New data from the US Census Bureau has optimistic news for Metro Detroit companies that sell business-to-business.

There are approximately 83,556 businesses in Southeast Michigan, according to the Census Bureau. Indeed, many of these businesses have suffered since the onset of the Coronavirus, especially in April.

Census information is now showing positive indicators that the fortunes of area companies are improving. This includes those with 500 or fewer employees. These small businesses account for 95% of all Detroit area firms.

During the week of April 26, 60% of Detroit area small businesses reported temporary closures.  By July 1, the number dropped to 15%

Also, during that same week, 81% of Southeast Michigan small business owners were reporting decreases in revenue versus the prior week.  By the end of June, that number fell to 30%.

In both June and July of this year, national data shows all retail and food services spending significantly outperformed the prior year by between two and three percent.

As the business climate improves in the Detroit area, the fortunes of B2B companies will accelerate as well. These include those businesses that sell office supplies, restaurant supplies, cleaning services, legal services, accounting services, transportation services, banking services, technology, and commercial real estate.

Before COVID-19, most listening to Detroit radio happened outside the home. Southeast Michigan consumers were tuning-in to their favorite stations from the car on the way to their job. Then, they tuned-in when they arrived at work. They listened again during the commute back home.

Nielsen recently surveyed consumers who worked from home before and during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The results show, as of June, 66% of respondents now work from home full-time as a consequence of the pandemic.

As consumers are compelled to work from their houses and curtail their commutes, the share of at-home listening to Detroit radio has grown by 31%, according to Nielsen.

Detroit radio reaches more area adults every week than any other medium. During a typical seven-day period, according to Nielsen, 3.1 million local consumers tune-in to their favorite AM and FM stations. This is significantly more than those who watch broadcast television, subscribe to pay-TV, browse social media, read a newspaper, or stream music from Pandora and Spotify.

Radio's omnipresence in the life of Southeast Michigan consumers is remarkable considering today is the medium's 100th birthday.

On this day in 1920 at 8:15pm, the Detroit News, owner of radio station 8MK, began broadcasting. The broadcast originated from the second floor of the newspaper's headquarters on Lafayette Boulevard.

Despite all of the media options available for small business owners to market their goods and services, advertising on Detroit radio is still the best way to reach local consumers.

Adult consumers are spending 741 minutes per day consuming electronic media, according to a new study by Nielsen.  This is 7.8% more time than they spent last year and 11.2% more than in 2018.

The typical daily media diet consists of radio, live TV, time-shifted TV, DVD/Blue-ray devices, game consoles, internet-connected devices, as well as internet via computers, smartphone apps, and tablet apps.

According to Nielsen, despite all of these media options, local radio reaches the most consumers every week.

There is good news for Metro Detroit retailers and restaurants.

As a result of the pandemic, one-third of consumers indicate they will pay a premium for local brands and products, according to a recent study by Ernst & Young

However, before consumers will buy from a local business in Dearborn, St. Clair Shores, Farmington Hills, or any town in-between, they must know they can do so without risking their health.

Advertising is the only practical way to let Southeast Michigan shoppers and diners know about the precautions and practices your small business has taken to reduce potential health threats.

During July, 1.6 million adult listeners spent 1.75 hours per day listening to their favorite Detroit radio stations, according to Nielsen. Despite an avalanche of pandemic induced disruptions, the daily time spent with radio is down by only by one-quarter-hour from a year ago.

Some advertising experts had predicted that as consumers spent more time at home because of COVID-19 concerns, the hours devoted to radio listening would dramatically decrease. That, however, was not the case.

In July of 2019, according to Nielsen, 26.3% of radio listening occurred at home. During July of this year, in-home listening jumped to 34.5%. Despite the reduction in out-of-home activities, though, consumers still spent nearly the same amount of time listening to Detroit radio.

More than one-third of Metro Detroit households are 'cord-cutters' or 'cord-nevers'. This means, they have fired their cable or satellite television providers or never subscribed at all. Instead, these consumers are choosing to find their video entertainment elsewhere.

The number of local homes that subscribe to pay-TV services began plummeting in 2013. New technologies has allowed viewers to bypass cable and satellite for more compelling content at lower prices. These cord-cutters now depend on services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime to fill their multiple screens.

For many years, Southeast Michigan small business owners have been investing a significant portion of their advertising budgets into cable-TV.  The medium had proven to be a low-cost, high-reach alternative to buying commercial on over-the-air television stations. 

Now, because of cord-cutting, there are 1.1 million adult consumers with unconnected TVs. This profoundly diminishes the value proposition of advertising with local cable systems.

There is a powerful and affordable solution, however, for small business owners to reach both the diminishing cable audience and the expanding number of cord-cutters.

Car radios came to Detroit in June of 1930. For just $120, about $1200 in present dollars, local drivers could install these early mobile devices into their Fords, Studebakers, Packards, and DeSotos, 

The first car radios were built by the Galvin Manufacturing Company of Chicago. They named their invention, and eventually their company, Motorola.

Today, more than 2.9 million car radios fill ears of area drivers with music, news, sports, and information. As a result, local radio reaches more consumers than all other media.

In a typical pre-COVID-19 week, according to Nielsen, 89% of adult consumers would tune-in to a Detroit radio station. This is significantly more than were reached by local TV, cable, social media, newspaper, or streaming media sites Pandora and Spotify.

Before the onset of COVID-19, more than 568,000 Metro Detroit households were planning to spend $1.2 billion on furniture, according to Nielsen. Unfortunately, many of those plans were put on pause as consumers sheltered in place to help slow the spread of the virus.

A recent study by Elevate | SmithGeiger suggests that the fortunes of home furnishing retailers, however, are about to improve.

According to the study, 32% of consumers who had been planning to buy furniture will do so within three months of the pandemic easing. Fifty percent will do so within six months. The numbers for mattress shoppers are even stronger.

To capture a significant share of the post-pandemic sales of furniture and mattress will require retailers to advertise. The most effective way to reach the customers who are ready to buy is on Detroit radio.

There are more than 3.3 million registered voters in Metro Detroit.. Here is the number by Michigan county:

• Lapeer: 68,694
• Livingston: 152,263
• Macomb: 649,060
• Oakland: 984,347
• St. Clair: 127,884
• Wayne: 1,335,472

According to Nielsen, Detroit radio reaches significantly more of these registered voters than all other media, including local television pay-TV, newspaper, social media platforms, and streaming audio sites like Pandora or Spotify.