Radio Results Blog

For Maine small business owners, advertising on Portland radio seems to be a day job. Although most radio stations broadcast 24 hours, some advertisers believe no one tunes-in at night. Not only is this wrong, these misguided companies are missing a valuable marketing opportunity.

Last week, 699,315 adult consumers living in southern Maine listened to a Portland radio station. This is substantially more than watched a local TV station; read a local newspaper; or thumbed through a local magazine.

But, just because the sun sets, radio listeners don't roll up their ears. According to Nielsen, 46% of consumers who listen to Portland radio between 6am and 7pm also listen at night.

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Since 1925, Maine small business owners have depended on Portland radio for advertising their products and services. Many of these local companies credit their radio ads with doubling or tripling their sales.

Sometimes, though, radio advertising fails. This could happen because commercials are placed on the wrong radio station. Or, the commercials were not engaging or compelling. Other times the advertiser did not invest enough to ensure success.

The number one reason advertising on Portland radio could fail, though, is the lack of a marketing objective. According to the Small Business Guide to Effective Radio Advertising, a well-articulated objective is critical for the success of any campaign.

Some Maine business owners might mistakenly identify their marketing objective as "getting my name out there", "creating a buzz", or "increasing foot-traffic". But, achieving any of those goals will not ensure success.

Sometimes the business owner could simply think they need "exposure". Exposure did not end well for the Donner party or Pee Wee Herman. And, if "exposure" is your marketing objective, then your campaign will probably end just as badly.

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A variety of successful Maine small business owners invest in advertising on Portland radio to market their products and services. A slew of research clearly proves radio reaches mores consumers in southern Maine that any other ad medium.

These studies also show, that radio advertising provides business owners with the highest return-on-investment as well.

Studies are one thing. But, cash register receipts provide the definitive proof of radio advertising's potency.

If you were 1 of the 700,000 listeners who tuned-in to a Portland radio station last week, there was a good chance you heard commercials for Royal River Heat Pumps, a Freeport based HVAC dealer; Saco River Dentistry, a Buxton based dental practice; and The Time Pilots, a Portland based wedding band. Each of these small businesses report jaw-dropping results from their radio advertising investments

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There are 25,782,816 teeth in southern Maine. Over the next 12 months, according to Nielsen, 62% of them will end up in the offices of 600 or so practicing dentists.

The majority of dentists in southern Maine are self-employed, making them, by definition, small business owners. These owners are fighting, dare I say, tooth-and-nail for their share of $280 million in patient billing.

Advertising on Portland radio has proven to be an effective way for some dental professionals to recruit patients...and not just because radio is an "oral" medium. Buxton, Maine based Saco River Dentistry, for example, credits its radio advertising with contributing to a 426% increase in new patients this year versus last year.

For any Maine small business that advertises, including dentists, it turns out that the reach of an advertising campaign ranks very high in factors that ultimately convert a target audience into paying customers. Earlier this year, Nielsen released a study that found just that.

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