Google Ads. Facebook. Instagram. Local magazines. SEO. Letterbox drops. Community websites. Referral programs. TikTok (apparently). The list of ways to market a small business has never been longer - and that's not always a good thing.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed trying to decide where to spend your time and money, here's a practical way to think through it.
Start with what you actually want
Before choosing a marketing channel, get clear on what you need right now. Are you after more new enquiries? Repeat business from past customers? Work in a specific area? Jobs of a certain type or size?
Your answer shapes everything. Someone who wants to fill their schedule with local jobs next month needs a different approach than someone building a brand for the long term.
Figure out where your customers are coming from
If you've been in business for a while, you already have useful data - you just might not have looked at it that way. Think about your best recent jobs. How did those customers find you?
If most of your good work comes through word of mouth or the local community, doubling down on that makes more sense than chasing digital trends. If you're not sure, start asking new customers how they heard about you. A few weeks of tracking that will tell you more than any marketing course.
Try one thing properly before adding another
The biggest mistake small business owners make with marketing is spreading too thin - doing five things at 20% effort instead of one thing at full effort. Pick the channel that makes the most sense for your customers and your area, give it a genuine run for a few months, and actually see what happens.
If it's working, keep going. If it's not, you'll have learned something useful. Either way, you'll be making decisions based on real information rather than second-guessing yourself into doing nothing.
The best marketing plan isn't the most sophisticated one - it's the one you actually follow through on.
