Short answer: start with the work you want, then be honest about how much you can afford and how much extra work you can take on. Choose a few channels you can keep up, write the plan on one page with a name next to each task, and measure enquiries rather than likes.
Most small business marketing plans don’t fail because they’re too modest. They fail because they’re too big. There are too many channels, too many ideas, and nobody has the time to keep it going past the first few months.
A good plan isn’t the most impressive document. It’s the one you’ll actually follow, sized to your goals, your budget, your time and how much work you can take on.
Here’s a practical way to build one.
1. Start with the work you want
Before thinking about channels, get specific about the outcome. Which services do you want more of? Which are the most profitable, or the best fit for your team? Are there jobs you’d rather do less of?
“More customers” isn’t a goal. “More bathroom renovation enquiries in the northern Shoalhaven between March and June” is something you can plan around.
2. Be honest about capacity
This is the step most plans skip. Ask:
- How many extra jobs could we take on each month without service slipping?
- Who answers the phone and replies to enquiries, and how quickly?
- When are we flat out, and when are we quiet?
If you’re booked out for three months, a big push for new enquiries now may create frustration, both yours and your customers’. Your plan might focus on the quiet season instead, or on the higher-value work you’d prefer.
3. Set a budget you can sustain
Decide what you can comfortably commit, month after month, for long enough to learn what works. A modest budget kept up steadily usually teaches you more than a big burst followed by silence.
Remember that budget isn’t only money. Your own time counts too. A “free” channel that takes five hours a week of your time isn’t free.
4. Get the foundations right first
Before spending on promotion, make sure the basics will catch the interest you create:
- a website that clearly explains what you do, where you work and how to enquire
- an accurate, up-to-date Google Business Profile
- a simple way of tracking where enquiries come from.
If you’re unsure where to begin, our guide on where a regional business should start with digital marketing covers this in more detail.
5. Choose fewer channels and do them well
Pick the one to three channels most likely to reach the customers you want, and that you can sustain:
- Search (website and Google) for people actively looking for what you do.
- Social media for staying visible, building trust and showing your work.
- Advertising for reaching more of the right people faster, when you have the budget and capacity to respond. Our article on Google Ads or Facebook Ads can help you decide between them.
- Email for staying in touch with past customers.
It’s better to do two things consistently than six things occasionally.
6. Put it on one page
Your plan should fit on a page:
- the goal (the work you want)
- who you’re trying to reach, and where
- the channels you’ll use
- what happens each month, and who’s responsible
- the budget
- how you’ll measure it.
If nobody’s name is next to a task, it won’t get done.
7. Measure enquiries, not applause
Likes and reach are easy to track but don’t pay the bills. Track enquiries, where they came from and which became real work. Our article on what your monthly marketing report should tell you explains what’s worth watching.
8. Check in, and add only when you’re ready
A quick monthly check keeps the plan honest. When it’s time for a fuller look back, our mid-year marketing reset walks through it. Add channels or activity only when you have the budget and capacity to handle them.
A plan doesn’t have to do everything from day one.
Build a Clearer Marketing Plan
If you’d like a plan that fits your business rather than a generic template, we can help you work through it. Find out more about our Marketing Strategy & Lead Generation service, or talk through your marketing with us.