Why Most £2–20m Companies Struggle to Make Marketing Work

Over the last decade I’ve led, fixed or rebuilt more than 20 SME marketing functions. On first impressions every team and business looked quite different, but before long the same pattern tends to reveal itself - marketing activity exists, yet nobody is really convinced it’s driving growth.

Sometimes the signs look like this:

• A marketing manager who is permanently busy but overwhelmed
• Agencies producing activity without clear commercial impact
• Sales questioning the value marketing is adding
• Growth ambitions that marketing doesn’t seem equipped to support

None of these situations appear overnight. They tend to develop gradually as marketing evolves without the structure needed to support the business’s goals.

The short video below explains why this pattern is so common in £2–20m companies, and how to start fixing it. 

Watch the 20-minute explanation

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Matt Dagworthy to explore why many £2–20m companies struggle to make marketing work.

In this video I explain:

• Why growth at 20%+ requires a top 10% marketing function
• How many SMEs drift into the “reactive marketing trap”
• The seven components of a mature marketing function
• The decision leadership teams eventually face

If this feels familiar

If marketing in your business feels frustrating, unclear, or underperforming, the first step is gaining clarity on three things:

• Where growth should realistically come from
• Whether the current marketing setup can deliver it
• What needs to change to achieve those outcomes

That’s the purpose of my 25-minute Strategy Call. It's a structured conversation to assess your growth ambitions, current marketing structure, and what’s holding performance back. 

From there, we can determine your best next step. 

If you’d prefer to email directly, you’re welcome to contact me at rich@richwebley.co.uk and I’ll respond personally.