Study Finds SMBs Shifting From Gut Instinct To Data-Driven Marketing.

Local advertisers are becoming more sophisticated in how they evaluate marketing performance, but new research from Borrell Associates suggests many still struggle to connect the dots between their advertising and actual business outcomes. The result, according to Executive VP of Local Market Intelligence Corey Elliott, is an opportunity for media sales reps willing to move beyond traditional audience pitches and become measurement guides.

Elliott details the findings from a new survey examining how small and mid-sized businesses measure marketing return on investment in the latest installment of his “Local Marketing Minute” series. The data shows a notable shift away from relying on their gut instinct and toward analytics.

Four years ago, 57% of local advertisers said they relied more on gut feeling than data when determining whether a campaign worked. Today, the numbers have flipped. Elliott says 52% now rely more on data, while 45% rely primarily on gut instinct.

“This is a real maturity moment,” Elliott says. “Four years is fast for a behavior shift.” He argues that local businesses are increasingly asking, “Can you show me it worked?” rather than simply deciding whether a campaign felt successful.

Borrell earlier detailed findings showing that half of SMBs said they are currently underspending on marketing, while targeting ranked as the most important factor in ad-buying decisions, ahead of reach. Yet many advertisers reported trying to improve ROI by cutting underperforming channels, creating what Elliott described as a contradiction. His takeaway for media sellers was that advertisers don’t need to be convinced advertising works — they need confidence that additional spending will produce results.

Yet while advertisers are demanding more data, they often lack the tools to make sense of it. The most commonly used measurement platforms are Google Analytics, cited by 47% of respondents, followed by social media tools at 41% and spreadsheets at 34%. But Elliott notes that each tool captures only a portion of the customer journey.

“The trouble is, they don’t talk to each other,” he says. “You got a tool for each channel and a customer journey that crosses all.”

That fragmentation is creating headaches for advertisers. Three in ten say measuring ROI has become harder over the past three years, with respondents pointing to increasing channel fragmentation and attribution challenges.

Artificial intelligence has also not yet emerged as a cure-all. More than a third (36%) of local businesses report using AI tools to improve marketing performance or ROI, but only 20% say AI has increased their confidence in measuring results. Another 39% say it is too soon to tell, while 39% report no change.

“AI is working for them on brainstorming copy, but not so much on measurement and attribution,” Elliott says.

For media sales reps, Elliott says the findings demonstrate that advertisers have evolved, and sales approaches need to evolve with them. “The handshake era isn’t over, but the handshake alone might not be enough,” he says.

Elliott notes advertisers with formal ROI processes track more performance indicators and are likely to ask tougher questions during the sales process. As a result, he encourages sales managers to review whether their presentations still resonate with a data-oriented buyer. Elliott recommends sales reps stop focusing on individual channels and instead help advertisers make sense of disconnected information. “Stop pitching channels, pitch connection,” he says.

Borrell data shows advertisers’ top evidence that a campaign worked is transactional data, followed by social proof and feedback from employees — not platform dashboards or individual channel reports.

And while AI may eventually help solve attribution challenges, Elliott cautions reps against making it the centerpiece of a sales pitch. “Lead with what you’ll prove, not what AI will eventually figure out,” he says.