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.

Las Vegas consumers cannot get enough pizza.

In 2012, there were just about 740 local pizza restaurants. Today, however, that number has grown to over 800. In 2019, these establishments racked up $376,000,000 in total sales.

Fifty-nine percent of pizza sales in Clark County are rung-up by one of the top-50 chains like Domino's or Pizza Hut. The remaining 41% of revenue is controlled by independent, small business owners.

To compete for a larger share of the pizza pie in the Las Vegas area requires local restaurant owners to bring in new customers. A proven way to accomplish this is with advertising.

The US Small Business Administration recommends that every Vega small business advertise consistently.  

Consumers in Las Vegas spent a record $2.7 billion on home improvements in 2019. This level of spending is projected to drop modestly next year, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

“Declining home sales and home-building activity coupled with slower gains in permitting for improvement projects will put the brakes on remodeling growth,” says Chris Herbert, the center’s managing director.

“However, if falling mortgage interest rates continue to incentivize home sales, refinancing, and ultimately remodeling activity, the slowdown may soften some.”

If Clark County small businesses that sell home improvement products and services would like to continue to grow despite the softening market, then advertising will be required.

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.

When Las Vegas consumers make their New Year's resolutions, many will have money on their minds.

A new study by Fidelity Investments finds that 67% of adults are considering a financial resolution for 2020. This is 10% more than last year.

The top financial resolution, among those considering one is, 'saving more'. The study found that, when asked to choose, a vast majority of consumers would rather save $5000 than lose five pounds.

This fervor for finance is excellent news for Clark County small business owners who cater to savers and investors. This includes financial advisors, insurance agents, bankers, accountants, and mortgage brokers.

To compete for a fair share of these resolution dollars requires business owners to advertise. By any metric, the best way to reach potential savers and investors is on Las Vegas 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.

There's a reason many Las Vegas small business owners target their advertising towards consumers who have completed a four-year college degree. It's because, typically, university graduates earn $29,106 more per year than those with only a high school diploma, according to The Federal Reserve.

There are, according to Nielsen, 357,478 college graduates living in the Las Vegas area. In total, this population generates $27.8 billion in annual take-home pay. To tap into a similar pool of spending power, a marketer would need to reach 619,629 consumers who did not go beyond high school.

The number of people reached by a campaign is, generally, what determines the cost of advertising. So, for a Clark County small business owner operating on a tight marketing budget, spending can be kept in check by targeting those consumers with the most money to spend. In this case, college graduates.

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.