Radio Gains Ground As Small Businesses Expand Advertising.

Small businesses are spending more money to attract customers, but their confidence in their ability to turn those investments into sales is sinking. New research from Borrell Associates finds that advertisers are increasingly frustrated with their lead-generation efforts, even as they expand their marketing budgets and use more advertising channels. One beneficiary of that broader approach is radio, which is gaining ground among small businesses looking to acquire new customers.

The findings, discussed on Borrell’s latest “Local Marketing Trends” podcast, show 42% of small businesses have increased their marketing investments, while nearly half are planning further increases. Yet the percentage of businesses rating their lead-generation performance above average has fallen sharply over the past nine years, from 48% in 2017 to roughly one-quarter today. Only 42% express confidence in the return on investment from their lead-generation efforts.

The new “SMB Lead-Gen & Conversion Report,” sponsored by small-business technology provider Vcita, suggests advertisers aren’t necessarily pulling back when campaigns fail to meet expectations. Instead, many are spending more and experimenting with additional media channels in hopes of finding better results.

Among the more encouraging findings for broadcasters is an increase in the percentage of small businesses using radio specifically to acquire new customers. That figure rose from 20% in 2022 to 25% in 2026, according to Borrell’s survey.

Radio isn’t alone. The research also shows other traditional media also gained ground, with direct mail use rising nine percentage points, outdoor five points, and newspapers four points. Magazine use increased as well.

Rachel Shapiro, Chief Marketing Officer of Vcita, says the trend reflects businesses expanding their advertising efforts across more channels as competition for customers intensifies.

“Budgets are just growing across the board,” she says. “Those that have had smaller budgets and maybe had to limit themselves to one or two channels suddenly are branching out and actually investing more money on more channels — and that’s kind of consistent with the way you know consumer behavior has evolved.”

Shapiro tells Borrell founder Gordon Borrell that she is particularly enthusiastic about radio’s ability to connect traditional advertising with modern measurement technology.

“What I love is actually radio,” Shapiro says. She points to the ability to connect radio commercials with trackable telephone numbers and websites, allowing advertisers to measure customer inquiries generated by their campaigns. Technology can also track and transcribe incoming calls, helping businesses identify potential customers and determine what follow-up is needed.

“Radio is really cool in the sense that it’s this really old school form of advertising, but actually can be used in modern day attribution, which is win-win for both the media company as well as the advertiser,” Shapiro says.

The research also puts a focus of whether advertisers sometimes blame their advertising campaigns for problems that occur after potential customers respond. Borrell VP of Research Corey Elliott believes that may be happening more frequently than marketers realize.

“The problem with lead gen isn’t the leads; it’s what happens after the leads,” Elliott says. “It’s the advertiser’s ability to manage the leads.”

Small businesses may struggle to respond quickly to inquiries, distinguish serious prospects from casual shoppers, or consistently follow up with potential customers. Those shortcomings can make an advertising campaign appear ineffective even when it successfully generates interest.

Shapiro says the problem becomes more complicated as businesses advertise across additional platforms. More channels can produce more inquiries, but without an effective system to manage them, potential sales opportunities can slip away.

For media companies, that creates the risk of losing advertisers who conclude their campaigns aren't delivering an adequate return. It also creates a potential revenue opportunity. Nearly 40% of small businesses surveyed say they would spend more for solutions that help them convert advertising responses into paying customers.

For radio, the larger opportunity may be demonstrating that a campaign's value doesn't end when a listener responds to a commercial. Shapiro says local media companies can strengthen advertiser relationships by offering services that go beyond generating leads to helping businesses manage and convert them.

"They're no longer just selling advertising," she says.