Does a Fayetteville small business ever reach the point where they can afford to stop advertising? Can a business ever have so many customers that advertising no longer makes sense?

Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission doesn’t think so.

The municipally owned utility provides electricity and water to 113,000 Cumberland County residents.

If you were one of the 90% of area consumers who tuned-in to a Fayetteville radio station last week, then you probably heard commercials for PWC. And the week before that. And hundreds of week before that.

One of the biggest challenges faced by Fayetteville small business owners is how to find qualified candidates to fill open jobs. When a local company doesn’t have enough employees, its ability to achieve revenue and profit goals is severely challenged. 

Local small business owners have discovered that recruitment advertising on local radio can be amazingly effective in finding new hires.

The North Carolina Works Commission reports half of all business owners are struggling to fill open jobs. With the unemployment rate in the Fayetteville area at a 10-year low, it seems everybody who wants a job has a job.

The Commission also reports that local business owners are still using recruitment strategies from a time when candidates were plentiful. This includes recruitment ads on job boards like Monster or Indeed; newspaper classified advertising; social media postings; and help wanted signs. But the fact that jobs remain open indicates the old ways are no longer effective.

Over the past year, according to Nielsen, 113,481 consumers in Cumberland and Robeson Counties in North Carolina purchased furniture and mattresses. Nearly 90% of these buyers tune-in to a Fayetteville radio station every week. This is substantially more furniture buyers than watch area TV stations or picked up a newspaper.

It only makes sense, then, that Fayetteville small business owners who operate furniture and mattress stores would find success advertising on local radio. Kimbrell's, a heritage North Carolina, retailer has recently learned this first-hand.

When Joe Quigg was a kid growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he purchased his first set of tires from Ed’s Tire & Auto Service. His sister shopped there. His mom and dad shopped there. Then, in 2004, after 20 years of living elsewhere, Joe purchased the company from the original owner, Ed Melvin.

If you were one of the 288,946 consumers who tuned-in to a local radio station last week, chances are you heard a commercial for Ed’s Tire & Auto Service. Advertising on Fayetteville radio is the only medium Mr. Quigg currently uses to promote his business

“Every week that goes by,” says Mr. Quigg, “five or six customers tell me they came in because they heard us on the radio.”

During the past year, more than 21,000 people in the Fayetteville area sought the help of an attorney for personal reasons such as real estate transactions; bankruptcies; criminal defense; traffic offenses; personal injury; divorce; wills; and civil matters. This has produced legal fees exceeding $77-million dollars.

With almost 24,000 other lawyers in North Carolina competing for a share of this revenue, how can a new attorney hope to hang a shingle and make a living? Nicole Cotton of The Cotton Law Firm built her law practice over the last 8 years in the same way many other successful Cumberland County small business owners started out: advertising on Fayetteville radio.

Every Fayetteville small business has a brand. "Your company's brand," says Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, "is what your customers say about you when you are no longer in the room."

A few years ago, customers of the Crown Complex weren't saying good things. Advertising on Fayetteville radio helped remove the tarnish from the Crown's public's perception.

Henry Ford understood that the continual investment in advertising was necessary for a business to be successful. “Stopping advertising to save money," he said, "is like stopping your watch to save time.”

Sometimes, though, when daily expenses challenge their cash flow, North Carolina small business owners must prioritize spending. Many times, unfortunately, Mr. Ford’s advice is ignored and buying commercials on Fayetteville radio will move down the list behind making payroll, maintaining delivery vehicles, and replenishing stock. A lot of times advertising doesn’t make the list at all.

Some local business owners have discovered that their radio advertising doesn’t have to be sacrificed at all when belts need to be tightened. It turns out, there’s a deep pool of “free money” that can be dipped into for the singular purpose of advertising. These funds are called cooperative funds, or co-op for short.

Consumers in the Fayetteville, NC metro area (Cumberland and Roberson counties) are expected to spend at least $7.1 billion at retail this year. To claim a greater share of this giant pool of cash requires local business owners of every size to advertise their goods and services.

The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends that established businesses with more than $5-million dollars in gross revenue should budget 7-8% to advertise. Businesses who have not yet achieved that level of revenue, should plan on investing 10-12%. Newer businesses that may not yet be familiar to their target consumers should plan on investing a larger percentage.

There are numerous ways for North Carolina small business owners can allocate their advertising budgets. Options include local newspapers, local magazines, local television, and online.

The invention of the radio commercial came at 5pm August 28, 1922. The Queensboro Corporation, a small business in New York City, purchased time on radio station WEAF for $50 to advertise its apartment complex development in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Radio advertising came to Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1939 when Wall Christian Ewing and Harry Layman put WFNC on the air. Ever since then, Cumberland and Robeson County small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and service.

Is radio advertising effective in the 21st Century? Meet five North Carolina small business owners who say yes.

Good things happen when small business owners advertise on Fayetteville radio,

“I can testify,” says Carolyn Barbour, “our radio advertising has created lifetime customers for our company.” 

Ms. Barbour and her husband Tommy own Budget Rooter, a Fayetteville based plumbing company with a long list of commercial, residential, and industrial customers. “We’ve tried other forms of advertising,” continues Ms. Barbour, “but they have all failed us.” 

Mr. Barbour started Budget Rooter in 1998 as a part time job. He worked nights and weekends out of the back of his Geo Storm. By 2000, word of mouth helped expand the business to a point where he could make it his full-time pursuit. 

By 2002, Budget Rooter hired a second plumber to keep up with customer demand. This is also when Ms. Barbour quit her job as a nurse to take on the mounting administrative duties of the firm. This included advertising and marketing.