Most lists of marketing ideas for small business are written for companies with a marketing team. This one is for the owner who does the work, answers the phone and does the marketing on a Sunday evening. Every idea below costs little or nothing, and they are in rough order: the ones near the top tend to bring in enquiries soonest.
Start with the marketing ideas for small business that bring in enquiries first
1. Finish your Google Business Profile
When someone nearby searches for what you do, the map results often appear before anything else. A complete profile with the right category, service areas, opening hours and real photos is free and usually the quickest win. Our guide to Google Business Profile for Luton trades walks through it.
2. Ask every happy customer for a review
Ask at the moment the customer is pleased, straight after the job or the delivery, and send a short link by text so it takes them thirty seconds. Never write reviews yourself or pay for them.
3. Follow up every quote
Plenty of quotes are lost because nobody chased them, not because the price was wrong. A friendly message a few days after sending a quote, asking if they have any questions, costs nothing and wins work you have already paid to win.
4. Get back in touch with past customers
People who have bought from you before already trust you. A short, useful message twice a year, such as a seasonal reminder or a note about a new service, keeps you in mind when they or a friend need you again. Only contact people who have agreed to hear from you.
Make your website do more of the selling
5. Put your phone number at the top of every page
Most local customers find you on a phone. If they have to scroll to find how to contact you, some of them will not bother. Make the number tappable and keep enquiry forms short.
6. Give each main service its own page
One page that lists ten services rarely ranks for any of them. A page per service, written in the words your customers use, gives Google and the customer a clear answer. If you do not have a website yet, our New Business Launch website is £497 fixed, with the words written for you.
7. Answer the questions customers ask you every week
Write down the questions you answer on the phone again and again, then answer each one properly on your website. These are exactly what people type into Google, and a good answer shows you know your trade before they have even rung.
8. Show your real business details
Customers want to know who they are dealing with. Our study of Luton and Bedford trade websites found many leave out basic company details that build trust.
Low cost local marketing ideas
9. Team up with businesses that serve the same customers
An electrician and a kitchen fitter, a wedding photographer and a florist, an accountant and a solicitor: each sees customers the other needs. Agree to recommend each other, and mean it.
10. Be useful in local Facebook groups
Answer questions in community groups with real help rather than adverts, and follow each group’s rules on promotion. People remember the person who helped. We cover how social media should support your website in social media vs a website for UK small businesses.
11. Post your finished work
Photos of real jobs, products and happy customers (with their permission) beat any stock image. Post them on your Business Profile, your social pages and your website.
12. Track where every enquiry came from
Ask every new customer how they found you and write it down. After three months you will know which of these ideas is paying off, and you can stop spending time on the ones that are not.
Marketing ideas that work for Luton small businesses
In Luton and the surrounding towns, the cheapest marketing that keeps working is still local: a Google Business Profile with regular posts, asking every happy customer for a review, and being listed in local directories. Local Facebook groups for Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard can bring in work for trades and home services, as long as you are helpful rather than salesy.
Pick two or three of these and do them every week for three months before judging them. Consistency beats trying everything at once.
ST HECS in Luton built up 30 five-star Google reviews by asking clients and placed workers after real jobs, and now shows those reviews and its own job photos on its website. That costs nothing but time.
Pick three and do them properly
Trying all twelve at once usually means doing none of them well. Pick the three that suit your business, give them a month, and measure what happens. If you want help, Ivy Hive works with small businesses across Luton and Bedfordshire on websites, local SEO, reviews and social media. Get in touch and tell us where your enquiries come from now.
