Marketing Without Research Is Guesswork:

Lee Hill on Why SMEs Jump Too Fast

In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, I’m joined by Lee Hill, founder of Runway.

Lee and his team do two things. For larger businesses and corporates, they deliver customer and market research. For SMEs, they’ve recently launched a drop-in Head of Marketing service for Managing Directors who need proper strategic support, without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.

The conversation hits a nerve straight away. Most SME marketing fails for one simple reason: people jump straight to execution. They start posting on social media, hiring a freelancer, running ads, sending emails… but they have not done the thinking first. Lee’s view is refreshingly blunt. If you have not stepped back to answer why the business exists, what problem it really solves, and what customers actually need, then what you are doing is not marketing. It is just activity.

We talk about:

• Why marketing gets cut first when times are tough, and why that is usually the worst move

• The difference between marketing and sales, and why most businesses confuse the two

• How research often saves companies a “bucket load” of money by stopping them choosing the wrong channel

• What “lightweight” research actually looks like (and why you do not need 1,000 survey responses)

• Why websites were originally built like print brochures, and why that mistake still kills conversions today

• How brand trust can make people tolerate a clunky website, but new businesses do not get that luxury

• The smart way to use AI in marketing (hint: not asking it to invent your strategy from outdated online data)

• Lee’s real business lessons from COVID, scaling too fast, and building the second business with more discipline

• His practical advice for anyone about to leave employment and start a business

• His book recommendation: Good to Great by Jim Collins, especially the part about hiring self-motivated people

If you’re building a business and your marketing plan is “in your head”, this episode will give you a friendly shove. Lee’s core message is clear: start with research, get confident in the problem you solve, then spend money on execution.