Almost 989,000 adult consumers in the great Boston area belong to a fitness club. These memberships bring in close to $1.8 billion in sales to local gym owners.

January is critical for the small business owners that operate gyms in New England. According to the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association, this one month alone, accounts for 10.8% of annual membership sales. New Year's resolutions are the reason for this early year spike.

To capture a larger share of the $196-million local consumers  will spend on gym memberships in January, requires fitness center owners to advertise. The best way to do this is on Boston radio. Here's why.

There are 4,800 new, single-family homes built in the greater Boston area each year, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Since 1934, National Lumber has been supplying local builders with the materials necessary to sustain that level of construction.

"We are now the largest independent lumber business in New England," says Steven Kaitz, who is the company's Co-CEO along with his sister Margie Kaitz Seligman.

"Advertising has been part of our continued growth over the past 25 plus years," says Mr. Kaitz. "Advertising on Boston radio is, by far, the largest part of what we do. It allows us to reach both builders and homeowners."

"Had we known how effective advertising on Boston radio would be for us, then we would have started doing it much sooner," says Toni Eaton. She is the President and CEO of Old Colony Hospice and Palliative Care based in West Bridgewater, MA.

Old Colony Hospice is a non-profit healthcare organization that provides compassionate end-of-life services to patients throughout 55 cities and towns in Bristol, Plymouth, and Norfolk Counties.

"We began caring for patients in 1979," says Ms. Eaton. "At the beginning, there were just three people who were dedicated to making end-of-life care better for people in our community. Today, our services are provided by 106 employees and 100 volunteers.

"With the help of our advertising on Boston radio, we have been able to significantly increase the number of people we serve."

You've done the research. You now know that by every measure, radio advertising is the most effective way for your New England small business to market its goods and services.

You have learned, for instance, 3,543,709 adult consumers regularly tune-in to their favorite Boston radio stations.  This is more than watch local TV, read a newspaper, sign-in to social media, or log-in to streaming audio services like Pandora and Spotify.

You've also learned that, on average, adults spend almost two hours per day listening to local radio.

If you dug deep enough, then you know radio advertising delivers, on average, a $10 lift in sales for every $1 invested. This is a remarkable return for any New England small business owner.

What you may not have figured out, however, is what is the best time of day to advertise on Boston radio?

The first radio stations in New England went on-the-air in 1921.  Eighty-four years later, Facebook inaugurated the social media era.  Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and hundreds of other sites quickly followed.

As social media matured from a novelty to part of consumers' daily rituals, some Boston  area small business owners began to experiment with advertising.

By every key advertising metric, though, Boston radio remains the best choice for a small business to market their goods and services. Here's why.

It's time to set some misguided New England small business owners straight: When we say everybody listens to Boston radio stations, we mean everybody.  Generations X, Y, and Z. Also, Boomers, and, yes, the millennial generation.

You know...millennials. Those are the "kids" who came of age at the turn of the millennium (which is, debatably, either 2000 or 2001).  This means 18-34 year olds. 

In the greater Boston area, 1.2 million millennials make-up 30% of the adult population and will deliver $30.2 billion to local cash registers.

But here's the thing about millennials that many New England small business owners get wrong: millennials listen to the radio.  Almost all of them. 89.4% of them, to be exact.

"Advertising on Boston radio really helped to push our company into profitability for the first time. It was the tipping point for us," says Chad Langley, CEO of Teststripz. 

"If we hadn't started advertising on the radio when we did," adds Chad's brother Chris the company's CTO, "we would probably be out of business right now.

Teststripz was founded in 2011 by Chad. The company operates an online marketplace where people who suffer from diabetes can purchase low-cost supplies from others who have an oversupply. This includes test strips and meters.

"A lot of diabetics don't have enough health insurance to cover the cost of their supplies," says Chad. "A box of 100 test strips can retail for up to $250 in a pharmacy. Some people need to test up to 10 times per day. So the costs runs up fast."

The Langley's can offer the same box of strips for $55 by matching those in need with sellers who have more than they can use.

"Test strips are durable medical products, not drugs" explains, Chad. "It is perfectly legal for someone who has an oversupply to sell them to others as long as the boxes are unopened and weren't paid for by Medicare or Medicaid."

"We rely on advertising," says Chris, "to find these sellers. This is the only we can secure enough supply to fulfill the demand."

"Early on, we were posting flyers and putting magnetic signs on our cars. Even though they looked a little cheesy, it worked."

Every week, according to Nielsen, 954,564 single, adult women tuned-in to a Boston radio station.  This is 85.9% of every consumer who fits the description.

Why should a New England 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."

New England shoppers are expected to spend $11 billion this holiday season.  This will be 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 Boston 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...

If you don't have time to read this entire article, then I will tell you right now. The best way to advertise in New England is on Boston radio.

A vital function of advertising is to build mental availability, which nudges a consumer toward the purchase of a product or service. It also serves to provide public notice that a product or service exists and is available for purchase.

Consumers in the Boston area are expected to spend at least $100.9 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. As Professor Jef Richards at Michigan State University points out, “Advertising is totally unnecessary…unless you want to make money."