The current high rate of inflation is tempering how much Tampa Bay business owners can spend on advertising.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 124,00 small businesses in the Tampa Bay area. There is one thing each of the owners of these companies has in common, whether they own a hardware store in Clearwater, a furniture store in St. Pete, or a restaurant in Seminole Heights. They are all experiencing the negative consequences of inflation.

In a monthly survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners (NFIB), inflation now ranks second as the single most important problem companies face. A year ago, inflation was barely an issue.

Inflation has not hampered the enthusiasm to spend among Tampa Bay area consumers keeping retail sales hovering above pre-Covid levels. But, inflation is taking a dramatic toll on the amount of revenue business owners can keep.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, small business owners see inflation-fueled price increases in almost every cost of operation, including inventory, utilities, rent, and wages.

Because of these rising operational costs, Tampa Bay business owners are looking to cut expenses where they can, including advertising expenditures. But, because there is still robust consumer demand for goods and services, these companies need to make sure that the amount they do invest in advertising has the best return possible.

By almost any marketing metric, advertising on Tampa radio provides the greatest return-on-investment (ROI) of any medium available to local business owners.

Now is a crucial time for Tampa Bay small business owners to advertise.  

According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence has surged to 110, the highest it has been since the onset of the pandemic last March.  The index has bounced back from a low of 89.6 in February. 

Moving forward, Florida business owners can expect buyer optimism to remind high.

“The recovery in consumer confidence is set to continue in the coming months, buoyed by the combination of improving health conditions and wider vaccine distribution,” said Lydia Boussour, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “This should support hearty consumer spending and pave the way for a mini-boom in economic activity this spring and summer.”

As Tampa consumers gain confidence, they are expected to unleash the record $13.2-billion in personal savings amassed during the pandemic. This number is based on figures reported by Barron's in November. 

This combination of consumer confidence and the cache of cash-on-hand has led the National Retail Federation (NRF) to forecast a 7% increase in retail spending in 2021 versus last year.

To claim a significant share of the expected spending tsunami, Tampa Bay business owners plan to boost advertising investments this year.

According to Borrell Associates, a company that tracks advertising trends across the country, Tampa business owners are expected to spend $1.9 billion to advertise the goods and services they sell. This represents a 6.9% increase versus last year.

Over the next 12 months, Tampa Bay consumers are expected to spend $59.3 billion at retail.  To capture a larger share of this cash,  local small business owners should consider advertising.

The US Small Business Administration recommends that every Tampa Bay small business advertise consistently.  “Think you have a great product?” asks the SBA. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”  The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business."

Local business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services since 1922. This was the Tampa Bay Times put the first local station, WDAE, on the air.

Today, Tampa radio, by any key advertising metric, is still the best way for business owners to reach local consumers.