Business was booming in Detroit. Then it was not.

Before the chaos brought on by Coronavirus, it had been predicted, based on estimates from the National Retail Federation, Detroit area consumers would spend 4.1% more in 2020 than they did in 2019. On March 23, however, when Michigan'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, Metro Detroit 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. 

For Detroit small business owners, marketing and advertising are crucial to surviving any crisis, including Coronavirus. The business literature has an abundance of case studies from depressions, recessions, natural disasters, and, yes, pandemics that affirm this existential conclusion.

Advertising, however, may seem extravagant right now to Southeast Michigan businesses that are struggling to make rent, purchase inventory, and meet payroll. Henry Ford, though, is often quoted as saying, "Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping a clock to save time."

Therefore, as business owners from Monroe to Lapeer (and every point in between) are cinching their belts tighter-than-ever to stay alive, the dollars invested in advertising must be spent in the most effective manner possible.

During periods of uncertainty, advertising works the hardest when placed in within media that consumers trust.  During the time of COVID-19, advertising on Detroit radio has earned that trust among local consumers.

Since the onset of the Coronavirus crisis, consumers are not flocking into the showrooms, storefronts, offices, or dining rooms of Southeast Michigan small business owners. It turns out, though, social distancing has not proven to be an impediment to shopping.

Metro Detroit consumers are still spending money despite the chaos imposed by the pandemic, according to Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell & Associates. His company specializes in the collection of marketing data from business owners across the country.

"During depressions, recessions, floods, hurricane, earthquakes, fires, and, now, pandemics, commerce goes on," Mr. Borell told members of Detroit's small business community during a recent teleconference.

To prove his point, he shared research from IBISworld  which, indicates spending continues despite a plunge in consumer confidence.

Every week, 2,985,400 adult consumers tune-in to a Detroit radio station. That is way more than are reached by other media, including local television, newspaper, social media, or streaming audio sites like Pandora and Spotify.

A more significant number for thousands of Southeast Michigan small business owners who advertise on Detroit radio is how many of these listeners stick around when their commercials come on.

A 2011 Nielsen study discovered that, on average, 93% of listeners stayed with the radio station they are tuned-to when the commercials come on. That number amazed many advertisers at the time who believed that audiences were far more likely to defect when the music stopped.

A lot has changed since 2011. Metro Detroit consumers have many more media options and can instantly connect to each  with a button-push, mouse-click, screen-tap, or voice command. With all of these choices, do radio audiences still stay tuned during commercial breaks?

The chaos created in Southeast Michigan by the onset of Coronavirus has been a disruptive force among consumers. 

Work routines, buying habits, family life, and media consumption have all been palpably affected. These are all factors that need to be considered by small business owners who continue to advertise their goods and services during the crisis.

Before the current chaos, advertising on Detroit radio, by any metric, was the best way a local small business could advertise.

For instance, pre-Coronavirus, 2.9 million adult consumers tuned-in to a Metro Detroit radio station every week. This is significantly more than watched local TV, read a newspaper, accessed social media, or streamed audio from sites like Pandora and Spotify.

New research released from Nielsen indicates that amidst the current crisis, listening to local radio remains little changed. This is great news for those Michigan small business owners who are depending on advertising for their long-term survival.

Detroit area consumers are expected to spend $78.3 billion at retail this year, according to Nielsen. This means that every household, on average, will be dishing out over $44,000.

To capture a larger share of these dollars, Southeast Michigan small business owners need to know the answer to two questions.

The first question is, where is this enormous amount of cash being spent?  The list below details the answer.

In 'normal' times, Metro Detroit consumers would be expected to rack up $78.3 billion in annual retail sales. Of course, since the onset of the Coronavirus crisis, nothing has been normal.

But as Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, explained to members of the Southeast Michigan small business community via teleconference, consumers are still spending. This, it turns out, is normal.

Mr. Borrell shared research from Ibis that demonstrates during every type of crisis, including depressions, recessions, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and, now, pandemics, consumers still spend.

The business literature contains an abundance of examples of how continuing to market and advertise during an economic crisis can help a company survive and emerge from the episode even stronger than before.

Detroit small business owners who do continue to advertise and market, however, should consider modifying their pre-crisis strategy.

Last week, Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, shared insights with Metro Detroit small business owners on the value of marketing to consumers during a crisis. A video replay of the teleconference is available by clicking here.

Mr. Borrell is the CEO of Borrell Associates. His company is one of the most trusted sources of trends and forecasts for local media today.

According to Mr. Borrell, despite social distancing and economic jitters induced by the Coronavirus chaos, consumers are still spending money.

He points to research from Ibis that consumer consumption continues in almost every crisis, including depressions, recessions, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and, now, pandemic.

How quickly the millennials have grown up.

According to Nielsen, 61% of all Detroit area parents with children under the age of 18 are millennials.  

From the time their kids are born until they reach they are 17, these young parents will spend, on average, $233,000 per child. This does not include the cost of college.

Currently, there are 993,688 children under the age of 18 living in Metro Detroit. That makes the local millennial-parenting economy worth upwards of $231 billion. These dollars are being spent, among other things, on diapers, daycare, transportation, toys, education, electronics, clothing, and health care.

For Southeast Michigan small business owners interested in competing for a substantial portion of this multi-billion dollar pool of parental cash, they must advertise to millennial moms and dads. By almost any measurement, advertising on Detroit radio is the best way to reach this audience.

In a typical week, 2.9 million adult consumers tune-in to Detroit radio stations.  But, since the onset of the Coronavirus, the weeks have not been typical.

In a typical week, before social-distancing and work-from-home orders, 1.9 million would drive to-and-from work each day. More than 94% of these commuters could be reached by radio.  

Southeast Michigan small business owners who depend on radio advertising to market their goods and services, then, might be concerned that the disruption in commuting patterns could depress the amount of time consumers spend with local radio.

According to market research, however, radio listening remains an important part of the daily life of consumers.