How big does a small business need to be before it can afford to advertise on Tampa radio? The owners of Ana Delicias Bakery will be the first to tell you: size does not matter.

Ana Delicias Bakery in Tampa is not just a small business. It's a tiny, family-owned business with big ambitions. Advertising on local radio is helping the business raise the dough to grow.

"Radio advertising is not an expense for us, It is an investment," says Paula Tavarez who co-owns the bakery with her cousin Ana Lizardo. "That investment has paid off."

There are more than 200,000 small businesses in Tampa Bay.  Each of them is competing for a share of the $54-billion area consumers will spend this year.

To succeed, the US Small Business Administration (SBA) recommends that to succeed, every local business consider advertising. 

There are 252 Metro by T-Mobile stores in the Tampa Bay area. As Manager of Field Marketing for the wireless company, Audra Wolf is responsible for bringing customers into every single location.

"It's all about driving in-store foot traffic," says Ms. Wolf. "Every dime we spend is about getting people through the door and have them make a purchase. We have been very happy with the return-on-investment (ROI) we receive from our promotions on Tampa radio stations.

"We have a number of ways we track sales," she adds, "so we know our radio plan is working for us."

In May 2008, Susan and Jose Moreno opened Moreno's Bakery with three employees in a 2500 square foot storefront in Brandon.

"We were lucky to do $100 in sales per day back then," says Ms. Moreno. "Eleven years later, we now serve 600-1000 customer per day and have 50 employees."

Ms. Moreno cites her husbands baking skills and her advertising instincts for the success of their Tampa Bay small business. Ms. Moreno further credits a mix of cable TV advertising and commercials on Tampa radio stations with Moreno's Bakery's incredible growth trajectory.

"I didn't think radio advertising would work. I was not a believer," says David Perritt, Regional Operations Manager of Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.

Mr. Perritt's opinion changed after he experimented with advertising on Tampa radio stations when the club first opened in January 2017.

"I have been extremely pleased with the results," he says. "The data shows just how successful radio has been working for us."

"Radio advertising is a huge part of our success," says Trent Taucher. His family has owned Budget Heating and Air Conditioning since 1992. "The constant repetition of our unique message on Tampa radio stations drives new customers through a door every day."

"When my dad started the business, we were a traditional selling and installing heating and air conditioning in homes and businesses. That's how it was for the first eight years," says Mr. Taucher. "Then in about 2000, our business model changed. We eliminated installations and began selling equipment directly to both residential customers and contractors from our warehouse."

"The success of our new business model depended largely on word-of-mouth. We quickly generated plenty of it with radio advertising."

Hungry Howie's is the 12th largest chain of pizza restaurants in America based on sales volume. The company has 551 locations. Seventy-one of the stores are in the Tampa Bay area.

For the past 33 years, advertising on Tampa radio has helped Hungry Howie's grow from just 20 locations in the Tampa Bay area to 210 throughout the state.

"Our Florida locations outsell all of the other stores across the country," says Barry Devine, founder of Devine Advertising, a St. Petersburg based small business who has been responsible for Hungry Howie's marketing since 1986.

"The only thing we do differently here in Florida," says Mr. Devine, "is we use lots of radio advertising. Far more than the Hungry Howie's locations in other states."

Michael Hollander and his family own Weather Tite Windows in Tampa.  When he took over the company in 2006, it was deeply in debt and nearly out of business.

Since then, Mr. Hollander has built Weather Tite into the 24th largest home improvement company in America. Quite an amazing feat for a company that only sells replacement windows and doors.

"Advertising on Tampa Bay radio has been a huge part of the company's success," says Mr. Hollander. "Ninety-two percent of our leads say radio is the way they heard about us. The leads we generate from our radio ads cost us $4.00 each. That's almost half of what I pay for leads from other sources."

Jon Polizzi has owned Electric Today, LLC in Tampa with his dad and brother since 2004. The company provides residential electrical and air conditioning repairs to customers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Manatee counties.

In late 2017, Electric Today began advertising on Tampa Bay radio. The results have been spectacular.

"Last year," says Mr. Polizzi, "our business grew 67%.  The only thing we did differently was to add radio advertising into our marketing mix. I attribute most of our growth to what we have done on the radio."

If you were one of the 2,193,604 consumers who tuned-in to a Tampa Bay radio station this week, then you probably know real estate agents Andrew and Angela Duncan.  The "Duncan Duo", as they refer to themselves, have been advertising successfully on local radio since 2009.

"When we first started advertising on Tampa radio, our growth trajectory really took off," says Mr. Duncan.  "We had been selling 100 homes a year. But when we invested in radio advertising, our sales began growing by 50% every year."

"Remember," he continues, "this was during the downturn. Most other real estate agents were struggling.  Angela and I credit our advertising on Tampa Bay radio with 100% of our growth during that time."