Local radio came to North Carolina on March 18, 1922. That's when the Federal Radio Commission granted a license to the Southern Radio Corporation with the randomly assigned call sign, WBT.

From that day, many predicted radio's success would succumb to advances from new technologies. In 1927, the challenge came from talking movies. In the 1940s, the predators were 13-inch TV sets. In the 1970s, it was 8-track and cassette tapes. In the past 20 years, there was a multi-flank attack from iPods, Zunes, YouTube, Sirius, XM, Pandora, Spotify,

So far, all of these challengers have failed. Not even a pandemic has been able to remove radio as a vital force in the life of Fayetteville consumers.

Every week, according to Nielsen, more adults tune-in to Fayetteville radio than watch TV or cable. Use social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. Read newspapers. Or, stream music from Pandora or Spotify.

Business was booming in Fayetteville. Then it was not.

Before the chaos brought on by Coronavirus, it had been predicted, based on estimates from the National Retail Federation, Fayetteville area consumers would spend 4.1% more in 2020 than they did in 2019. On March 30, however, when North Carolina'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, Fayetteville 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. 

Suppose you woke up one morning and found a 100-year-old machine in your basement. You soon discovered that every time you put a dime in the machine, one dollar came out.  How many dimes would you drop in that machine?

Good news for Fayetteville small business owners: such a machine exists and you probably have one in your car, at work, at home, even on your phone. It's called local radio.

Over the past few years, Nielsen has conducted over 20 studies to determine what type of return-on-investment (ROI) a business can expect from radio advertising.  Although the results varied by industry, the average company generated $100 in sales for ever $10 invested.  Turning dimes into dollars.

Striking a wrong note is the most potent tactic a North Carolina small business owner can use when advertising on Fayetteville radio stations. This can ensure commercials are heard and remembered.

At the moment a radio commercial starts, 11,000,000 other pieces of data are battling for the attention of the listener's ear. To win the fight, an advertisement must do the unexpected. Why?

Humans don't have earlids.  This means every sound a person is exposed to makes it as far as the brain. But, the brain can only process about 50 pieces of information at a time.  If you do the math, that means 10,999,950 bits never make it in.

Fayetteville consumers will spend $7.1 billion on goods and services over the next year. To claim a significant portion of those expenditures, small business owners need to be at the top of customers' minds when it comes time to buy.

Since 1939, when WFNC became the first radio station in Fayetteville, thousands of business owners knew, intuitively, that advertising on the medium was a potent way to be remembered when a purchase was imminent. 

Now there is proof that radio advertising creates the brand awareness necessary to drive sales.

Radio advertising is processed by the brain five-times faster than visual advertising.  This is awesome news for Fayetteville business owners who depend on radio to market their goods and services.

Fayetteville consumers will recognize the first few notes of Jingle Bells five times faster than they can identify a picture of Santa Claus.  That's because it takes the human brain 5/100th of a second to process sound.  On the other hand, it takes a full quarter of a second to process visual stimuli.

This difference in processing time may seem inconsequential. But, for a Fayetteville small business owner who is fighting to inject their advertising message into the mind of consumers, that .20-second gap can be the difference between success and failure.

It's a fact. Unless a consumer remembers your business when it comes time to buy, then it is likely they will purchase from someone else. Staying top of mind, therefore, is critical for every Fayetteville small business owner who wants to grab a share of the area's $7.1-billion retail market.

Advertising on Fayetteville radio provides local business owners with the most affordable way to move to the top of customers minds. But, before discussing how to get remembered, we must understand why consumers forget.