A 90-day marketing plan for small businesses

Most small businesses don’t need a 40-page marketing strategy. They need to know what to do this week, and a simple way to tell if it’s working.

A 90-day plan gives you both. It’s short enough to stay focused and long enough for most channels to show results. Here’s the structure we use with clients.

Before you start: pick one number

Choose the one result that matters most this quarter. It might be enquiries, booked calls, online sales or new members. Write down where it is today and where you want it to be in 90 days. Every activity in the plan should move that number.

Days 1 to 14: foundations

Describe your ideal customer in a paragraph: who they are, what they need and why they’d choose you.
Check your tracking, so you can see where enquiries and sales come from.
Audit what you already have: website, Google Business Profile, social accounts, email list and reviews.
Write your offer in one sentence a customer would understand.

Days 15 to 45: fix the leaks

Before you spend more on getting attention, make sure you’re not losing the people you already reach.

Make your homepage say what you do, who it’s for and what to do next, all within the first screen.
Update your Google Business Profile with photos, services and opening hours.
Set up a simple way to ask every happy customer for a review.
Add a clear call to action to every page, and test your contact form yourself.
Start collecting emails with something genuinely useful, such as a guide, checklist or first-order discount.

Days 46 to 75: pick two channels and commit

Trying every channel at once spreads you thin. Pick the two where your customers already spend time and do them well. For example:

A local service business: Google Business Profile and Google Search ads.
A consumer brand: Instagram or TikTok content, plus a monthly email.
A B2B company: LinkedIn, plus useful articles on your own website.

Set a weekly routine you can actually keep. Steady, consistent activity beats bursts of effort followed by silence.

Days 76 to 90: review and double down

Go back to your one number. Which activities brought in the most enquiries or sales, and what did each one cost? Keep what worked, drop what didn’t, and use what you learned to write the next 90-day plan.

The weekly 30-minute check-in

Put a recurring 30 minutes in your calendar. Look at three things: your main number, what you did last week and what you’ll do this week. That small habit is what keeps the plan alive.