A landscaping company in Bonita Springs has been in business eight years and has a crew of five. Its marketing happens whenever someone calls to sell it: a magazine ad in March, a mailer in June because the rep was friendly, a burst of Facebook posts when someone had a free afternoon. Nobody can say which of those brought a customer.
If that sounds like your business, you don't need a 40-page marketing plan. You need one page you'll actually look at, and a date 90 days from now when you check it.
Why bother with a plan if you're already busy?
Because without one, other people decide for you. The ad rep, the directory salesperson and the lead site that calls every month all have a plan for your money. A written plan gives you four things:
- You stop reacting. Marketing happens on your schedule, not when a slow week scares you.
- You smooth out the waves. Feast-or-famine months usually come from marketing that stops when you're busy. If that's you, we explained the causes and a 30-day plan to find yours in busy one month, slow the next. This post picks up where that one ends.
- You can say no. "Is it in the plan? No? Then not this quarter." That one question saves a lot of money.
- You know what to measure. If you decided the goal ahead of time, you know which numbers matter.
The one-page plan
Seven lines. Fill them in with a pencil, because you'll change them.
1. The goal, in customers or jobs
"More business" isn't a goal. "Twelve new recurring maintenance customers by the end of February" is. Start from capacity: how many more jobs can your team handle without hurting quality? A goal you can't deliver on is a problem, not a win.
2. Who you want more of
Be specific. "Homeowners in gated communities in North Naples who want weekly service." "Property managers with several units in Fort Myers." Write down who you want less of, too, like one-time bargain jobs far outside your area. If many of your customers prefer Spanish, note it here, because it changes where you show up and how you write.
3. Your offer
One sentence a customer would understand. It doesn't have to be a discount. A maintenance plan, a quote within 24 hours or a free first inspection are all offers. If you can't say it simply, your ads and website can't either.
4. Three channels, no more
Choose from your Google Business Profile and reviews, your website, past customers (reminders by text or email), referral partners, paid ads, lead sites, print in your service area or networking. Make at least two of them channels you own. Everything else goes on a "not this quarter" list.
If your website, ads and Google profile are handled by different people, write next to each channel who is responsible for it. Here's what falls through the cracks when they're run separately.
5. Budget
A monthly number, split into what's fixed all year and what goes up or down with the season. If you've never set one, start with how much a small business should spend on marketing.
6. Your weekly time
Your hours are a real cost. Write a number and a time slot: "Two hours, Tuesday morning." Then list the small tasks that happen every week, even in season: ask every finished customer for a review, answer every inquiry the same day, post one update to your Google profile.
7. How you'll measure
Three numbers each month: inquiries, where they came from and jobs booked (with revenue). Ask every new customer "How did you hear about us?" and write the answer in one place.
What a filled-in page looks like
Example (a made-up business, use your own details):
| Line | Pool service in Cape Coral |
|---|---|
| Goal | 15 new weekly service customers by March 31 |
| Who | Homeowners in Cape Coral and north Fort Myers, many seasonal; English and Spanish |
| Offer | Weekly service with a photo report after each visit |
| Channels | Google profile and reviews; reminders to past customers; one paid search campaign |
| Budget | A fixed monthly amount, raised in September and October |
| Owner time | Two hours every Monday |
| Measure | Inquiries, source and booked customers, every month |
A 12-month marketing calendar for Southwest Florida
Here, the year shapes the plan. This is a rough calendar for many local service businesses. Adjust it for your trade: if summer is your busy season, as it is for AC companies, flip it.
- September to October: the pre-season push. Get ready before seasonal residents return. Update your Google profile, refresh photos, send reminders to last year's seasonal customers and open your calendar for bookings. Our snowbird season checklist covers the details.
- November to April: season. Demand is high for many trades, so the job is to catch and keep it. Answer fast, ask for reviews after every job and keep your weekly tasks running. Before seasonal customers leave, offer what keeps them with you over the summer, like a maintenance plan or a home check while they're away.
- May to August: summer. Focus on year-round residents and past customers. Maintenance offers, check-ins and referral requests work well. It's also the best time to fix your website, take new photos and build reviews. Spend less if you need to, but don't cut to zero, or September starts from nothing.
- June through November: hurricane season, running alongside the rest. Plan helpful messages ahead of time: storm prep services, a checklist for customers, how to reach you after a storm and updated hours on your Google profile. Be useful, not opportunistic.
Turning the page into 90 days
Break the 90 days into three months:
- Month 1: set up. Start asking every customer how they found you. Fix the weakest of your three channels first. If you've never looked at where your customers come from, the 30-day plan in the steadier leads post is a good month zero.
- Month 2: run it. Do the weekly tasks. Don't add new channels, even when someone calls with a great deal.
- Month 3: run it and take notes. Write down what's working and what feels like busywork, so the review is quick.
The 90-day review
Block one hour on your calendar. Answer five questions:
- Did we hit the goal? If not, how close did we get?
- Which channel brought booked jobs? Count jobs and revenue, not clicks, likes or calls that went nowhere.
- What did each customer cost? Roughly: what you spent on a channel divided by the customers it brought.
- What did we say we'd do and didn't? Be honest. Often the plan was fine and the weekly tasks stopped.
- Keep, fix or drop? Decide for each channel, and change one thing at a time so you know what made the difference.
One warning: some channels, like local search and reviews, take longer than 90 days to show their full value. Don't drop them just for being slow. Judge them by progress, such as more reviews and more calls from your Google profile.
Then rewrite the page for the next 90 days.
Where to start
This week, take a blank page and fill in two lines: the goal and your three channels. That alone will change how you answer the next sales call.
If you'd like a second pair of eyes, our free Growth Check looks at where your customers come from today and what belongs on your page. If one of your channels is paid ads, our campaigns and lead generation service can build and run that part. And if you'd rather have a team that runs the plan with you every month, with clear reporting at each review, that's what our Growth Partner program is for.
Frequently asked questions
Does a small business really need a written marketing plan?
It doesn't need a long one. One page is enough if it says what you want, who you want it from, where you'll show up, what you'll spend and how you'll check. Writing it down is what lets you say no to random offers and see what worked.
How many marketing channels should a small business use?
For most owners running the business and the marketing at the same time, three is the limit. It's better to do three things every week than eight things once in a while. Add a new channel only when the current ones run without you thinking about them.
Why 90 days and not a full year?
Ninety days is long enough to see whether a channel brings booked jobs and short enough that you won't waste a whole year on something that doesn't. Keep a 12-month calendar for the seasons, and plan the details 90 days at a time.
What if I'm busy during season and have no time for marketing?
Put that in the plan. Decide in advance which two or three small tasks keep running in busy weeks, like asking for reviews and answering every inquiry the same day. Then do the bigger work, like website updates and new photos, in the slower months.
How do I know if my plan is working?
Track three numbers every month: how many inquiries came in, where they came from and how many became paying jobs. Ask every new customer how they heard about you. After 90 days, compare channels by jobs and revenue, not by clicks or followers.
