Most small business owners have no clue if their marketing is working. That isn’t stopping them from spending more on it

A new report finds that just 18% of small business owners are ‘very confident’ that their marketing is effective, down from 27% in 2024.

Small businesses are committing more money to marketing this year than last, but surprisingly few have any confidence that their investment is paying off—even as more report using new tools like artificial intelligence to help boost their efforts.