SMEs face unique challenges.
- Big enough to have a marketing manager but too small for the enterprise-level marketing theory to apply
- Marketing teams constantly switching between operational and strategic tasks
- Nimble enough to jump at opportunities quickly, but easy to be pulled in too many different directions
- The expectation that AI in marketing should be producing more with less for the business
Now more than ever a clear plan and brand strategy is required.
Not only to maximise results, but also to prove value to the broader organisation.
This won’t get you all the way to perfect clarity, but it’s a good place to start.
So if you’ve started off 2026 jumping from one priority to another and unsure about the overall direction of your marketing strategy, pause for five minutes and ask yourself these 5 questions.
1. Can I clearly explain who my brand serves and doesn’t serve?
If not, you have a POSITIONING issue
You need to identify the tightest group of customers you can serve profitably so you can be laser focused on serving them best. This means your marketing will cut through the noise and influence behaviour from the people you want.
The strongest brands are equally clear on who they serve, and who they don’t.
Don’t swim in a sea of sameness by trying to please everyone.
What you can do:
Talk to your customers and find out why they chose you, how you impact their life, and what you offer that competitors don’t. Their perception is your current positioning.
2. If I removed my logo from my marketing material, would customers still know it was me?
If not, you have a DISTINCTIVENESS issue
Brands are more than a logo. Everything you do communicates meaning and should be consistent across all touchpoints to build strength.
If your logo is your entire brand, you lack distinctiveness and influence.
That means less people will remember you, feel less strongly about you, and are less likely to become your customers.
What you can do:
Review your marketing material to make sure everything is communicating a distinctive version of your brand to the world.
3. Can I reliably create demand, convert it, and retain customers?
If not, you have a TACTICS issue
Are you generating enough demand to fuel future sales?
Are you converting enough of the existing demand into sales right now?
Are you retaining enough customers?
Identifying areas to improve your sales funnel can help you minimise revenue leak without needing to drastically overhaul your existing strategy.
Little improvements can compound into big results:
| Now | With 10% Improvement | |
| Reach | 10,000 | 11,000 |
| Lead Conversion Rate | 2% | 2.2% |
| Leads | 200 | 242 |
| Sales Conversion Rate | 10% | 11% |
| Sales | 20 | 26 |
| Revenue ($10,000 avg per sale) | $200,000 | $260,000 (+31%) |
What you can do:
Review your marketing & sales funnel. What 10% improvements can be made?
4. Do my customers, my team and I describe my brand in the same way?
If not, you have a CLARITY issue
If you, your broader team and customers all share wildly different views of your brand, then your brand is not clear enough and you have no hope of being consistent enough to fix it.
Strong brands make purchasing a ‘no-brainer’ with ruthless clarity.
Everybody knows if it’s the right choice for them or not.
Everybody knows the type of person who buys a certain brand.
Don’t make your brand harder to buy with conflicting messages that try to be something to everyone.
What you can do:
Ask your team and customers to describe your brand. Compare with your brand guidelines or single source of truth.
5. Are my sales and marketing teams working closely together to achieve sales?
If not, you have an ALIGNMENT issue
Think about this – ChatGPT is probably having more conversations with your buyers than your sales team.
Is that your marketing teams’ responsibility to manage or your sales team?
The line is blurred between traditional sales and marketing activities, and to achieve the best result for your brand the two functions need to be working as one.
All areas of your team need to be pulling in the same direction to achieve the best results overall for your brand.
What you can do:
Review sales and marketing targets. Do they incentivise collaboration or division?
What if I have all of these issues?
If you want a magic solution that will fix everything overnight, we’re not the agency for you.
If you want someone to understand your brand, your challenges, and provide thoughtful and strategic recommendations to improve your marketing strategy, then we could be the right agency for you. Our services extend from brand research right through to creative design and marketing execution.
Give us a call and see if we’re the right fit for your needs.
