020 6:45:00 AM / by Larry Julius

Before COVID-19, most listening to Fort Myers radio happened outside the home. Southwest Florida consumers were tuning-in to their favorite stations from the car on the way to their job. Then, they tuned-in when they arrived at work. They listened again during the commute back home.

Nielsen recently surveyed consumers who worked from home before and during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The results show, as of June, 66% of respondents now work from home full-time as a consequence of the pandemic.

As consumers are compelled to work from their houses and curtail their commutes, the share of at-home listening to Fort Myers radio has grown by 16%, according to Nielsen.

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Topics best way to advertise, radio advertising, How to Advertise on Radio, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, advertise on radio, pandemic, listening location, time spent listening, radio listening, work from home

What SWFL Consumers Need To Know Now About Your Small Business

Aug 12, 2020 9:13:00 AM / by Larry Julius

There is good news for Southwest Florida retailers and restaurants.

As a result of the pandemic, one-third of consumers indicate they will pay a premium for local brands and products, according to a recent study by Ernst & Young

However, before consumers will buy from a local business in Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral, or any town in-between, they must know they can do so without risking their health.

Advertising is the only practical way to let local shoppers and diners know about the precautions and practices your small business has taken to reduce potential health threats.

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Topics restaurant, best way to advertise, retail, small business advertising, create an effective radio commercial, small business owner, swfl small business, radio commercials, southwest florida small business, restaurant marketing, effective advertising, small business, restaurant advertising, retail sales, retail store, retailer, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, small business marketing

Advertising In Ft. Myers: Radio Listening Little Changed From Year Ago

Aug 10, 2020 6:37:07 AM / by Larry Julius

During June, 730,700 Southwest Florida adult radio-listeners spent two hours per day listening to their favorite Fort Myers stations, according to Nielsen. Although local consumers had spent fewer minutes listening at the onset of the pandemic, the current time tuned-in remains little changed compared to a year ago.

Some advertising experts had predicted that as consumers spent more time at home because of COVID-19 concerns, the hours devoted to radio listening would decrease. That, however, was not the case.

In June of 2019, according to Nielsen, 33.3% of radio listening occurred at home. During July of this year, in-home listening jumped to 38.6%. Despite the reduction in out-of-home activities, though, consumers still spent nearly the same amount of time listening to Fort Myers radio.

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Topics pandora, best way to advertise, small business advertising, small business owner, sirius/xm, swfl small business, southwest florida small business, small business, spotify, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, small business marketing, pandemic, podcasts

Fort Myers Radio Listeners Will Power The Post-Pandemic Recovery

Jun 10, 2020 3:49:57 PM / by Larry Julius

At the dawn of 2020, Southwest Florida small business owners were expecting the area's retail economy to expand by 4.1%. This optimism was stoked by the National Retail Federation's chief economist who said, "Consumers remain upbeat and have the confidence to spend, and the steady wage growth that has come with the strong job market is fueling their spending. The state of the consumer is very healthy."

By February, however, the country entered into a COVID-19 induced recession. Then, to slow the spread of the pandemic, on April 3, the Governor of Florida locked the state down. This brought the SWFL area's $22.5 billion retail economy to a standstill.

As stores, restaurants, and offices in the Fort Myers-Naples area begin to re-open, consumers' appetite for spending is returning. According to Nielsen, loyal radio listeners are very likely to be first in line at the cash registers.

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Topics best way to advertise, automotive, retail, small business advertising, radio advertising, small business owner, consumer spending, small business, retail sales, retail store, retailer, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, crisis marketing, recovery, reopen

Who'll Be Buying As Southwest Florida Small Businesses Reopen?

May 19, 2020 7:16:00 AM / by Larry Julius

To slow the spread of COVID-19, the Governor of Florida shut down all but the most essential businesses in the state on April 3. This public safety measure inflicted a severe disruption to the Fort Myers-Naples' $22.5 billion retail economy.

As local small business owners begin to reopen, each must concentrate on supercharging their cash flows to compensate for weeks of consumer abstinence. Turning the lights back on and hanging out a welcome sign might not be enough, though, to bring even the most loyal customers back.

Some customers may not return because of personal safety concerns. Other customers may have discovered alternative sources to purchase goods and services.

But, there is one thing every Southwest Florida small business owner can be assured of. Consumers will not return if they aren't aware that a business has reopened.

Advertising is a potent tactic for any Southwest Florida small business that needs to reintroduce itself to local consumers.

“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.”

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Topics best way to advertise, retail, store traffic, radio advertising, small business owner, small business, retail sales, retail store, retailer, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, crisis marketing, reopening

Should Your Fort Myers Small Business Continue To Advertise?

May 16, 2020 7:21:00 AM / by Larry Julius

COVID-19 has had a profound effect on cash register receipts in Southwest Florida. Every day small business owners from Marco Island to Cape Coral are being challenged by the pandemic induced recession.

Just yesterday, for instance, the US Commerce Department announced that April retail sales were down by 20% vs. the same month last year. This is sure to take a massive bite out of the $22.5 billion in annual consumer spending in The Fort Myers-Naples area businesses had been expecting in 2020.

“April was the cruelest month,” Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, told the Wall Street Journal. "Retail spending likely bottomed out in the first week of May with spending picking up due to Mother’s Day and gradual state reopenings.

“It’s going to be less worse with each month,” said Mr. Johnson, “as people slowly come out of the foxhole and enter the mainstream of American consumerism.”

The ability of an SWFL small business to survive past the lockdowns will depend on the steps it takes now.

WARC, a company that collaborates with more than 50 respected marketing organizations, including the Advertising Research Foundation and the Association of National Advertisers, has identified ten tactics that businesses should implement immediately. The #2 step on this list: Keep advertising if you can.

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Topics best way to advertise, small business owner, recession, small business, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, crisis marketing, WARC

Reclaim 'Top Of Mind' When Your SWFL Small Business Re-Opens

May 1, 2020 2:32:44 PM / by Larry Julius

Business was booming in Southwest Florida. Then it was not.

Before the chaos brought on by Coronavirus, it had been predicted, based on estimates from the National Retail Federation, SWFL consumers would spend 4.1% more in 2020 than they did in 2019. On April 3, however, when Florida's Governor shut down the state, the expectations of growth for many small business owners were replaced with fights for survival.

As the state prepares to reopen, Fort Myers-Naples area small businesses will learn that turning the lights back on and hanging out the welcome sign might not be enough to bring even the most loyal customers back.

Some customers will not return because of personal safety concerns. Other customers may have discovered alternative sources to purchase goods and services.

More likely, though, customers will not come back because a business has lost a valued parcel of real estate: the position at the top of a customer's mind. This is the place where purchase decisions are made.

There is a way to regain top-of-mind status. First, though, it's important to understand why a business can be forgotten so quickly. 

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Topics Frequency, Awareness, top of mind, best way to advertise, radio advertising, small business owner, small business, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, recall, recency

Who Do Southwest Florida Consumers Trust During A Crisis?

Apr 28, 2020 6:46:48 AM / by Larry Julius

For Fort Myers-Naples area small business owners, marketing and advertising are crucial to surviving any crisis, including Coronavirus. The business literature has an abundance of case studies from depressions, recessions, natural disasters, and, yes, pandemics that affirm this existential conclusion.

Advertising, however, may seem extravagant right now to Southwest Florida businesses that are struggling to make rent, purchase inventory, and meet payroll. Henry Ford, though, is often quoted as saying, "Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping a clock to save time."

Therefore, as business owners from Marco Island to Port Charlotte (and every point in between) are cinching their belts tighter-than-ever to stay alive, the dollars invested in advertising must be spent in the most effective manner possible.

During periods of uncertainty, advertising works the hardest when placed in within media that consumers trust.  During the time of COVID-19, advertising on Fort Myers radio has earned that trust among local consumers.

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Topics Reach, best way to advertise, radio advertising, small business owner, small business, corona, coronavirus, covid 19, trust, context, recall

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