"Our franchisees love advertising on Detroit radio," says Katherine Villeneuve, Director of Marketing & Franchise Support for Auto-Lab. "They understand that radio reaches the masses, and can achieve the messaging frequency to be effective."

Auto-Lab started in 1989 as a single-independent store in Sturgis, Michigan. The company has expanded to include 21 franchises across the country. Nine of the stores are located in Metro Detroit, each operated by a local, small business owner.

Auto-Lab offers consumers the same diagnostic, maintenance, repairs, and parts as a car dealership's service department but, for what Ms. Villeneuve describes as a 'fair price'.

To drive traffic into one of Auto-Lab stores in Southeast Michigan, each franchisee contributes 3% of their gross sales to a cooperative marketing fund. Ms. Villeneuve then works with the owners to create persuasive, annual advertising campaigns.

"Each of the owners has input into how the money is spent," she says. "Afterall, because they are in the stores every day, they have the best sense who their customers are."

For the last four years, the Metro Detroit Auto-Lab owners have chosen advertising on Detroit radio as the primary way to reach new customers.

Suppose a Metro Detroit small business owner woke up one morning and found a 100-year-old machine in the basement of her store. She soon discovered that every time a dime was put into the machine, one dollar came out.  Imagine, now, how profitable that business would become.

Good news: such a contraption exists,  and every business owner probably has one in their car, in their store, in their home, even on their phone. It's called Detroit radio.

Over the past few years, Nielsen has conducted more than 20 studies to determine what type of return-on-investment (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. Turning dimes into dollars.

There are 2.3 million consumers in Metro Detroit who own their own homes. 

According to Zillow, more than 60% of homeowners carry a mortgage. A record number of owners are considering refinancing  now, which means millions of dollars in fees for local lenders and brokers are up for grabs.

Why the sudden urgency for Southeast Michigan homeowners to refinance their mortgages?

According to The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (aka, Freddie Mac), "The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a record 3.29% this week, the lowest level in its nearly 50-year history."

"Meanwhile, mortgage applications increased 10 percent last week from one year ago and show no signs of slowing down. Given these strong indicators in rates and sales, as well as recent increases in new construction, it’s clear the housing market continues to be a positive force for the broader economy."

If a consumer Googles 'refinance my mortgage in Detroit', more than 4.4 million results come back, So, to set themselves apart, lenders and brokers will need to advertise.  By any key metric, advertising on local  radio is the best way to reach area homeowners.

"Our advertising on Detroit radio generates 10-12 quality leads from prospective students every week," says Robert Cahill, Director of Communications at Northwestern Technological Institute in Southfield.

"On average," he says, "22% of these leads will close. This is a bigger return than our television advertising delivers."

Since 1979, the school has been training students for careers in the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning industry. Currently, Northwestern Tech enrolls 650 students per year into its 45 week, program.

"For 35 years, our marketing strategy was to primarily use advertising on daytime television to target unemployed men," says Mr. Cahill. "This approach really helped build the school."

"By 2015, though, our enrollment had dropped by nearly 40%. That's when we knew we had to try a new approach."  The new strategy would include advertising on Detroit radio.

There were a lot of 'firsts' in Southeast Michigan on voting day of 1920.  It was the first time, ever, women could participate in the selection of the U.S. President. It was also the first time live election results were broadcast on the radio. Not to mention, it was also the day of the first radio broadcast, ever.

The voters' choice that night was between Warren G. Harding  and James M. Cox.  Both men had derived their political power as successful newspaper publishers.  It is quite ironic, then, that one of these men would reach the highest office in the land on the same night that the nascent radio broadcasting business began its takedown of the newspaper industry.

Nowhere is this takedown more apparent than locally, where Detroit radio has become, by far, the advertising medium with the largest reach among local consumers.

"Our phones started ringing even before our first commercial on Detroit radio ended," says Dr. Kairi Horsley, DPM.  He and his father, Dr. Barton Horsley are co-owners of Horsley Foot and Ankle, a podiatric medical practice in Southfield.

"That was, in 2015," says the younger Dr. Horsley. "Five years later, our commercials still bring us 12 or 13 new patients every week."

Before 2015, the Horsely's had been no stranger to the power of radio. 

When Dr. Kairi joined the practice after his medical residency at the Michigan Surgical Hospital, the two Horsley's teamed up to purchase time for their own talk show on AM radio. During their program, the doctors would discuss prevention and care for the pathologies and diseases concerning the feet.

"We were finding enough new patients from the show, so we weren't losing money," says Dr. Kairi. "But, I kept thinking there could be a better way."

Retailers in Southeast Michigan rang-up $78,314,821,000 in retail sales last year, according to Nielsen. But wait. It's about to get better.

The National Retail Federation forecasts that in 2020, sales will increase by as much as 4.1%. This will create another $3.2 billion for local small business owners.  

“The economy is growing at a more modest pace, but the underlying economic fundamentals remain in place and are positive,” stated NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. “Consumers remain upbeat and have the confidence to spend, and the steady wage growth that has come with the strong job market is fueling their spending. The state of the consumer is very healthy.

To claim a fair share of this enlarged pool of spending will require Metro Detroit small business owners to advertise.

“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.”  

Metro Detroit 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 Southeast Michigan appears to be the root cause of local hiring woes. The area's jobless rate stands at 3.7%. 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 Detroit radio.

Many times the difference between winning an election and losing is a handful of ballots. This is true in races for almost every elected office, referendum, and issue on the national, statewide, and local level. 

To win a modern election requires advertising. Successful advertising requires reach. In Southeast Michigan, the most potent way to reach voters is on Detroit radio.

The Detroit radio metro includes the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne.

Last week, for instance, 92.3% of all registered voters in these counties tuned-in to a Detroit radio station.  This is significantly more than were reached by local TV, newspaper, social media, and streaming audio sites like Pandora and Spotify.

Advertising is critical to the success of every Southeast Michigan small business owner.  One of the most powerful elements of any advertising campaign is how many people it reaches.

Nielsen, the world's largest consumer insights company, found that advertising reach has a more significant effect on sales than branding, recency, and context.

There are many ways a local business owner can advertise. This includes traditional media like Detroit radio, local TV, and newspaper. It also includes online advertising options, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pandora.

The type of customer an individual business needs to reach depends on the goods and services a company sells. For instance, a daycare operator might want to reach households with young children. On the other hand, a real estate agent could be looking for consumers in the market to purchase a new home.