Why SMEs Don’t Trust Marketing

Most SME leaders share the same frustration: they don’t trust marketing.

And they’re right not to.

At Vibe MKTG, we challenge these myths with an aporia-led marketing approach — turning SME doubt into growth. Unlike traditional agencies, we don’t sell vanity or jargon. We provide a fractional CMO model that combines clear systems, real campaigns, and AI-enabled execution.

In Marketing for Supervillains Vol II, Jessie Wroblewski explains how villains persuade — not by smoothing things over, but by creating aporia: doubt, contradiction, discomfort. They expose the cracks in the story, and then offer a sharper truth.

That’s exactly what SMEs experience when it comes to marketing.

The Myths Still Shaping Marketing

Marketing is still sold on tired assumptions:

• Marketing = creativity + storytelling: clever slogans, emotional ads, “brand love.”

• Agencies = experts: the bigger the team, the better the results.

• More channels = more growth: omnichannel activity as a magic bullet.

• Human genius > machine systems: AI can’t really do strategy or creativity.

• Marketing = fluff: to many CEOs and CFOs, it’s a cost centre, hard to measure.

How Agencies Sell Sameness

The clichés are everywhere:

• Award theatre: campaigns designed for ceremonies, not ROI.

• Jargon overload: “ecosystems,” “synergies,” “full-funnel alignment.”

• Culture theatre: brainstorms, beanbags, mood boards.

• AI lip service: “we’re exploring it” while billing hours for work AI can already do.

• Pitch theatre: clients positioned as supplicants begging for brilliance.

It looks impressive. But it’s sameness on repeat.

The Aporia Moment for SMEs

This is where the doubt creeps in — and it’s justified:

• Vanity metrics: campaigns celebrated for clicks and likes while the pipeline stays flat.

• Random acts of marketing: brochures, bursts of ads, giveaways — no funnel, no follow-up, no compounding effect.

• The one-off stunt: a LinkedIn book giveaway that spiked engagement but led nowhere without a system behind it.

• Social theatre: insurance brands posting static graphics on Instagram, when nobody scrolls reels thinking, “I need a new policy today.”

Every SME leader has asked: “Where’s the growth?”

That moment is aporia. It isn’t weakness — it’s the starting point for clarity.

Real Results. No Fluff.

At Vibe MKTG, we don’t smooth over aporia. We weaponise it.

Clicks and likes aren’t currency.
We don’t chase vanity.
We build growth.
Real results. No fluff.

The Vibe MKTG Superpowers

SMEs fall into aporia because they’re trapped in two gaps:

• No system: activity scattered with no clarity or connection.

• No execution: even when strategy is clear, nobody runs the campaigns to deliver it.

That’s where Vibe MKTG steps in.

1. We Build the System

Growth doesn’t come from noise. It comes from a system that compounds:

• Start with Why: clarity of purpose and positioning.

• One Meaningful Differentiator: the sharp edge that avoids commoditisation.

• Inbound + Outbound: connected and balanced, not siloed.

• Customer is the Hero: your story only matters if it solves theirs.

• AI as Enabler: stripping out waste, scaling what works, sharpening execution.

2. We Run the Campaigns

Strategy without execution is theatre. We deliver the campaigns that drive growth:

• Apollo outbound sequences that open doors.

• LinkedIn organic and paid campaigns that build authority and funnel traffic.

• Google Ads engineered for efficiency and intent.

• Funnels that connect every touchpoint to commercial outcomes.

• Carousels and short-form video (built in Canva) for maximum engagement and reach.

• Website copy, blogs, and thought leadership content that convert attention into trust and pipeline.

• Website design tuned for full-funnel conversion — from awareness through to enquiry.

• Analytics and KPIs explained in plain language, joining the dots to show how everything works together.

Case Study: From Doubt to Growth in Biotech

One of the best examples comes from biotech.

This company wasn’t “doing marketing badly.” They weren’t doing it at all. Marketing was a blind spot — no clear strategy, no system, no way to turn scientific excellence into commercial outcomes.

Their superpower was admitting the gap. They leaned into aporia and brought Vibe MKTG in.

Working alongside an agency partner with the same villainous mindset, we repositioned the brand around scientific trust and thought leadership: “Built for scientists. Powered by results.”

We built a content-led marketing strategy tailored to complex buyer journeys and connected it to a growth system.

The result?

• The largest commercial pipeline in company history.

• Revenue on track to quadruple year-on-year.

That’s the villain’s play: start with doubt, weaponise it, and turn it into growth.

From Aporia to Growth

marketing Supervillains don’t win by being nice. They win by showing the cracks in the illusion, then offering a harder truth.

That’s what aporia-led marketing does. It doesn’t hide doubt. It uses it.

At Vibe MKTG, we transform SME doubt into growth by combining systems, campaigns, and AI-enabled marketing. It’s a fractional CMO approach designed for SMEs who want clarity, confidence, and commercial results.

Real results. No fluff. That’s the vibe.

FAQs on Aporia-Led Marketing

Q1. What is aporia-led marketing?
Aporia-led marketing uses doubt and discomfort as a strategic tool. Instead of hiding the cracks in traditional marketing, it exposes them — and builds clarity, systems, and growth from that doubt.

Q2. Why don’t SMEs trust marketing?
Because too often it delivers vanity metrics, random acts, and one-off stunts instead of pipeline, revenue, and growth. SME leaders see the gap between effort and outcomes — and they’re right to.

Q3. How does Vibe MKTG’s system work?
Our Define → Find → Win → Retain model connects inbound and outbound, positions the customer as the hero, defines one meaningful differentiator, and leverages AI to strip out waste.

Q4. What makes Vibe MKTG different from agencies?
We don’t sell hours or fluff. We weaponise aporia. We build the system, run the campaigns (LinkedIn, Apollo, Google Ads, video, content), and translate analytics into plain English. Strategy + execution, joined up.