Business was booming in the Central Savannah River Area. Then, it was not.

Before the chaos brought on by Coronavirus, it had been predicted, based on estimates from the National Retail Federation, CSRA consumers would spend 4.1% more in 2020 than they did in 2019. During the first week of April, however, when the Governors of  Georgia and South Carolina shut down their states, the expectations of growth for many small business owners were replaced with fights for survival.

As the states prepares to reopen, CSRA small businesses will learn that turning the lights back on and hanging out the welcome sign might not be enough to bring even the most loyal customers back.

Some customers will not return because of personal safety concerns. Other customers may have discovered alternative sources to purchase goods and services.

More likely, though, customers will not come back because a business has lost a valued parcel of real estate: the position at the top of a customer's mind. This is the place where purchase decisions are made.

There is a way to regain top-of-mind status. First, though, it's important to understand why a business can be forgotten so quickly. 

For Central Savannah River Area small business owners, marketing and advertising are crucial to surviving any crisis, including Coronavirus. The business literature has an abundance of case studies from depressions, recessions, natural disasters, and, yes, pandemics that affirm this existential conclusion.

Advertising, however, may seem extravagant right now to Georgia and South Carolina businesses that are struggling to make rent, purchase inventory, and meet payroll. Henry Ford, though, is often quoted as saying, "Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping a clock to save time."

Therefore, as business owners from Edgehill to Aiken (and every point in between) are cinching their belts tighter-than-ever to stay alive, the dollars invested in advertising must be spent in the most effective manner possible.

During periods of uncertainty, advertising works the hardest when placed in within media that consumers trust.  During the time of COVID-19, advertising on Augusta radio has earned that trust among local consumers.