Every week, according to Nielsen, Boston radio reaches 3.2 million adult consumers. This is significantly more people than are reached by local TV, cable, social media, streaming video, streaming audio, or newspapers.

Because of its humongous reach, area small business owners advertise on Boston radio to successfully market the products and services they sell.

Many first-time advertisers on Boston radio will ask how many times a consumer needs to hear a commercial before they become a customer.  Often the business owner is told that to be effective, a consumer needs to be exposed to a message three times before they will buy.  Unfortunately, this prescription for a three-time frequency is more myth than substance.

A study by Nielsen provides some data-based insights about effective frequency, But first, here's the origin of the mythological rule of three.

To maximize success, every Boston 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.”

According to the US Census Bureau, there are 255,083 small businesses in the Boston area. This geography includes Boston, Cambridge, Newton, Worcester, Manchester, and every point in between.  Most of these diminutive companies have limited dollars to invest in advertising.  

Advertising successfully in Boston is achievable, though, with a small budget if the available funds are invested wisely.  Oftentimes, this means selecting one medium rather than spreading money over several.

So which medium makes the most sense for small business owners with limited budgets? By most key advertising metrics, advertising on Boston radio is the best option.

There are 677,200 school-aged children in the Boston area.  Based on forecasts from the National Retail Federation (NRF), local parents are expected to spend a record $588.2 million to prepare these kids to return to the classroom this fall. 

Overall, the NRF expects back-to-school shoppers to spend almost 10% more in 2021 than they did last year.

“The pandemic forced parents and their school-aged children to quickly adapt to virtual learning, and they did it with an incredible amount of resolve and flexibility,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “We enter the new school year with plans to return to the classroom and retailers are prepared to help Americans find and purchase whatever they need to make this transition as seamless as possible.”

According to the NRF, more than 51% of parents have already started buying for their K-12 students.  But, for Boston business owners there is still time to benefit.

The NRF reports that nearly 76% of K-12 shoppers are still waiting on lists of school supplies needed. On average, consumers have only completed 18% of the shopping.

Advertising is crucial to the success of Boston business owners. According to Investopedia, "lack of adequate marketing and publicity are among the issues that drag down small business".

According to Borrell Associates, a company that tracks advertising trends across the country, Boston business owners are expected to spend $3.6 billion to advertise the goods and services they sell. This represents a 6.3% increase versus last year.

The majority of these dollars are being spent by Boston business owners to capture a significant share of the $72 billion dollars local consumers will be spending this year. These estimates are based on a revised forecast from the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Of course, there is an over-abundance of ways a local business owner can advertise. Perhaps the best way to generate sales from local consumers is with Boston radio. Here are the top five reasons why...

More than 95% of Boston adults have access to the internet.  Ubiquitous technology such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and connected TVs allow New England consumers to go online whenever they choose, which, for some adults, is always.

The Pew Research Center, a public opinion research company, reports that one-in-three consumers say they are online constantly. A 50% increase from 2015.  In total, 85% of consumers say they connect at least one time every day.

So, how are Boston consumers spending all this time connected to the internet?

According to Nielsen, streaming audio and video content, social networking, checking the weather, and banking are the top online activities for Boston consumers each month.

Retail spending in the Boston area is expected to reach $72 billion this year, a 13.5% increase versus 2020. These estimates are based on a revised forecast from the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Since 1921, when WBZ-AM signed on as the first station in Boston, local business owners have depended on radio advertising to help market their goods and services to New England consumers.  But has the Coronavirus pandemic altered the medium's ability to deliver customers to ring up sales for local retailers?

Two critical marketing metrics indicate that advertising on Boston radio remains the best way for a small business to advertise.

The first measurement is reach. This is the number of different consumers who are exposed to an advertising campaign.

The second measure is return-on-investment (ROI). This is the amount of sales a business can expect for every one dollar invested in advertising.

Based on these metrics, here is how advertising on Boston radio measures up to other options available to local small business owners.

Broadcast television came to Boston in 1948 when WBZ-TV signed on for the first time. In those days, only about 0.5% of local households actually owned a set, a number that would grow 100-fold by the mid-1950s.

At first, Boston consumers needed rabbit-ears or outdoor antennas to receive signals from a small handful of local stations, including  WCVB and WHDH. The quality of reception varied day-to-day.

By the early 1960s, however, local cable systems began to bring higher-quality, reliable reception to households throughout the Boston area. The number of programming options, though, remained limited to affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS.

In 1972, viewing options began to expand as local cable began offering Boston area consumers the opportunity to purchase premium services, including HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax.  Five years later came an explosion of non-premium cable channels such as TBS and CNN.

In the early 1990s, Boston viewers could not only receive their television programming over-the-air or by cable, but options expanded to include satellite delivery by DishTV and DirectTV.

The next TV innovation came in 2007 as Boston consumers started turning to the internet to watch streaming channels like Netflix and Hulu.  These new services allowed viewers to watch TV on their phones, computers, and tablets as well as their living room LCD and Plasma screens.

Today, all of this video technology offers viewers the ultimate flexibility to choose how, when, and where to watch TV.  So, what are they watching?

Earlier this year, based on projections from The National Retail Federation, Boston area consumers were expected to spend more than $68 billion at retail this year, a 6.5% increase versus 2020. New data, however, indicates spending will be remarkably higher.

The NRF revised its data this month, and now expects annual growth of 10.5% to 13.5%. Based on these revisions, the Boston area retail economy could now top $72 billion. Excellent news for New England small business owners.

“The economy and consumer spending have proven to be much more resilient than initially forecasted,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “The combination of vaccine distribution, fiscal stimulus, and private-sector ingenuity have put millions of Americans back to work. While there are downside risks related to worker shortages, an overheating economy, tax increases and over-regulation, overall households are healthier, and consumers are demonstrating their ability and willingness to spend. The pandemic was a reminder how essential small, mid-size and large retailers are to the everyday lives of Americans in communities nationwide.”

To put in historical context for Boston small business owners, Mr. Klenhenz noted that he anticipates the fastest growth the U.S. has experienced since 1984. The reopening of the economy has accelerated much faster than most had believed possible a year ago.

To capture the largest possible share of spending growth, local retailers will need to advertise. By the most crucial marketing metrics, the best best way to reach area consumers is by advertising on Boston radio.

Since March 2020, when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the Boston area, more than 540,000 local people have been infected, according to data collected by USA Facts. The measures imposed to contain the outbreak have transformed the way consumers work, shop, commute, and conduct the business of everyday life.

One aspect of daily life in Boston that remains little changed due to the pandemic is radio listening. Despite the Coronavirus crisis, radio has held its long-held position as the most used of all local media. This is good news for area business owners who depend on radio for marketing their goods and service.

Each week, according to Nielsen, 3.2 million adult consumers tune-in to a Boston radio station.  This is significantly more people than are reached by all other local advertising options, including TV, cable, streaming video, streaming audio, social media, and newspapers.

According to Nielsen, 3.8 million adults in the Boston area have access to the internet, equivalent to 95.6% of the population. On average, local consumers are spending 11.65 hours per week online.

Boston millennials, the first generation that grew up in a digital world, spend considerably more time online. Nielsen reports that, on average, Boston's 25-39-year-old consumers are clocking 14.8 hours connected to the internet.

So, how are Boston consumers spending their time online?

According to Nielsen, streaming audio and video content, social networking, checking the weather, and banking are the top online activities for Boston consumers each month.