During our training this morning, one of my co-workers reminded me of something that all Houstonians know, just probably have never seen the numbers. Forbes Magazine ranked Houston as the 8th worst commute in the country. Lots of statistics to back this up, but more from personal experience and the stories of my co-workers every morning. People from Sugarland typically depending on the time of day can take 30 minutes to 2 hours! Cypress area, or where I used to live in Spring it takes on average 45minutes to an hour. A lucky few live in the city and it takes about 15-20 minutes depending on weather. The statistic from Forbes quotes that 45% of Houstonians commute more than 30 minutes to work each way- pretty sure that number should be 45 minutes or more.
Only 13% of people carpool, Forbes reports that percentage is the highest number for cities with over 2 million workers, and 3rd for cities with 1 million or more workers. Unlike Dallas and Austin, Houston continues to resist mass transit in favor of more tollways and expanding the highways to accommodate more cars.
NEWS FLASH! Americans spend 11 hours in their car every Monday-Friday. 96% of Americans listen to the radio in their cars, with in-car listening growing 11% in the last 4 years! Local traffic and weather information are the most frequently mentioned reasons for liking conventional broadcast radio.
Anyone want to buy some radio advertising?
There are a lot of ways for businesses to deliver their message to consumers, Television (broadcast or cable), Newspaper (does anyone read this anymore, less than 10% of the Houston metro area actually receives the Houston Chronicle, their readership is under 400,000, in a city of 4 million that is not great. PLUS, how many people just throw it in the trash without even opening it.), Billboards, Direct Mail (again, the mass mailings that are in your mailbox, do you read them, or just throw them away knowing it is "junk-mail") and the Internet.
What will work best for your business is something only you can decide- gather information and make an informed decision.
