Every week, according to Nielsen, Charlotte radio reaches 1.9 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 Charlotte radio to successfully market the products and services they sell.

Many first-time advertisers on Charlotte 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.

Business was booming in Charlotte. Then it was not.

Before the chaos brought on by Coronavirus, it had been predicted, based on estimates from the National Retail Federation, Charlotte 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, Charlotte 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. 

There is alarming news for small business owners who advertise on Charlotte television stations: broadcast TV viewers are disappearing at a rapid pace.

Nielsen reports that halfway through the first quarter of this year, the number of people using television has dropped 7.5%. This compares to -6.3% in the fourth quarter of 2019, and -7.0% a year ago,

"If the trend holds, it would represent the largest quarterly decline for TV viewership in our data set," explains UBS analyst John C. Hodulikadding. "Trends have worsened across most age demos with persons 25-34 now falling -17% vs. low double-digit declines throughout 2019. The persons 55+ demo continues to trend down -2%, similar to 2019 (the first year of declining ratings for the demo)."

Radio listenership, on the other hand, has remained quite stable, according to Nielsen. Since 1970, the medium has reached more than 9-in-10 consumers every week.

There are many ways for Charlotte small business owners to advertise. Options include newspapers, magazines, television, social media, and streaming media.

But to achieve the “3-Rs” of advertising success, Reach, Recall, and Return, no other medium delivers results as effectively and efficiently as advertising on Charlotte radio.

"At least 40% of our new customers come because of our advertising on Charlotte radio," says Deb Filkins, co-owner of Cougar Run Winery in Concord, NC. "Eighty percent of these first-time customers will become repeat customers."

Ms. Filkins and her husband Tom, who produces all the wine, opened Cougar Run in December 2012 with an inventory of 1500 bottles. The retail store is located in a historic Coca-Cola bottling plant on the city's Church Street.

"Since we started advertising on the radio, almost half of our business comes from outside the Concord area, much of it from Charlotte." says Ms. Filkins. "We now sell more than 9000 bottles of wine every year.  Our monthly sales have grown from $100 a month when we opened to almost $14,000 today."

So, how can a local small business owner choose the best Charlotte radio stations to advertise on?

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

You have learned, for instance, 1,827,300 adult consumers regularly tune-in to their favorite Charlotte 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 local small business owner.

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