The biggest lies marketers promise clients  (and how to spot them) 

This one deserves a billboard in Sandton with a giant warning sign. Marketers love throwing big numbers around. “We’ll double your revenue.” “Get 100 leads by Friday.” SMEs hear that and think, “Lekker, finally, someone who gets it!” But here’s the hard truth: marketers who promise instant results are usually selling smoke. 

Real marketing takes time, strategy, and consistency. For SMEs, trusting marketers who promise overnight success is like trying to braai a tjoppie with a candle. It’s not going to end well. 

What to look out for: 

• No clear timeline with milestones 

• No conversation about your audience or brand first 

• No real explanation, just vibes 

Here’s the thing: marketers love followers. It looks good. It feels like success. But for SMEs, marketers pushing this agenda are missing the point. More followers don’t mean more sales. More likes don’t mean more conversions. Your business isn’t a beauty contest. 

SMEs need marketing that turns interest into income, not marketing that boosts your ego and tanks your bank balance. 

What to look out for: 

• Reports obsessed with reach, likes, and shares 

• Zero mention of leads, engagement quality, or sales 

• “Let’s go viral” is their whole strategy 

Some marketers throw around buzzwords like confetti at a wedding. They sound smart, right? “We’ll use an agile, omnichannel approach to disrupt your vertical with a growth mindset.” What does that even mean? 

For SMEs, these marketers are dangerous. They use big words to hide a small plan. SMEs need marketers who speak human, not nonsense. If your agency sounds like ChatGPT swallowed a thesaurus, run. 

What to look out for: 

• Strategy decks full of words, light on actions 

• No customisation to your business size or goals 

• You leave meetings more confused than when you entered 

Ah yes. The marketers who say, “You don’t need to do anything, we’ve got this.” Sounds lekker. But SMEs, be careful. These marketers will take over your brand voice, post irrelevant content, and ignore your insights.  

Suddenly, your family-run boerie shop sounds like a Silicon Valley app launch. 

SMEs can’t afford to hand over the wheel. The best marketers collaborate. They don’t bulldoze. 

What to look out for: 

• No check-ins or feedback cycles 

• You’re not asked for input or approval 

• They don’t understand your industry but act like they do 

Marketers love spreadsheets. But only when they make them look good. The real con artists? They send reports filled with colourful graphs but zero insights. SMEs, don’t be fooled by pretty pictures. If marketers can’t link their activity to business growth, they’re not reporting. They’re hiding. 

For SMEs who track every cent, this lie is costly. You need marketers who talk results, not reach. Revenue, not rainbow bar charts. 

What to look out for: 

• No reporting on sales or conversions 

• They celebrate reach while your tills are silent 

• The report arrives late with no explanation 

More posts. More designs. More reels. Marketers tell SMEs that more content means more success. But just like Chakalaka, more isn’t always better. Without direction, more content just creates more noise. 

Marketers should be helping SMEs create content that converts, not just content that clogs the feed. Otherwise, you're just shouting into the void (with an R20k retainer invoice attached). 

What to look out for: 

• No strategy behind content suggestions 

• No measurement of what’s actually working 

• Every week is “let’s try something new” with no logic 

Here’s a classic. When things flop, marketers love blaming the algorithm. Facebook changed again. Instagram’s shadow banning. People just don’t get it. 

Nope. Sometimes, the content just wasn’t relevant. Or the offer wasn’t compelling. Or the campaign was rushed. Marketers who don’t take accountability are red flags. SMEs deserve better. 

What to look out for: 

• No lessons learned from past flops 

• Constant blame-shifting 

• No data analysis to explain underperformance 

There’s a thin line between patience and getting played. Some marketers string SMEs along with vague reassurances. “It’s a long game.” “You have to trust the process.” But when that process has no plan, no checkpoints, and no results, what are you trusting exactly? 

SMEs need transparency. Not trust falls. 

What to look out for: 

• No timelines, no deliverables, just blind faith 

• Regular delays with no clear reasons 

• You’re constantly being “managed” instead of supported 

Let’s not lie. At Brandnamix, we’ve made some of these mistakes. We once launched a campaign so spicy that we thought people would wake up at 3 am thinking about us. They didn’t. We posted fluff. We chased trends. We believed the BS. 

But then we owned it. We fixed it. And we started doing marketing that actually helps SMEs grow — no smoke, no mirrors, no buzzword salad. 

You’ve read the lies. Here’s the truth: 

✅ Look for strategy, not hype 

✅ Ask for proof of past results 

✅ Choose marketers who ask about your goals, not just your budget 

✅ Demand clarity on KPIs and timelines 

✅ Avoid one-size-fits-all packages 

✅ Make sure they listen more than they talk 

✅ If they don’t understand SMEs, they don’t understand your hustle 

Marketers have been selling dreams and delivering digital fluff for too long. SMEs are tired. SMEs want help, not hype. At Brandnamix, we’re not the main character. Your business is. We’re not selling you more noise.  

We’re selling you a solution that works for real people in the real South African economy. 

We don’t make empty promises. We do growth with guts. 

Ready to unlearn the marketing myths and finally see results? 

Let’s chat. Let’s fix it. Let’s stop the BS.