Opening a business is expensive in ways nobody warns you about, and marketing is where a lot of first-year money quietly disappears. Most advice about marketing for new small businesses is written for companies with a budget. This post is for everyone else: what to do before you open, in the first 90 days, and after, in an order that protects your cash.
The stakes are real. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that 77.9% of private-sector establishments that opened in the year ending March 2024 were still operating a year later, and only 51.4% of those that opened in the year ending March 2020 made it to five years. Marketing will not fix a bad business model, but a good business that nobody can find is one of the most avoidable ways to end up on the wrong side of those numbers.
Before you open: claim your spot on Google
The most underused launch move is free. Google lets you create a Business Profile before your doors open. You can enter an opening date up to a year in the future, and once you verify, your profile starts showing on Google 90 days before that date. That means people searching for what you sell, near where you sell it, can find you, see photos of the build-out, and know when you open, while you are still painting the walls.
Use those weeks well. Pick the most specific primary category that fits, write a real description, add your service area and hours, and post progress photos. Then set up the basics that cost nothing but time: the same business name, address, and phone number everywhere you list it, and a free Google Search Console account for the website you are about to launch.
Launch week: a website that does four jobs
A startup website design package should be small and sharp, not big. For most local businesses that means a fast home page, one page per core service, an about page with real photos of real people, and a contact page with a tap-to-call button, a map, and a short form. It should load quickly on a phone, because Unbounce’s benchmark data puts mobile at about 83% of landing page visits, and it should be connected to your Google profile, analytics, and Search Console from day one so you are measuring from the start.
Skip what does not earn its keep yet: a 20-page site, a blog you will not have time to feed, custom animation, and anything that makes the phone number harder to find. You can add pages as you learn which services actually sell. If you are handy and short on cash, building it yourself is a legitimate option. I wrote a guide to building your business website with AI for exactly that owner.
The first 90 days: reviews before ads
A new business starts at zero reviews, and that is its biggest handicap. BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found 47% of consumers will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews. So your first marketing goal is not traffic. It is getting to 20 genuine, recent reviews as fast as honest effort allows.
Ask every happy customer in person, at the moment they are happiest, and text them the link while they are still standing there. Reply to every review, good or bad. Do not buy reviews or offer discounts in exchange for them: Google’s review policy prohibits incentives, and the FTC’s 2024 rule on fake reviews carries civil penalties. Set a goal of 20, track it weekly, and treat it as seriously as revenue, because it changes how every other marketing dollar performs.
After launch: add fuel in the right order
Once the profile is live, the site is converting, and reviews are coming in, then it makes sense to spend. Start with local SEO work that compounds, like a page for each service and city you serve and consistent business listings, before paying for clicks. Ads can be useful for a launch burst or a seasonal push, but paid clicks pointed at a profile with three reviews and a slow site are the most expensive way to learn that the basics were not ready. The same order works whether you are planning a full marketing push for a new business launch or quietly opening a second location.
If you are in the South Bay and want a second set of eyes on your plan, the South San Diego Small Business Development Center, hosted by Southwestern College in National City, offers no-cost one-on-one advising. It is worth an hour before you sign anything expensive, including with us.
The bottom line
Marketing for new small businesses is mostly about sequence. Claim your Google profile before you open, launch a small, fast site that makes calling easy, earn 20 real reviews, and only then add paid fuel. That order costs less and works better than doing everything at once.
If you want help with the launch, our pricing page explains the Launch Package, a website build quoted once, up front, and the growth plans that can follow it. The local SEO service handles the Google profile and listings, and web design in Chula Vista covers the site itself.
Related services: Web design Chula Vista · Local SEO · Pricing
Keep reading: Affordable Website Design for Small Business: What You Should (and Shouldn’t) Pay For