A new business should do foundations first: know the customer, decide what makes you different, then build a clear website and one or two channels you can sustain. Spread thin across every platform, early marketing wastes money. A sequence beats a scattergun.
The sequence at a glance
| Phase | Focus | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Months 1 to 2 | Research and positioning | One-page plan, target customer, positioning |
| Months 2 to 3 | Foundations | Website, contact paths, business listings |
| Months 3 to 6 | First channels | One or two channels, consistent output |
| Months 6 to 9 | Measure and refine | Keep what works, drop what does not |
| Months 9 to 12 | Extend | Add a channel or investment based on evidence |
The timings are a guide, not a rule. Adjust to your sales cycle.
Phase 1: Research and positioning
Business.gov.au sets out six steps for a marketing plan, starting with researching your market (customers, competitors and demand) and positioning your business, meaning how you want customers to see your products or services. It lists goals such as increasing sales, reaching a new segment, building awareness, improving search rankings or building trust, and recommends SMART goals linked to your business plan (business.gov.au).
Before spending anything, answer:
- Who exactly is the first customer, and what problem do they have?
- Who else solves it, and why would someone choose you?
- What do you want marketing to achieve in the first six months, in numbers you can check?
For positioning wording, see our guide on writing a positioning statement.
Phase 2: Foundations
Set up the things every channel will send people to:
- A simple website that says what you do, for whom, how to start and how to get in touch. Use our website launch checklist before going live.
- Business listings where your customers look, with consistent name, address and contact details.
- A basic way to measure enquiries, even a spreadsheet of where each lead came from.
- A visual identity that is consistent, however modest.
The 5 Ps framework on business.gov.au (product, price, place, people and promotion) is a useful checklist here. It notes that for service businesses, people matter a great deal because the service is delivered by people, so staff skills and customer service are part of your marketing (business.gov.au).
Phase 3: Choose one or two channels
Business.gov.au suggests recording, for each promotional activity, the target audience, channel, description, estimated cost and timing, and favouring options that offer good value. It names social media, flyers, posters and e-newsletters as low-cost options (business.gov.au).
Pick channels by where your customer already looks, not by what is fashionable:
- Local services: business listings, reviews, local search, community presence.
- Considered purchases or B2B: a useful website, a few strong pieces of content, direct outreach.
- Visual products: short video and photography on the platform where your audience browses.
Paid advertising can come later, once you know your offer converts. Our guide on how to allocate a marketing budget helps you split spend without invented benchmarks.
Phase 4: Measure and refine
Business.gov.au’s final step is to keep the plan up to date: analyse results, keep what works, remove what does not, and revisit as customers and goals change. Do this at set intervals, say every month. Track enquiries, cost per enquiry if you spend money, and which source produced paying customers.
Phase 5: Extend
Once you have evidence, add something: a second channel, paid search for high-intent terms, partnerships, or content that answers common questions. Our overview of building a digital marketing strategy shows how to widen the plan.
Common mistakes
- Launching on five platforms and posting inconsistently on all of them.
- Spending on ads before the website explains the offer clearly.
- Making claims you cannot support. Advertising must not be false or misleading, and the ACCC expects a business to be able to prove any claim it makes (ACCC).
- Not recording where customers come from.
Where Radiance Impact fits
Radiance Impact’s Growth & Marketing division works on search visibility, social, campaigns and strategy. See the Growth page or contact us if you would like help sequencing your first year.
Sources
- Develop your marketing plan, business.gov.au
- The 5 Ps of marketing, business.gov.au
- False or misleading claims, ACCC
