The First 90 Days: Marketing Checklist for a New Service Business

New service businesses fail for two reasons: they run out of cash before customers arrive, or they spend money on the wrong marketing. Here's the exact 90-day sequence to build a customer pipeline while spending as little as possible.

Days 1-7: Foundations (spend $0)

Announce your business to every family member, friend, neighbor, and church/sports contact. Post once on your personal Facebook. Post in every neighborhood Nextdoor. Put a magnet on your truck. Book your first 5-10 jobs from your existing network.

Days 8-30: Google Business Profile + website ($200-$500)

Claim and verify your Google Business Profile. Upload 20+ real job photos. Set proper categories. Post weekly. Build a fast, mobile-first website with service pages, city pages, click-to-call, and an online booking form. Register your domain. Add your business email. This week is when your organic search presence starts.

Days 31-60: Reviews + first paid ads ($500-$1,500)

Ask every customer for a Google review immediately after every job. Aim for 20 reviews by day 60. Apply for Google Local Services Ads (approval takes 2-4 weeks — start now). Turn on a $300-$600/month Google Search Ads budget for emergency-intent keywords in your service area.

Days 61-90: Referrals + recurring + software ($200-$400)

Launch a $25 referral credit both sides. Sell maintenance plans on every service call. Adopt field service software to automate dispatch, invoicing, and review requests. This is the compounding phase — every completed job creates 1-2 downstream new leads.

Track four numbers every week

New leads, conversion rate, average ticket, and review count. If any of the four is trending down, fix that first before adding new activities.

Start your free 14-day trial of Service Pro Suite to automate dispatch, invoicing, and review requests from day one. Related: How to grow your HVAC business, How to grow your lawn care business, How to grow your cleaning business, All 16 growth guides.