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

# 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](https://serviceprosuite.com/signup) to automate dispatch, invoicing, and review requests from day one. Related: [How to grow your HVAC business](https://serviceprosuite.com/grow/hvac-business), [How to grow your lawn care business](https://serviceprosuite.com/grow/lawn-care-business), [How to grow your cleaning business](https://serviceprosuite.com/grow/cleaning-business), [All 16 growth guides](https://serviceprosuite.com/grow).