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.

Metro Detroit small business owners are fighting the coronavirus battles on multiple fronts.  Their first objective is to keep their families and employees safe. Then, of course, there are the concerns of keeping their businesses healthy enough to survive current disruptions.

The business literature has an abundance of case studies showing how survival is often connected to a thoughtful communications and marketing strategy during challenging times.  

Business owners need to let Southeast Michigan consumers know if they are still open. If their hours have changed. Or if they are providing alternative shopping methods (e.g., delivery, curbside pick-up).

Most importantly, it is imperative consumers know that a business will still be there for them when the crisis is over.

For those owners who are depending on communication to preserve their business, the best option may be to advertise on Detroit radio.

If you were one of the 2,985,400 adult consumers who listened to  the radio in Southeast Michigan last week, then odds are you heard a commercial for the Law Office of D. Todd Williams. The firm specializes in criminal defense cases involving traffic violations, probation matters, expungements, and serious felonies.

Mr. Williams has been advertising on Detroit radio every single month for the past 23 years.

"Radio advertising has been critical to building my practice," he says. "I can tell the days when my commercials run because those are the days my phones ring."

Shortly after passing the bar exam in 1995, Mr. Williams opened his firm operating from the basement of his Rochester Hills townhouse.

Mr. Williams's first cases came from friends and their referrals.

The top concern of every Southeast Michigan small business owner is the health and safety of their families and employees.  Local information and breaking news regarding the Coronavirus is available by clicking here.

Of course, a secondary concern is tending to the health of their business amid an overabundance of social and financial disruptions. 

There is one prescription that helped many Metro Detroit businesses survive the Great Depression of 1929, the economic crash of 2009, and every recession in between.  The Rx for keeping a business healthy during chaotic times is to continue advertising.

The best example of how advertising can fend off tough times was shared by The New Yorker magazine financial columnist James Surowiecki.

Metro Detroit retailers spend a considerable amount of time and money marketing their small businesses on social media.  Is this effort paying off?

Each month, according to Nielsen, 2.2 million Southeast Michigan adults use Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. This equates to 65% of consumers.  This reach is rather anemic compared to Detroit radio and TV, which attracts considerably more users in a single week than these social media platforms do over 30 days.

Among local millennials, the monthly reach of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is eclipsed by the weekly reach of Detroit radio.

The number of consumers reached by an advertising campaign, according to Nielsen, is the media consideration that has the most significant effect on increasing sales. 

"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.