A little more reading.

We’ve spent the last few years analysing SMEs across ten critical areas of growth – from strategy and brand to operations, finance, people and customer experience. It’s part of a tool we built called Perspective Analysis, designed to help businesses grow and build in a more agile, intentional ways. Now that we’ve used it with dozens of founder-led teams, agencies, charities and commercial ventures, the data’s starting to speak. And the same themes keep showing up - they cut across sector, size and leadership style. What’s most interesting is that what holds business back isn’t always obvious, even from the inside. Here are seven of the most common blind spots we’ve uncovered – and what they mean for growth-minded organisations today. 

For many small and medium-sized businesses, 'brand' often stops at logos, colours, or fonts. While these visual elements are crucial, they're only scratching the surface of what your brand truly is and can achieve.  In Britain, SMEs represent a staggering 99.8% of all businesses, yet close to 45% unfortunately don't make it past their first five years, which is why it’s critical to build a robust foundation from day one. Shifting our perspective of brand as a mere ‘identity’ to being a strategic and commercial asset, that should weave through every part of business, will help to secure long term success and hopefully beat some of those ‘early days’ odds. Why does this shift in thinking matter so much for long-term growth? It Builds Tangible Value: When you start treating your brand as a commercial asset, something wonderful happens: it’s worth grows! Simply having a consistent presentation across all your platforms can lift your revenue by up to 23%. Strong brands naturally command more market value and can become a real magnet for potential investors. Ultimately, it's about building equity that extends far beyond just your physical assets. It cultivates deep customer loyalty: At its heart, branding is all about building trust and forging a genuine connection. When customers truly trust your brand (roughly 81% need to trust a brand before even considering a purchase), they're far more likely to come back to you repeatedly. Not only do loyal customers spend more, but they're also your biggest cheerleaders, keen to try new offerings and acting as powerful advocates for your business. Just a 5% increase in customer retention can significantly boost profits (normally anywhere between 25-95%!). It Drives Strategic Decisions: When you embrace a commercial view of your brand, it naturally encourages a smarter, data-driven approach. You'll begin tracking how your brand performs, understanding customer sentiment, and pinpointing your market position. This valuable insight unlocks much smarter decisions about your marketing efforts, where you allocate resources, and your overarching business strategy. It Fosters Internal Alignment & Motivation: A strong, clearly defined brand isn't just for your customers; it inspires your team from within. When your employees genuinely understand and believe in your brand's mission and values, they feel a deeper sense of pride and become much more engaged. This, in turn, translates into better performance and an even richer customer experience. It Creates Resilience: Think of a well-established brand as a powerful shield, protecting your business against unexpected market fluctuations and tough competition. It provides the agility to adapt more effectively to changing trends and evolving customer needs, ultimately ensuring long-term sustainability and peace of mind. For any SME aiming for sustained success, embracing this commercial lens for your brand isn't just a nice-to-have – it's fundamental. It's the key that unlocks real growth, builds unwavering loyalty, helps you attract top talent and investment, and ultimately creates a business that's both more resilient and valuable. Your brand is so much more than just how you look; it's how you operate, how you connect, and how you grow. Finally, if you're reading this thinking "it all makes sense but I have no idea where to begin", then get in touch! Our business reset days are designed to help businesses build growth plans, one step at a time.  Send us an email

Back in the 90s, Sex and the City was a breakthrough. Whatever you think of it now, at the time no one was writing young women as they really were. Flawed, complicated, ambitious, messy, funny, obsessed with friendship as much as relationships, a bit self-absorbed, a lot hopeful. Under the gloss, it felt real. And crucially, it didn’t just reflect culture. It shaped it. Before Carrie Bradshaw, hardly anyone had heard of Manolo Blahnik. After SATC? Sales jumped 300%. No one went to Magnolia Bakery for overpriced cupcakes. One episode later? Queues down the road and the global boutique cupcake trend was born. Cosmopolitans weren’t the signature drink of the era until SATC made them so (they’re still bloody good by the way). Bar sales soared, and suddenly everyone was sipping pink cocktails. SATC didn’t just tell stories. It made culture. It sold shoes, cocktails, cupcakes and more, but more importantly, it sold possibility. It put women’s lives, conversations, friendships and experiences centre stage and brands followed the cultural mood it was setting – we all wanted a piece and we felt seen like never before. Which makes it more depressing that And Just Like That, the SATC follow-up, a programme basically about middle-aged women, has landed with such a dull, stereotyped thud. Rabid mums gaming college admissions. Sad single women with cats. Women who’ve ‘given it all up’ to work in charities and don’t start us on the ham-fisted portrayal of anyone and everyone who might be labelled LGBTQIA+. Where’s our moment? Who is writing our lives now? I'm getting to the point, honest.