Reframing Marketing: Why SMEs Need To See It As A Management Process

For example, creating a newsletter is delivery. Deciding why it is needed, who it is for, what outcome it supports, and how it fits with business goals - that’s marketing management.

If SMEs want better results, more clarity, and greater confidence in what marketing is really doing for the business, a shift in mindset is needed. Marketing must be viewed - and managed - as a discipline, not just a collection of creative activities.

Structured marketing is the future, helping SMEs finally unlock the value they have been missing.

We specialise in helping businesses make that shift. Through The Marketing Performance Framework®, we enable organisations to see marketing not just as something they “do,” but as a repeatable, measurable, business-wide management process.

Let’s explore what that shift really means.

Common Perceptions of Marketing (and Why They Hold SMEs Back)

Spend time inside any SME and you’ll see a familiar pattern. Marketing is perceived as delivery. Something practical. Something visible. Typically you might hear,

“We need to post more on social media.”

“Let’s attend a few more events.”

“We should send a newsletter to stay in touch.”

These are all valid activities, but they’re not the strategy behind them. They don’t explain why the action matters or how it links to revenue, operations, service quality, or brand perception.

This distinction matters, because without a management process in place, marketing becomes fragmented. Teams become reactive and results are inconsistent. Marketing experts have been trying to reframe this for decades.

Philip Kotler defines marketing management as:

“The art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value.”

It is vital for SMEs to understand this definition. If marketing is both art and science, it’s not meant to be improvised. It requires:

• structure

• repeatability

• measurement, and

• alignment with commercial objectives.

Without a process to support that, marketing simply cannot deliver its full potential.

Using Marketing to Drive Value in SMEs

Our own research reinforces this knowledge gap. In the Red Button Marketing Training Marketing Perception Survey (Sept 2022):

53% of respondents agreed that marketing drives revenue - which means 47% did NOT see marketing as a revenue-driving function.

In other words, almost half of SME leaders don’t connect marketing to commercial outcomes. This isn’t because SMEs do not value marketing. It’s because without a structured process, the link between activity and commercial outcome is hard to see.

This is a crucial insight that tells us:

• Marketing isn’t always integrated across the business.

• Teams don’t always understand marketing’s purpose.

• Marketing activity often isn’t measured in a meaningful way.

And when marketing is seen only as ‘activity,’ it becomes impossible for leaders to see its role in driving growth. The shift SMEs need is not more marketing. It is better-managed marketing.

This is where The Marketing Performance Framework® can transform a business.

Designed specifically for SMEs, the framework:

• provides clarity on what marketing involves,

• aligns marketing tasks with strategic business goals,

• helps prioritise activity for maximum commercial impact,

• creates one clear visual to manage the entire process, and

• enables consistent performance measurement.

The framework ensures every marketing task is connected back to core business objectives, giving leaders full visibility and allowing teams to prioritise based on commercial impact. And this turns marketing from an unpredictable set of actions into a clear, structured business discipline.

Marketing as a Management Process

Marketing does not operate on an island, and it cannot succeed alone. It needs teamwork.

As explored in our blog “Teaming Up for Growth,” marketing affects every part of the business . . .

• Sales rely on marketing for lead quality and brand consistency.

• Operations rely on marketing for forecasting and customer understanding.

• Customer service relies on marketing to support expectations and retention.

Marketing interconnects with other core business functions such as finance, operations, or HR - which is why it should be approached with the same discipline and structure.

A true marketing management process includes:

• defined stages and workflows,

• clear roles and responsibilities,

• measurable performance indicators,

• cross-functional communication,

• consistent leadership and accountability.

When organisations adopt this approach, something powerful happens. Teams stop working in silos. Marketing becomes more confident and credible. Leadership gains visibility and clarity. Decisions become quicker and better informed and results become repeatable.

At Red Button Marketing Training, we help teams embed this management discipline to their marketing efforts through structured training programmes built around The Marketing Performance Framework®.

Our training gives people:

• a shared language

• a visual method

• a practical process

• the confidence to manage marketing effectively.

For instance, instead of launching ad-hoc campaigns, an SME using a management discipline would follow a repeatable process: defining objectives, allocating responsibilities, mapping dependencies with operations and sales, and then reviewing performance using shared metrics.

The Marketing Performance Framework is not just theory. It outlines a real-world, day-to-day management practice that SMEs can use immediately.

Ready to Reframe Marketing in Your Organisation?

Your marketing has the potential to deliver far more when it’s managed as a process, not just a list of tasks. If your marketing feels busy but not effective, now is the moment to change that. With the right framework and guidance, your team can build a marketing function that is focused, confident, and fully aligned with your business goals. And you don’t have to figure this out alone!

Book a conversation with us and explore how The Marketing Performance Framework® can transform the way your organisation manages marketing ; turning it into a disciplined, measurable driver of commercial success.