Small business owners have been advertising on Las Vegas radio since the first station, KENO, went on the air in 1940.  By almost every metric, the medium remains the best way to successfully market goods and services to local consumers.

Before Clark County small businesses finalize their marketing plans for this year, here are five facts they should know about radio advertising.

Clark County small business owners need employees...desperately.

According to a report from the National Federation of Independent Business, 26% of small business owners say finding qualified workers is their number one problem. 

The report goes on to say that 88% of small business owners looking to hire new employees are finding there are no qualified candidates.

The historically low unemployment figures in Las Vegas appears to be the root cause of local hiring woes. The metro area's jobless rate stands at 4.0%. There are just not enough qualified workers to go around.

Most small business owners have exhausted the traditional methods of recruitment. These include online job board posts, newspaper ads, referral bonuses, and help wanted signs. All to no avail.

To successfully attract the qualified applicants they yearn for, local small business owners need to command the attention of 'passive' job seekers. The number one source for these candidates is Las Vegas radio.

For Las Vegas small business owners who depend on Valentine's Day to spike first-quarter sales, this year could prove to be a battle as the decline in celebrants is expected to continue.

Based on estimates from the National Retail Federation, 1,100,000 Clark County consumers will be participating in the holiday this year. This is 20% fewer than ten years ago.

There is good news, however, for local  business owners. Although there are will be fewer customers, local Valentine's Day spending is expected to grow to $175-million. This is 28% higher than a decade ago.

So, how does a Vegas retailer or restaurant win the battle for the hearts and wallets of romantic consumers?  Advertising is a necessary weapon to win this war.

No weapon is as potent as advertising on Las Vegas radio.

The buying power of Black consumers in the Las Vegas Area is now $6.5 billion. Over the past 19 years, according to Nielsen, the pace of spending by African Americans has grown 28% faster than by White consumers.

If a Clark County small business owner would like to earn a larger share of this spending, the best place to start is with advertising.

"For African American consumers, advertising of all types is an important touchpoint in their shopping journey," says a recent study by Nielsen. "African American consumers are more likely than the total population to agree that advertising provides them with meaningful information about the product use of other consumers."

"African Americans are avid media consumers, across multiple media channels, which gives advertisers ample opportunities to connect with them."

The best advertising medium, though, for small business owners to reach the Vegas African American consumers is local radio.

Small business owners in the Las Vegas area must advertise to claim a fair share of the $39.7 billion retail economy.

“Think you have a great product?” asks the U.S. 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 sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business."

During 2019, many Las Vegas small business owners sought advertising guidance on the advice pages of www.AdvertiseInLasVegas.com. Below are the top ten most-read articles from the past 12 months.

Attention Clark County small business owners. The five busiest shopping days of the year are imminent.

Based on data from the National Retail Federation, more than 1.3 million Las Vegas  area consumers are likely to shop beginning on Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.

“The tradition of Thanksgiving weekend holiday shopping has become a five-day event with consumers spending money in stores, supporting local small businesses, and online with their mobile devices and computers,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Even as people are starting to purchase gifts earlier in the season, consumers still enjoy finding good Thanksgiving deals and passing time shopping with family and friends over the long holiday weekend.”

Based on the NRF findings, here are the number of shoppers local business owners can expect on each of these five days:

Almost 442,000 adult consumers in Clark County belong to a fitness club. These memberships bring in close to $820-million in sales to local gym owners.

January is critical for the small business owners that operate gyms in the Las Vegas area. 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 $88.6-million local consumers  will spend on gym memberships in January, requires fitness center owners to advertise. The best way to do this is on Las Vegas radio. Here's why.

Ask any Las Vegas small business owner how to measure the success of an advertising campaign. The answer will almost always 'sales.'

According to Nielsen research, the media-element of a campaign that has the most significant effect on sales is reach. This is the number of different people exposed to the advertiser's message.

There are more ways than ever to advertise. But, which of those options has the largest reach among Clark County consumers?

Doug Schoen, an advertising professional with 35 years of experience, writes in Forbes: "You wouldn’t know it from all the media coverage focused on streaming video and streaming music, but radio actually has the most reach among American media consumers. 93% of adults listen to the radio each week as compared to 87% who watch TV, a substantive difference."

Las Vegas small businesses that sell products or services to pet owners should sit up and take notice.  Local consumers will spend $465,000,000 this year on behalf of Fido and Fluffy. This amount has increased 323% since 1994, with no sign of letting up.

According to the American Pet Products Association, here's how local spending on furry companions breaks down:

• Food: $190,897,000
• Supplies/OTC Medicine: $102,432,000
• Vet Care: $116,400,000
• Live Pet Purchases: $13,968000
• Other Services: $41,904,000

The biggest month for sales of pet-related products and services in Las Vegas is, by far, December. That is when 10.5% of all annual spending happens in this category.

Las Vegas small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services since 1941.  That's when the Laura Belle and her husband Maxwell Kelch put the first successful local radio station, KENO on the air.

Today, there are 35 radio stations that serve Clark County. Each provides a unique blend of music, information, and entertainment.  Some stations focus on politics or sports. Some play country music. Some play the hits. Some play classic rock. Some are on the AM dial. Some are on FM.

When KENO began broadcasting, there were no TV stations in Las Vegas. Those would come 13 years later. Also, there was no social media, YouTube, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, or smartphones. Each of those would be products of a new Millenium.

With an overabundance of advertising options now available to small business owners, does advertising on Las Vegas radio still make sense?  Here are five facts that serve to answer that question.