Small business advertisers remain critical to the future of local media. Yet the relationship between SMBs and publishers is more fragile than many realize. In a recent survey, 43% of small business advertisers reported churning within the first year, citing high costs, low ROI and poor lead delivery as primary reasons for walking away.
For publishers, this churn creates a difficult cycle: investing time and resources in acquiring advertisers who often don’t stay long enough to generate meaningful return. Add in today’s realities — limited staff, high sales team turnover, and an increasingly complex mix of digital products that can be difficult to package and support — and the challenge becomes even more pressing.
At the Senior Leadership Conference, a roundtable hosted by vcita will explore how publishers can break that cycle and turn these SMB challenges into opportunities. The discussion will focus on how to deliver digital services that local businesses actually want and are willing to pay for, while creating new recurring revenue streams that extend beyond traditional advertising.
“We are excited to join the conversation and meet the industry’s leading media publishers. Our mission is to help publishers embrace innovation and discover new revenue opportunities,” said Dawn Trubow, business development manager at vcita. Her perspective underscores vcita’s commitment to empowering publishers with the tools and strategies to position themselves not just as ad sellers, but as long-term digital growth partners.
A centerpiece of the roundtable will be inTandem, vcita’s partner platform, which enables publishers to build stronger, longer-lasting relationships with small businesses. With inTandem, publishers can equip advertisers with tools that make their day-to-day operations easier — from scheduling and client management to invoicing and marketing automation — while also demonstrating measurable ROI.
To cap the conversation, Rinat Bogin, vice president of partnerships at vcita, will share how inTandem helps publishers create not only stronger client relationships but also new pathways for recurring growth. “inTandem empowers media publishers to unlock new digital revenue opportunities and establish a predictable and sustainable recurring revenue source. By offering our engaging business solution to local advertisers, publishers can grow beyond their traditional role, reduce advertiser churn and meet their customers’ growing appetite for technological tools, and particularly AI.”
To register for the Senior Leadership Conference and explore this and many more solutions, visit member.newspapers.org/slc25.html or contact Patty Slusher at pslusher@newspapers.org.
