Most small businesses I speak to are struggling with marketing because they’re doing too much. Too much of the right thing and probably a lot of the wrong thing too. They’re marketing blind – and the solution is to find the direction.
And I want to help you find it.
This guide lays out a simple, repeatable 90 day marketing plan for small businesses that want to add some structure to their marketing efforts.
I originally wrote this guide as a 90 day marketing plan for Q1 2026, but actually, you can use it at any point of the year.
It’s designed to be skimmable and easy to consume. I hope you find it useful.
Why a 90 day marketing plan works
Annual marketing plans are great for when you have a team to execute the strategy (see: Marketing Leadership), but when you’re a smaller team, it can be difficult to keep on top of the data and pivot when needed.
For smaller teams, a 90-day marketing plan works because it:
Creates focus, but doesn’t feel restrictive
Gives you enough time to see what is working
Forces decisions instead of endless tweaking
After 90 days, it’ll be time to review the whole thing and see what’s worked. And remember, you don’t need to wait for perfection, you just need to start on the right path. Progress over perfection.
Month 1: Foundations
Before you add anything new, you need to know what’s working (and what’s not). This is where most businesses skip ahead.
1. Audit what you already have
Take an honest look at:
Your website
Social media channels
Email list
Any campaigns or activity from the last few months
Be sure to dig into your data – don’t make assumptions. Look at website traffic, form fills, engagement rates, and all that good stuff (all of which I love. See: Marketing Audit)
Ask yourself:
What activity is driving enquiries or sales? Use your CRM.
What’s being maintained out of habit?
What’s unfinished or outdated?
Write this all down, or you’ll default to assumptions.
A good step here is to complete the 3-min Benchmark your Marketing quiz. It’ll give you a good steer on where you are.
You may also like: How to do your own marketing audit.
2. Set one goal for the quarter
Pick a single primary objective, such as:
Generating qualified leads
Increasing sales from existing traffic
Building visibility with a specific audience
A good quarterly goal is binary – at the end of 90 days, you can clearly say yes or no.
Bad: “Improve our marketing”
Better: “Generate 10 qualified enquiries via our website”
Remember, if you try to optimise for everything, you’ll optimise for nothing.
You may also like: How to define and set marketing objectives
3. Get specific about your customer
Smaller businesses don’t need a complex persona document. You do need clarity on:
Who this marketing is for (and who it isn’t)
The problem they’re actively trying to solve
Why they would choose you over a competitor
If this feels unclear, the solution you’re offering to potential customers will feel unclear to them, too.
Clear positioning makes every other decision easier.
This could be useful: How to define your target audience in 5 steps
4. Choose your core channels (and ignore the rest)
Choose no more than three marketing channels based on:
Where your audience already spends time (ask them)
What you can realistically do every week
Examples might include:
LinkedIn, email, and your website
Instagram and email
SEO and LinkedIn
Most small businesses don’t fail because they picked the wrong channel – they fail because they picked too many.
A simple rule:
If you can’t commit to a channel consistently for 90 days, don’t choose it.
5. Fix your website before driving traffic to it
Your website is your online shop window. It’s where all potential customers are going to go to find out more about you before enquiring, so it’s got to be right.
If it’s unclear:
Who you help
What you do
What someone should do next
…then no amount of marketing will deliver results. Get the messaging right, and get the customer journey right. There is so much more that goes into a website of course, but these are some of the key points to consider.
Congratulation, you now have a mini DIY marketing strategy.
For a comprehensive marketing strategy, see the Marketing Direction Sprint
Month 2: Plan and prepare
Good marketing looks easy. And that’s usually because the planning happened upfront.
6. Build a simple marketing plan
Use a tool you’ll stick with – Notion is my go to, a spreadsheet, or a shared calendar.
Map out:
What you’re publishing
Where it’s going
When it’s happening
This removes daily decision-making and stops marketing becoming a last-minute panic (I learned this from a TED talk…I’ll find the link and add it here some time!)
7. Plan content around your goal
Every piece of content should serve a purpose and get your 1% closer to the goal you set yourself. Think about:
Addressing a real customer question or concern
Always supporting your quarterly goal
Move someone one step closer to working with you – give them a reason to want to
This doesn’t need to be detailed yet – high-level planning is enough to create consistency.
8. Get ahead with BAU (business as usual)
Before experimenting with anything new:
Schedule social posts
Draft emails
Write core content
This creates breathing room for you to concentrate on the stuff that doesn’t come naturally, or is new to you.
Month 3: Build, test, and optimise
Once the basics are running, it’s time to put something new in place. Ideally something simple – a one off project that will take time initially, but will pay off in the long term by working for you in the background.
9. Add one asset to your marketing engine
Choose on addition, such as:
A lead magnet (guide, checklist, quiz, or offer)
A simple email nurture sequence
A light-touch automation that saves time
Something simple is fine to start – you can add in complexity later. Again, progress over perfection.
10. Review…but don’t panic
After a few weeks, look at:
Engagement
Enquiries
Early patterns in behaviour
Use data. Remember early results tell you what’s resonating, not what’s profitable yet.
The biggest mistake I see at this point is over-reacting – changing messaging or direction before your plan has had a chance to bed in.
Stick with it!
How to use this every quarter
At the end of 90 days:
Keep what worked
Fix what didn’t
Plan the next quarter using data
This is how marketing compounds.
Did you know
Most UK buyers need 20–30 touch points with a business before they’re ready to buy.
That means:
Showing up consistently
In the right places
Over time
Your job isn’t to force a decision. But you do need to be visible, credible, and clear for when the moment arrives.
Need help?
I know this looks like a lot. And a lot of you reading this may think ‘sounds great, Vic, but I don’t have the time for this’. And my clients felt the same, that’s why they took the load off their shoulders and let me take care of it.
Here is how I can support you to take away the overwhelm:
- Marketing Direction Sprint – A one off spring where direction is set and decisions are made.
- Marketing Leadership – For those needing to offload marketing completely
- Marketing Audit – Ideal if for clarity on where you are before committing to a bigger change.
- Marketing Power Hour – A one hour, 1:1 meeting focused on your business challenges
FAQs
What is a 90 day marketing plan?
A 90 day marketing plan is a short-term, focused marketing strategy that outlines goals, priorities, and actions for a single quarter. It helps small businesses stay consistent without getting overwhelmed, and review performance regularly instead of being reactive.
How detailed should a small business marketing plan be?
It should be clear and simple. The more complex, the more unlikely you are to stick to it. A good marketing plan defines:
One primary goal
A specific audience
A small number of channels
Planned activity for the quarter
If it’s so detailed that it slows execution, it’s too much.
How long does it take to see results from a 90-day marketing plan?
You may see early engagement within weeks, but actual results often build over time. The first 90 days are about consistency, learning what works for your audience, and creating momentum. Marketing is a long game, you need to build trust and authority, and that can take time. It’s a marathon, not a race.
What if I don’t have time to run a marketing plan myself?
That’s very common – especially for owner-led businesses. I’d suggest working with a marketing partner who can help ensure the strategy actually happens and happens properly. Get in touch for a no obligation chat.
