North Carolina business owners have depended on Fayetteville radio to market their goods and services since WFNC, the city's first radio station, went on air in 1939. Despite the advent of new media and technologies since then, advertising on local radio stations is still the best way for the area's 8,690 small business owners to create and maintain customers.

Here are five facts every business owner should know about advertising on Fayetteville radio in 2022.

To ensure success, every Fayetteville, North Carolina 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.”

There are dozens of ways for local small business owners to advertise. By most metrics, the best way to advertise is on Fayetteville radio. These measures of effectiveness, however, are often obscured by the glimmer and glitz of newer technologies. 

To help reduce the glare that often blinds business owners to the potency of advertising on Fayetteville radio, here are the top five things many local business owners get wrong.

In 2020, there were 17,494 new cars and trucks registered in the Fayetteville metro area. This number is based on projections from the National Auto Dealers Associaton (NADA) and the U.S. Census bureau.

In all, says NADA, there are 249 new-car dealerships in North Carolina. Despite the pandemic, these dealers, including those in the Fayetteville area, sold $20.1 billion worth of new vehicles.

Through June of this year, these same dealers have already rung up $17 billion in new car sales.

When it comes to buying new vehicles, Fayetteville consumers have a broad range of preferences. Some buyers want Fords while others want Chevrolets, Toyotas, or Teslas.  Some buyers want pick-up trucks, while others want sub-compacts, SUVs, or sports cars. Of course, some want blue vehicles, while others want pearl white, orchard green, or redolent red.

There is one purchase criterion, however, that most Fayetteville car buyers can agree on. They want an AM/FM radio smack-dab, in the middle of their dash.

New data from the US Census Bureau has optimistic news for Fayetteville companies that sell business-to-business.

There are approximately 6000 businesses in the Cumberland and Robeson County, according to the Census Bureau. Indeed, many of these businesses have suffered since the onset of the Coronavirus, especially in April.

Census information is now showing positive indicators that the fortunes of area companies are improving. This includes those with 500 or fewer employees. These small businesses account for 88% of all Fayetteville area firms.

During the week of April 26, 36% of North Carolina small businesses reported temporary closures.  By July 1, the number dropped to 11%

Also, during that same week, 68% of North Carolina small business owners were reporting decreases in revenue versus the prior week.  By the end of June, that number fell by more than half.

In both June and July of this year, national data shows all retail and food services spending significantly outperformed the prior year by between two and three percent.

As the business climate improves in the Fayetteville area, the fortunes of B2B companies will accelerate as well. These include those businesses that sell office supplies, restaurant supplies, cleaning services, legal services, accounting services, transportation services, banking services, technology, and commercial real estate.

Fayetteville shoppers are expected to spend $999 million this holiday season.  This is approximately 4% higher than last year. These estimates are based on forecasts by the National Retail Federation and Deloitte.

To claim a fair share of the Christmas cash, local small business owners will need to battle some giant competitors. Advertising on Fayetteville radio stations may be the perfect weapon to ensure success.

According to information published in the retail trade magazine Chain Store Age, as of right now, here is where consumers are planning to shop...

Fayetteville small businesses that sell products or services to pet owners should sit up and take notice.  Local consumers will spend $99,000,000 this year on behalf of Fido and Fluffy. This amount has increased 323% since 1994, with no sign of letting up.

According to the American Pet Products Association, here's how spending on furry companions breaks down:

• Food: $40,701,242
• Supplies/OTC Medicine: $21,839,691
• Vet Care: $24,817,831
• Live Pet Purchases: $2,978,140
• Other Services: $8,934,419

The biggest month for sales of pet-related products and services is, by far, December. That is when 10.5% of all annual spending happens in this category.

Fayetteville area small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services since 1939.  That's the year Wall Christian Ewing and Harry Layman put the first local station, WFNC, on the air.

Today, there are 28 radio stations that serve Cumberland and Robeson counties. Each provides a unique blend of music, information, and entertainment.  Some stations focus on politics or sports. Some play country music. Some play the hits. Some play classic rock. Some are on the AM dial. Some are on FM.

When Mr. Ewing and Mr. Layman began broadcasting, there were no TV stations in North Carolina. Those would come ten years later. Also, there was no social media, YouTube, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, or smartphones. Each of those would be products of a new Millenium.

With an overabundance of advertising options now available to small business owners, does advertising on Fayetteville radio still make sense?  Here are five facts that serve to answer that question.

Fayetteville area consumers are expected to spend $8.5 billion at retail this year, according to Nielsen. This means that every household, on average, will be spending $48,564.

To capture a larger share of these dollars, small business owners in Clark and Robeson counties need to know the answer to two questions.

The first question is, where is this enormous amount of cash being spent?  The list below details the answer.

Fayetteville area consumers are expected to spend $999 million on this year's holiday shopping, based on predictions by The National Retail Federation.  This would be a 4% increase over last year.

Deloitte, one of the world's top four accounting firms, forecasts similar growth.

"The projected holiday season growth is, in part, due to the current health of the labor market,” said Daniel Bachman, Deloitte's U.S. economic forecaster. “Near record-low unemployment rates, coupled with continued monthly job creation, may encourage people to spend more during the holiday season. The economy is still growing, albeit at a slower rate. Additionally, we continue to see consumer confidence elevated, which also helps boost holiday spending."

For most local retailers, holiday spending brings in about 20% of annual sales But, long gone are the days when the bulk of this shopping occurred between Black Friday and Christmas.

Last week, according to Nielsen, 92,639 single, adult women tuned-in to a Fayetteville radio station.  This is 92% of every consumer who fits this description.

Why should Fayetteville small business owners take note of this demographic? A study by investment bank Morgan Stanley finds 41% of working-age women are single. That number is expected to increase to 45% over the next ten years.

The study, called 'Growth of the SHEconomy', indicates that single women outspend the average household in many retail categories. Remarkably, says, Erica Sweeney of MarketingDive, "Women purchase more than half of products traditionally considered 'male' including autos, home improvement products, and consumer electronics."

Sometimes, radio advertising fails. There can be no debate, though, when implemented correctly, advertising on Fayetteville radio works, and works well.

“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.” 

Since 2007, Budget Rooter has not missed a single month of advertising on Fayetteville radio.  “Our radio ads have been so successful,” says Ms. Barbour. “we have increased the number of stations we run commercials on from two to five.”

Based on information from the National Retail Foundation, Fayetteville consumers will be spending $11 million on Halloween this year. 

Typically, 80% of all Halloween shopping, according to the NRF, will occur between now and October 16.  The remaining dollars will be spent in the last 14 days leading up to the holiday.

Nearly 53% of consumers in the Fayetteville are expected to participate in Halloween this year, each spending, on average, about $86.  This money will go towards the purchase of candy, decorations, costumes, pumpkins, and greeting cards.

Almost every type of small business in Cumberland and Robeson County enjoys a taste of this spending. This includes hardware stores, convenience stores, craft stores, fabric stores, thrift stores, florists, card stores, consignment shops, haunted houses, home decor store, bakeries, and, of course, candy stores.

To claim a significant share of this Halloween cash will require local small business owners to advertise.  The key to successful advertising is reaching as many Halloween shoppers as possible over the next four weeks.

Small business owners who sell mattresses in the Fayetteville area might be losing sleep.

Last year, local consumers spent close to $17 million for new mattresses.  A recent survey conducted by Piper Jaffray indicates that many retailers believe  that the category will become even stronger during the last four months of this year.

The reason for the owners' sleep loss is that many customers are bypassing local stores and buying their mattresses on the internet. According to Statista, 37% of buyers are now purchasing from one-of-175 direct-to-consumer sites like Casper or from online retailers like Amazon. 

To keep customers shopping local requires advertising.

Technology is changing the way people in Fayetteville consume media. This includes streaming audio platforms like Pandora and Spotify or the ability to watch Netflix on a smartphone.

But one thing has not changed.  That thing with the buttons and knobs that's been part of a car's dashboard since 1930. The contraption called radio.

Some small business owners believe the medium is outdated, and nobody listens to it anymore. But, contrary to that view, radio still reaches 92% of all consumers in America.

Locally, for example, last week significantly more consumers tuned-in to their favorite Fayetteville radio stations than watched local TV; read a newspaper; logged-on to Facebook, or signed-in to Pandora or Spotify.

Every vote counts.  Many times the difference between winning an election and losing is a handful of ballots. This is true in races for almost every elected office, referendum, and issue on the national, statewide, and local level.

To win a modern election requires advertising. Successful advertising requires reach. In the Fayetteville area, the most potent way to reach voters is on local radio.

Last week, for instance, 92% of all registered voters in Cumberland and Robeson County tuned-in to a Fayetteville radio station.  This is significantly more than were reached by local TV, local newspaper, or the major social media site like Facebook and Instagram.