The Growth Pulse 2026: seven assumptions about growth worth challenging

What does this mean for business owners? 

The conditions for growth are changing, but many businesses are still working from an old set of assumptions. 

More technology will not create an advantage if competitors can access the same tools. More leads will not fix an unclear proposition or a weak sales process. And producing more content will not help if the business is absent from the places where buyers now research and form their preferences. 

For business owners, this means asking some more demanding questions: 

• Is our business genuinely distinctive, or simply more visible?
• Are we investing in the right capabilities, or adding more tools and activity?
• Do marketing and sales operate as one commercial system? 
• Are we building future demand as well as pursuing today’s opportunities?
• Can customers and AI-powered platforms understand why they should choose us?
• Do we know which parts of our growth model need strengthening before we add more people or budget?

What we will explore 

The webinar challenges seven familiar assumptions about growth: 

• Technology creates competitive advantage. 
• More visibility means more opportunity.
• Growth requires a larger team.
• More leads will solve the problem.
• Customers still move through a predictable funnel.
• Marketing performance can be understood through short-term attribution alone.
• A busy marketing function is the same as a growth system.

What you will take away 

• A clearer view of how AI is changing buyer behaviour and discoverability. 
• The difference between adopting technology and building a genuine advantage.
• Where growth can come from before adding more people or more activity.
• Why demand creation,brand and commercial focus matter more in a less observable buyer journey. 

Grounded in experience inside UK businesses 

This is not a trends presentation or a technology showcase. The discussion is grounded in The Growth Pulse 2026 and in the practical experience of The Marketing Centre’s Marketing Directors working inside ambitious UK businesses. 

Expect a candid conversation about what is changing, what is often overstated and where business owners should focus now. 

Who should attend? 

This webinar is for business owners, founders, CEOs and senior leaders who are responsible for growth and want a clearer view of how marketing needs to evolve.