New research reveals the marketing frustrations blocking SME growth

A lack of time, strategic blind spots and ever-decreasing micro-budgets are three of the real-world marketing challenges faced by UK small and medium-sized businesses in 2025.

With 58% of SMEs spending less than £250 per month on marketing and 65% citing time as their biggest barrier to growth, a new industry report is raising awareness of how under-resourced marketing teams and business owners can rethink their strategies to help them achieve more.

The report, titled “The SME Marketing Playbook: Smart strategies for UK SMEs to thrive”, is a collaborative guide designed to help businesses make the most of their marketing budgets.

Produced by a team of experienced marketing professionals and featuring a foreword by Claire Ferreira, founder of Mums in Marketing and a respected mentor who has supported thousands of entrepreneurs and business leaders, this report combines original data, expert commentary, and ready-to-use advice. It has been written to help SMEs overcome their biggest frustrations and barriers to growth. 

The key findings from the report have been revealed.

• 65% of in-house marketing is done by business owners themselves
• 58% of UK SMEs spend less than £250 per month on marketing — just £3,000 annually
• 65% of businesses say time restrictions are their biggest marketing challenge
• 49% of SMEs lack a formal marketing strategy
• One in five SMEs admit they "have no idea what's working"
• Over a quarter of SMEs (27%) say changing social media algorithms prevents marketing progress

Report co-author Amy Dawson, owner of PR and copywriting firm Gatekeeper Communications, says,

“Our research has identified the problems that small and medium-sized businesses are facing. It’s easy for the industry to say that the growth in AI will help smaller businesses level up with big brands and big budgets, but the problems that most businesses face go much deeper and need to be tackled head-on.

“This report goes beyond merely identifying the issues. We’ve created actionable, easy-to-understand advice that businesses can follow, whether they want to know how to set specific KPIs, how to make the most of paid advertising or how to deal with the ever-changing social media algorithms.”

The SME Marketing Playbook: Smart strategies for UK SMEs to thrive outlines several key themes, including

• The reality of micro-budgets and underinvestment
• Time pressures and skill shortages within in-house teams
• The rise of freelance marketing as a flexible alternative to traditional hires
• How firms can track ROI and build strategies rooted in business goals
• Why changing algorithms and technology are stalling SME marketing growth

The guide also includes industry-standard pricing for marketing services, helping demystify costs for SMEs navigating marketing spend for the first time.

Digital marketing strategist Liz Malone-Johnstone from Bureau 43 adds,

“As small-business owners ourselves, we are all too familiar with the pressures of time and budget. As experienced marketing professionals, we also know that a strategic approach to marketing builds brands and business resilience over the long term.

This report lays out clear, actionable steps companies can take to improve their marketing, and where to go for expert support. Most importantly, it contains the answers to two questions that every business asks: 'How much should I spend on marketing?' and 'How will I know it's working?' We are delighted to share this resource - may it empower our fellow ambitious SMEs to drive tangible growth.”

Download your free copy straight to your inbox

To receive a free copy of The SME Marketing Playbook: Smart strategies for UK SMEs to thrive straight to your inbox, please visit smemarketingreport.com

The report has been written in collaboration by

• Amy Dawson (Gatekeeper Communications)
• Liz Malone-Johnstone (Bureau 43),
• Alex Stone (award-winning marketer and fractional CMO)
• Annique Tate (Tate Digital Consulting)
• Helen Feeley (Indie Marketing)
• Janine Owen (JO&Co)
• Kate Hammond (Sunbeam Marketing)
• Rachel Williams (Google Ad specialist)
• Rosie Denham (Project Communications)
• Sarah Temprell (Keep it Simple Marketing Solutions)
• Tania Prior (Prior Marketing & Co)

Ends

Editors notes

48 businesses were questioned through an anonymous survey hosted on LinkedIn (data collected 07.03.2025 – 21.03.2025)