When you launch a business, marketing advice comes from every direction. Start a podcast. Post every day. Run ads. Rebuild the website. It is easy to end up with a long task list and very little clarity about which activity will help you find customers.
A useful start-up marketing plan makes choices. It connects a specific audience, a clear offer and a manageable set of actions. These five foundations will help you build a first-90-days plan that you can actually use.
1. Choose the first customer you want to reach
“Small businesses” or “local people” is usually too broad to guide your early activity. Narrow the starting audience by situation, need and location where relevant. You can expand later as you learn.
For example, a new bookkeeping service might begin with self-employed tradespeople who are struggling to keep their records organised. That gives the business clearer questions to answer and more relevant places to build relationships than targeting every company in East Sussex.
Speak to prospective customers before finalising the message. Ask how they currently solve the problem, what frustrates them and what would make them consider another option. Avoid only asking whether they like your idea: a polite yes is not the same as buying intent.
The government’s start-up guidance includes testing and validating an idea before committing to a wider launch. Use early conversations to challenge assumptions as well as collect encouraging feedback.
2. Explain the offer in one useful sentence
Write down who you help, what problem you address and what the customer receives. If the sentence needs several unexplained terms, simplify it.
An illustrative version might be: “We help independent tradespeople keep their bookkeeping organised, with monthly support and a clear handover to their accountant.” It is specific enough to start a conversation without promising an outcome you cannot control.
Then support it with the details a buyer needs: scope, price or pricing approach, your process and relevant evidence. If you are new, show a clearly labelled demonstration, explain your background or offer a tightly scoped initial engagement. Do not invent testimonials to fill an empty section.
Your visual identity should reinforce this message. Business.gov.uk’s branding guidance connects brand development with customer research, personality and consistent presentation. A polished logo helps recognition; the offer still needs to make sense.
3. Build one clear route to an enquiry or sale
Before adding more channels, make sure an interested person can take the next step. A simple website may be enough if it explains the offer, shows why you are credible and provides a dependable enquiry or purchasing route.
Choose the action that fits the sale. A low-cost product may need a straightforward checkout. A bespoke service may need an initial conversation. Explain what happens afterwards and test the process yourself.
Keep your business name, contact details and offer consistent wherever people find you. For an eligible local business, that may include your Google Business Profile as well as the website and chosen social account.
4. Pick channels you can support properly
Choose a primary way to reach your first audience and a supporting activity that builds confidence. A local service might combine useful search-focused pages with relationships in its community. A specialist consultancy might combine direct professional networking with well-explained case examples.
Set a capacity limit as well as a spending limit. Who will create the content, respond to enquiries and follow up? A channel that produces more work than you can handle well is not automatically a good choice.
Treat paid activity as a defined experiment. State the audience, offer, destination page, budget and decision you want to make. Avoid paying to send people to a page that still leaves basic buying questions unanswered.
5. Review the evidence and adjust one thing at a time
Keep a simple weekly record of enquiries or sales, where they came from and whether they were a good fit. Add common objections and questions. Early numbers may be small, so use conversations alongside counts.
An illustrative 90-day sequence is: use the first month to validate the message and fix the enquiry journey; the second to deliver a repeatable marketing routine; and the third to review what generated useful demand and refine the next plan. This is a planning framework, not a promise of growth within three months.
Put your plan on one page: first audience, main problem, offer, next step, primary channel, weekly action, budget and review date. If an activity does not support that page, question whether it belongs in this quarter.
For practical help choosing priorities, explore our marketing support for local start-ups or request a free introduction.
