Lego’s Tech Lesson for UK Small Business Marketing

Most small businesses treat “new tech” as something you do after you’ve “sorted the basics”. Lego is showing the opposite: you protect the basics by modernising them.

Marketing Week’s latest tech round-up spotlights two things happening at once: Lego leaning into technology in a way that doesn’t betray its brand, and X continuing to erode trust and stability as a marketing channel. For UK small businesses, that combination is a useful prompt in January 2026—budgets are being set, pipelines are being rebuilt after Christmas trading, and you’re deciding where to place your time and attention.

This post is part of our Technology, Innovation & Digital Economy series, where the goal is simple: help UK firms adopt practical digital tools that drive growth without drowning in hype.

Lego’s “smart” move: modernise the product, not the promise

Lego’s edge has always been tactile creativity. That’s the promise. The product—plastic bricks—has been the vehicle. What’s changed is the environment around it: children (and adults) now split attention across physical play, screens, games and communities.

The smart lesson here isn’t “every brand should build hardware.” It’s this:

Innovation that works keeps your brand promise intact and updates the delivery mechanism.

For small businesses, that translates neatly into marketing. You don’t need to become a tech company. You do need to use technology to make your marketing easier to buy from, easier to trust, and easier to share.

What Lego gets right (and what most SMEs miss)

Lego has done films, games, apps and partnerships while keeping the core idea—creative play—consistent. The pattern is worth copying:

• Extend the experience, don’t abandon it. If you’re a local bakery, tech shouldn’t replace the smell and craft; it should make pre-orders, subscriptions and loyalty frictionless.
• Use digital to reduce effort. Customers don’t wake up hoping to fill out forms. They want fewer steps.
• Build for communities, not “campaigns”. Lego fandom is a flywheel. SMEs can do smaller versions: WhatsApp lists, email newsletters, small events, micro-influencers.

If you’re thinking, “That’s fine for global brands,” good. You’re not copying Lego’s scale. You’re copying Lego’s logic.

Practical tech you can borrow from Lego (without Lego money)

Small business marketing tech should do one of three jobs: create demand, capture demand, or keep customers. Anything else is a distraction.

Here are three “Lego-style” plays that are achievable for UK SMEs in 2026.

1) AI for content that sounds like you (not like a template)

AI content tools are everywhere now, and most output is painfully generic. The difference is process.

Answer first: Use AI to speed up production after you’ve nailed your point of view.

A workable approach:

1. Record a 10-minute voice note answering a real customer question (delivery areas, pricing, turnaround times, what to expect).
2. Transcribe it and feed the transcript into an AI tool.
3. Ask for:
   • a 600-word blog version
   • a 90-second video script
   • 5 social posts
   • an email you’d actually send
4. Edit for tone and specifics (prices, locations, lead times, examples).

The goal isn’t “more content”. It’s more clarity, more often.

SME stance: if your content doesn’t include real constraints (lead time, typical budget, who it’s for, who it’s not for), it won’t generate qualified leads.

2) Augmented reality (AR) as a conversion tool—not a gimmick

AR sounds expensive, but the most useful versions are simple:

Answer first: AR helps customers visualise a purchase, which reduces hesitation and returns.

Where AR can make immediate sense:

• Home services: show “before/after” overlays of a kitchen respray, garden design, or shopfront signage.
• Retail: help customers see scale (furniture, lighting, artwork).
• B2B: demonstrate equipment footprint, layout, or installation steps.

You don’t need a bespoke app to start thinking this way. The first step is creating assets that behave like AR even if they’re not: short walkthrough videos, annotated photos, 3D mockups, “on-the-wall” or “in-the-room” scale references.

Then, if it proves it can lift conversions, you upgrade.

3) “Smart” customer journeys: automate the boring parts

Lego’s extensions work because they don’t force customers to do extra work. Your marketing should feel the same.

Answer first: Automation is most valuable when it removes admin friction at the exact moment someone is ready to buy.

High-impact automations for SMEs:

• Instant quote triage: form submissions route into “simple / medium / complex” buckets, with tailored follow-up emails.
• Speed-to-lead: if someone enquires, they get a helpful response within 2 minutes (even if a human reply comes later).
• Post-purchase sequences: instructions, tips, reorder reminders, review requests.

If you want one metric to obsess over this quarter: median response time to enquiries. In many local markets, being faster than competitors wins deals even when your price isn’t the lowest.

X hitting a new low: what it means for your social media strategy

When a platform becomes unstable—algorithm shifts, brand safety concerns, noisy timelines—small businesses pay the price first. You don’t have a PR team to manage blowback, and you can’t afford to rebuild from scratch every time reach drops.

Answer first: treat X as an optional channel, not a foundation.

This doesn’t mean “delete your account”. It means don’t let it be the centre of your growth plan.

The risk isn’t just reach. It’s reliability.

Small businesses need predictable systems:

• predictable lead flow
• predictable reporting
• predictable audience access

If your main channel can change rules overnight, your marketing becomes fragile. And fragile marketing causes the worst kind of stress: constant posting with no clear outcome.

A safer channel mix for UK SMEs in 2026

A sensible approach looks like this:

• Owned: website + email list (non-negotiable)
• Search-led: local SEO and “problem/solution” content (steady compounding)
• Social: one or two channels you can maintain consistently (not all of them)
• Paid: small, controlled tests that you can turn up when ROI is proven

If you’re choosing between “more followers” and “more email subscribers,” take subscribers. Every time.

Followers rent attention. Email owns attention.

The bigger theme: the UK’s digital economy rewards practical innovation

The UK’s technology and digital services ecosystem is strong, but for small firms the winners won’t be the ones who chase every trend. They’ll be the ones who apply tech to everyday business problems: getting found, getting chosen, getting recommended.

Answer first: innovation-led growth is built from small, repeatable improvements.

Here’s a simple decision filter I use with clients:

The “3S” filter for new marketing tech

Before you adopt a tool, ask:

1. Does it save time? (reduce admin, speed up production)
2. Does it sell better? (increase conversion, reduce drop-off)
3. Does it strengthen trust? (reviews, proof, consistency, transparency)

If it doesn’t do at least one, skip it.

A 30-day plan: copy Lego’s approach in a small business way

If you want a practical reset for January, this is tight and doable.

Week 1: Stabilise your foundations

• Update your website homepage: who it’s for, what you do, where you serve, proof, and a clear CTA.
• Check your Google Business Profile: services, photos, opening hours, and 10 recent reviews.
• Create one lead magnet that fits your business (price guide, checklist, template, “what it costs” explainer).

Week 2: Build one AI-assisted content engine

• Record 4 voice notes answering customer questions.
• Turn them into 4 blog posts + 4 emails + 20 social posts.
• Add one case study with numbers (time saved, results, scope).

Week 3: Add one automation that improves speed-to-lead

• Set up an enquiry form that routes leads.
• Create two instant replies: one for quotes, one for bookings.
• Add a calendar link if bookings are your main conversion.

Week 4: De-risk your social presence

• Decide your “primary” platform and your “supporting” platform.
• Repurpose content weekly, not daily.
• Put the real energy into email and search so you’re not dependent on X (or any single network).

If you do nothing else, do this: make your marketing system less fragile.

Where to focus next

Lego’s story is a reminder that physical brands can be digitally fluent without losing their soul. X’s story is a reminder that digital platforms can become unreliable quickly. Put them together and the play is obvious: use emerging technology to strengthen what you control, and diversify what you don’t.

If you want leads in 2026, build around:

• clear positioning
• fast responses
• proof you can deliver
• owned audiences

And keep asking one uncomfortable question as you plan your quarter:

If your main social channel disappeared tomorrow, what would still bring in enquiries?

Source inspiration: Marketing Week, “The Week in Tech: Lego’s bold tech play and X hits a new low” (7 Jan 2026).