Growth feels harder for many UK SMEs – and there’s a reason for that.
Markets are more competitive. Buyers are taking longer to decide. Costs are rising. And on top of that, AI is changing expectations faster than many businesses can comfortably keep up with.What we see working with SMEs across the UK is that business growth isn’t being held back by a lack of effort or ideas. Most leadership teams are doing a lot.
The real issue is fragmentation.
Different priorities at the top. Marketing activity that isn’t quite joined up. Data that takes too long to trust. Technology that promises a lot but doesn’t always deliver.
The businesses that will grow well in 2026 are not the ones doing more marketing. They’re the ones putting structure, clarity and discipline underneath what they’re already doing – and using AI to pull further ahead, not simply to keep up.
Below are the growth principles our fractional CMOs see making the biggest difference.
When growth slows, leadership teams are often busy but not fully aligned.
High performing SMEs are clear on who they are growing for, where they are focusing, and what they are deliberately saying no to. When that direction is genuinely shared at the top, marketing decisions become easier and execution speeds up.
Example: One business we work with was targeting three very different customer segments at once. Narrowing focus to the most profitable segment unlocked faster pipeline growth with fewer campaigns.
Caveat: Early stage or highly diversified businesses may need broader exploration – but even then, clear short term priorities matter.
If a buyer can’t quickly understand why you’re relevant, marketing becomes expensive.
We regularly see SMEs investing in campaigns, content or tools when the real issue is simpler: their value proposition isn’t clear or distinctive enough. Clarifying this removes friction everywhere else.
Example: Tightening a value proposition around a specific commercial outcome (rather than a list of services) often improves conversion without increasing spend.
Caveat: Businesses in commoditised markets may need sharper positioning rather than louder messaging.
Buying journeys are longer and more complex than they used to be. Prospects do more research, involve more people and need more reassurance before they commit.
SMEs that map real buying behaviour – rather than relying on outdated funnels – consistently outperform those working on assumptions.
Example: Adding decision stage content that addresses internal objections can materially improve deal velocity.
Caveat: Transactional or low value purchases may still convert quickly, but trust signals still matter.
Growth becomes more predictable when marketing is designed as a connected system.
That means strategy, channels, content, data and sales handover working together. When these pieces aren’t joined up, results are patchy no matter how much activity is happening.
Example: Aligning lead definitions and follow up processes between sales and marketing often improves ROI without increasing lead volume.
Many growth plans fail because the basics underneath them aren’t strong enough.
Fragmented data, manual processes and unclear ownership slow decisions and frustrate teams. SMEs that invest in solid foundations find growth becomes easier – and cheaper – to sustain.
Example: Cleaning up CRM data before scaling campaigns avoids misleading reporting and wasted spend.
Caveat: Foundations don’t need to be perfect, but they do need to be usable.
High performing SMEs don’t drown themselves in dashboards. They focus on a small set of meaningful metrics and use them consistently to decide what to do next.
For most SMEs, this includes metrics linked to pipeline health, conversion rates, customer acquisition cost and retention – always tied back to business goals.
Tip: Start with the decisions you need to make, then work backwards to the data required.
AI is no longer something to watch from the sidelines. Used well, it gives SMEs a real edge.
The businesses pulling ahead use AI to gain insight faster, reduce manual effort and improve consistency across marketing and reporting – not to replace judgement.
Examples:
What to avoid: Using AI for business critical decisions without human oversight.
Stop start marketing is one of the most growth blockers we see.
Consistency creates momentum. It allows learning, improvement and trust to build over time – and it’s what makes data and AI genuinely useful.
Caveat: Consistency doesn’t mean doing everything forever. It means giving initiatives enough time to work.
Not all growth activity delivers the same long term return.
Brand clarity, customer insight, data quality and automation improve year after year when maintained. Short term fixes rarely do.
Example: Improving onboarding and retention often delivers higher lifetime value than chasing more leads.
The strongest SMEs don’t operate in constant urgency.
They set clear priorities, review progress regularly and adjust with intent. This discipline turns growth from something reactive into something manageable.
Growth in 2026 will reward SMEs that bring clarity and structure to their marketing and leadership decisions.
Get the foundations right. Stay consistent. Use AI deliberately to strengthen what already works – and growth becomes far more predictable.
At The Marketing Centre, our fractional CMOs see these patterns across hundreds of SMEs. That external perspective – combined with hands-on experience inside leadership teams – allows us to spot risks, opportunities and blind spots that internal teams often can’t see alone.
That’s where structured, experience led growth really comes into its own.