New data from the US Census Bureau has optimistic news for Boston companies that sell business-to-business.
There are approximately 122,000 businesses in the Boston area, according to the Census Bureau. Indeed, many of these businesses have suffered since the onset of the Coronavirus, especially in April.
Current census now indicates the fortunes of area companies are improving. This includes those companies with 500 or fewer employees. These small businesses account for 94% of all Boston area firms.
During the week of April 26, 45.6% of Boston area small businesses reported temporary closures. By July 1, the number dropped to 20.8%
Also, during that same week, 77% of Boston small business owners were reporting decreases in revenue versus the prior week. By the end of June, that number fell by 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 Boston 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.
By almost any metric, the best way for local B2B companies to advertise is on Boston radio.
According to Nielsen, there are 891,000 area business people who participate in their company's purchasing decisions. Every week, Boston radio reaches 89.6% of those B2B consumers. This is significantly more local decision-makers than are reached by any other medium.
Boston radio is an especially potent way to reach small business owners, a group crucial to the success of every B2B company.
There are more than 140,000 small business owners in the Boston area, according to Nielsen. Every week, local radio reaches 97.8% of them.
In addition to providing near-universal reach among those people who make purchasing decisions at Boston businesses, radio advertising also provides a strong return-on-investment.
Over the past few years, Nielsen has conducted more than 20 studies to determine what type of ROI a business owner can expect from radio advertising. Although the results varied by industry, the average company generated $100 in sales for every $10 invested.
AdAge, a trade magazine for advertising professionals, calls these types of return "eye-popping". The magazine goes on to say radio's ROI is superior to commercials on TV, online, and social media.
When presented with this ROI data, marketing expert Doug Schoen wrote in Forbes, "The implications of results like these are profound for the communications and advertising industries and as a marketing professional with over 35 years of experience, I found this data nothing short of fascinating. It’s quite clear that we should all be paying more attention to radio, its reach and potential to help our businesses. It’s doing the job with expert efficiency."
More Advertising Advice For Boston Small Business Owners
- How Has Working From Home Affected Boston Radio?
- Advertising in Boston: The Radio Century
- What Is The Best Way To Reach Boston's 4 Million Consumers?
- What Boston Consumers Need To Know Now About Your Small Business
- Advertising In Boston: Radio Listening Unchanged From Year Ago
- Advertising On Boston Radio Reaches Pay-TV's Cord Cutters
- Boston Retailers Prepare For $537 Million Back-To-School Season
