home
news
Survival to Strategy: How our profession can help SMEs thrive in the age of intelligent marketing

Survival to Strategy: How our profession can help SMEs thrive in the age of intelligent marketing

In this feature article, Chartered Marketer and CIM Fellow Helen Morgan-Parra explores how marketers can help SMEs adapt, evolve, and thrive in an era defined by AI, automation, and digital transformation. Drawing on over two decades of experience, Helen shares practical insights on turning fast-paced change into strategic opportunity, leveraging influence, collaboration, and the power of community in shaping the next chapter of intelligent marketing.

Adapting to an Ever-Changing Landscape

I have been a marketer for over 20 years, and I recognise that marketing has always been a fast-moving, almost mercurial industry. Trying to work out what Google wants from us on an ever-changing basis, for instance, has never been easy. Lately, though, if feels as if the ground shifts daily.

AI, automation, and digital transformation across almost every industry, and marketing perhaps more than most, are all shaping how we plan, deliver, and measure our work.

For those marketers working in or alongside SMEs, the pace can feel both exciting and overwhelming. Most small teams are expected to keep up with technological change whilst juggling day-to-day campaigns, customer engagement, and a mountain of operational responsibilities, and in many businesses, one person alone holds the title of ‘marketing department’. This one-person marketing department often also acts as the digital transformation lead (and frequently a number of other ‘hats’ thrown in for good measure.) The idea that we can ‘do it all’ and keep up with the changes in our industry can be overwhelming.

Understanding the Challenges

Having worked across multiple industries – public and private sector, D2C and B2B – I’ve seen the same pattern play out, particularly in smaller businesses, repeatedly. Digital change is slow to be adopted, and whilst business leaders understand the importance of marketing in theory, in practice, it is often the first area to face cuts when costs rise. And costs have risen, as we are all acutely aware. Increases in tax, national insurance, and inflation have reduced or wiped out professional development and training budgets in many SMEs, and marketers can find themselves on the back foot as marketing technology races ahead – an experience that can feel unsettling at best and, at worst, deeply demoralising for confidence and motivation. But that mindset risks holding businesses back precisely when they most need to adapt, diversify, and invest. The AI era is not simply another marketing trend; it’s a structural shift in how we work, and we, as marketers, must position ourselves to guide organisations through it.

The Power of Influence

The first step is understanding how to influence effectively. Marketers who frame their recommendations in the language of business – ROI, productivity, risk – are far more likely to gain traction with senior leaders. When we propose training or new digital tools, we should not lead with the marketing metrics or creative ambition; we should show how the proposed initiatives align with the organisation’s commercial priorities - how they will lead to enhanced productivity and profitability. Demonstrate, for instance, how automating routine marketing tasks can release capacity to focus on strategy, or how data-driven targeting can reduce wasted ad. spend. When our work is positioned as a solution to business challenges, our credibility strengthens.

Building influence also means broadening our perspective. Spending time with sales, operations, finance, and customer service teams can help us understand what obstacles they face and where communication may be breaking down. Often, marketing can solve problems that others haven’t recognised as communication issues, such as poorly understood products, unclear customer journeys, or fragmented messaging. The larger the business, the more these challenges are amplified, with departments working in silo rather than in collaboration. It’s this collaborative mindset that elevates marketing from a delivery function of the business to a driver of organisational strategy.

Why Community Matters

The good news is that we don’t have to navigate this alone. The marketing community is vast, generous, and collaborative by nature. The CIM’s communities and mentoring schemes, together with vast learning opportunities, are invaluable resources for us to have at our fingertips as professional marketers. Mentoring, in particular, can be a game-changer, particularly for those who work in a small business where there might be few, if any, other marketing personnel with whom to discuss strategy and brainstorm ideas. Additionally, regional communities offer inspiration and support, online and in-person, to share challenges, successes, and lessons learned. These networks can become our sounding boards, confidence builders, and even sources of collaboration.

The South West Advantage

In the South West, where my digital marketing agency is based, the marketing landscape is particularly rich and diverse, with creative industries thriving and innovation key among the regional priorities. My business network around Exeter, where we’re located, is teeming with innovative tech and creative businesses. According to Innovate UK Business Connect the South West is recognised as one of the country’s leading innovation regions, with a strong cluster in digital technology, whilst the Creative Sector Growth Programme, which has been running since 2019 in the South West, has helped hundreds of creative sector businesses access support, underlining the importance of this sector to the region.

This focus on innovation creates a unique opportunity for marketers; our drive to upskill in digital and AI doesn’t just benefit our clients and companies, it contributes to the wider economic transformation taking place around us regionally, nationally, and beyond.

Turning Change into Opportunity

With that context in mind, there has perhaps never been a better moment for marketers to make the case for leaning, experimentation, and collaboration. Regional networks such as Growth Hubs, Innovate UK Business Connect, and local business support offer funded programmes to help SMEs adopt digital tools and develop leadership skills. Pointing employers toward these initiatives can help marketers secure support without adding cost pressure. When we position professional development as part of a larger ecosystem of regional innovation and resilience, we shift the conversation from expense to opportunity.

A Call to Be Bold

We must be bold. Marketing is not a passive function; it’s the heartbeat of communication, innovation, and growth. As AI reshapes our profession and every other, the opportunity for marketers to influence business direction, and the opportunities for SMEs to diversify and seize growth opportunities, have never been greater. We’re fantastically well placed as marketers to use our insight to spot opportunities others may overlook.

Every business, no matter how small, needs marketing that not only delivers campaigns, brand awareness, and leads, but also drives strategy, and in an era where AI and digital transformation reward those who combine creativity with commercial acumen, who is better placed than the marketers to drive organisational change?