Why “Best Practice” Can Hold SME Growth Strategy Back — And What to Do Instead

Every week, SME leaders are told the same thing: “Follow best practice. Tighten accountability. Refine your brand. Sharpen your strategy.”

It sounds compelling — and the speakers who promote these principles are persuasive. But when “best practice” is lifted straight from big-business playbooks or generic frameworks, it can stall SME growth rather than accelerate it.

For SMEs, growth isn’t about chasing the perfect model. It’s about making progress with the resources you have, in the market you’re in, with the team you’ve built. That means best practice has to be adapted, prioritised, and communicated in a way that delivers measurable results — or it’s just noise.

The Problem with Best Practice

When SME leaders try to apply best practice as if it were a checklist, three common problems emerge:

1. One-size-fits-all advice misses the point. Frameworks that work for corporates can overwhelm leaner SME teams. Instead of clarity, they create confusion.

2. Strategy stays on paper. Leaders may invest hours in building a perfect plan, but if it isn’t articulated clearly — if teams, boards, and customers all hear different versions — opportunities slip by.

3. Action gets delayed. Chasing perfection can lead to analysis paralysis. Businesses wait until “everything is aligned” before acting, which often means missing the window where growth is possible.

What SMEs Really Need

SMEs don’t lack ambition. What they need is:

• Clarity of direction — not 50 priorities, but the three that will matter this quarter.

• Alignment across stakeholders — so teams, boards, and customers all pull in the same direction.

• A strategy that’s lived, not filed — communicated as a story people can remember, repeat, and act on.

That’s where Hargreaves Marketing Ltd comes in.

How We Help

At Hargreaves Marketing, we’ve built a five-pillar framework designed for growth-focused SMEs:

• Talk Markets – Understand trends, competitors, and customers so strategy matches reality.

• Talk Strategy – Define direction and priorities with clarity and alignment.

• Talk Value – Make it clear who benefits and why it matters.

• Strategic Narrative – Turn plans into a living story that inspires action.

• Verbalization – Help leaders deliver the message with confidence and impact.

The result? Strategies that don’t just look good in workshops — they get acted on.

Closing

Best practice has its place. But for SMEs, the priority isn’t following the textbook. It’s ensuring that strategy is clear, owned, and communicated — so opportunities aren’t missed, and growth isn’t slowed by complexity.

So the next time you’re told to “follow best practice,” ask yourself: Is this helping us move faster and with more clarity — or is it just making us feel busy?

At Hargreaves Marketing Ltd, we help SME leaders cut through the noise and articulate strategy well — so you’re ready when it matters most.