Marketing when you're the whole business

If you're the person who does the work, answers the phone, sends the invoices and also, somehow, does the marketing, you're in the majority. Of the UK's 5.7 million businesses, three-quarters have no employees beyond the owners. Marketing is one of the things owners most often look for help with, and it's no surprise: it's the job that always gets pushed to the evening.

This guide isn't about marketing strategy. It's about a simple routine that fits around a working week: making recommendations easier, looking after how you appear online, asking for reviews fairly, and getting a bit of help with the writing.

Start with what already works

For most small businesses, the best source of new customers is the customers they already have. As one UK study of small firms put it, owner-managers "invariably cite word of mouth recommendations as the principal way in which they attract new customers". So the first job isn't finding new places to advertise. It's making it easy for happy customers to recommend you.

That can be as simple as a short follow-up message after a job with a link to your reviews, a few cards to leave behind, or a thank-you to whoever sent someone your way.

Know where your enquiries come from

It's hard to know what's working without asking. When a new enquiry comes in, ask "how did you hear about us?" and keep a simple tally, in a notebook or a spreadsheet: recommendation, Google, social media, passing trade, repeat customer. After a few months you'll know where your effort is best spent, and what you can quietly stop doing.

Look after your online shop window

Most people now look online before they get in touch. Three-quarters of UK adults use a search engine at least once a day, and most turn to one first when looking for something they might buy. For a local business, your Google Business Profile is often the first thing they see.

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and how well known a business is, and that you can't pay for a better position. What you can do is keep your profile complete and current: the right opening hours (including holidays), the services you offer, a few recent photos, and replies to reviews. Google's own advice is that more reviews and positive ratings can help.

Ask for reviews, fairly

Reviews matter to customers. In BrightLocal's latest survey of American consumers, 97% said they read reviews for local businesses and 89% expected owners to reply to them. It's a US survey, but a useful guide.

The fairest approach is also the one the law requires. Since April 2025, UK law has banned fake reviews and reviews that hide the fact they were rewarded. Between the law, the Competition and Markets Authority's guidance and Google's own rules, the picture is clear:

• Do ask every customer for an honest review, and make it easy with a link or QR code.
• Do reply to reviews, good and bad, briefly and politely.
• Don't offer money, discounts or gifts in return for positive reviews.
• Don't write reviews yourself, or ask friends and family to pretend to be customers.
• Don't hide or pick out reviews so only the good ones show.

Use what you already have

You don't need to invent new things to say. Every job, product or question from a customer is material. One finished job can become a before-and-after photo, a short tip, and a line in a monthly email. A question three customers asked this month can become a short post, a page on your website, and an easier conversation next time.

Let AI help with the first draft

AI tools can take some of the effort out of writing: a first draft of a post, a reply to a review, an email to past customers, written from a few notes. Just under 3 in 10 UK businesses with fewer than ten staff use some form of AI so far, so if you haven't tried it yet, you're not behind.

Read and edit everything before it goes out. Ofcom found that around half of adults who know about AI would trust an article less if they knew AI had written it, so it's worth making sure it sounds like you, and that the details are right. It's your name on it.

A simple routine

The routine matters more than any single post. Research on habits suggests it takes around two months for a daily habit to become automatic, and that missing the odd occasion doesn't undo it, so pick a regular slot and keep it small.

Every week (30 to 45 minutes)

• Add new enquiries to your tally, with where they came from.
• Send your review link to customers you've finished work for.
• Reply to any new reviews.
• Share one thing: a recent job, a photo or a tip.

Once a month (about an hour)

• Check your Google Business Profile: hours, holiday closures, services, a couple of new photos.
• Look at your tally. Do more of what brought work in.
• Thank anyone who recommended you.
• Turn the month's best job or most common question into an email or a page on your website.

If a week gets away from you, just pick it up again the next one. That's normal, and it's fine.

Common questions

Do I need to be on every social media site?

No. Pick the one or two places your customers actually spend time and do those well. A tradesperson might get more from their Google profile and a local community group than from any social network; a maker might find Instagram is where people see their work. It is fine to leave the rest.

Can I offer a discount in return for a review?

Best not. Since April 2025, UK law has banned fake reviews and reviews that hide the fact they were rewarded, and Google does not allow businesses to offer anything in exchange for reviews. Asking every customer for an honest review, and making it easy, is allowed and works well.

Should I reply to bad reviews?

Yes, briefly and politely. Google's own advice is to keep replies short, simple and professional. A calm, helpful reply to a poor review often reassures the people reading it more than the review itself worries them.

How long before it makes a difference?

It varies by business, so we would not promise a timescale. The routine itself gets easier quickly, though: research on habits suggests it takes around two months for a daily habit to become automatic, and missing the odd occasion does not undo it.

Sources

1. Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025, Department for Business and Trade, GOV.UK, October 2025.
2. Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024: businesses with no employees, Department for Business and Trade, GOV.UK, September 2025.
3. Shaping up word of mouth marketing strategy: the case of an independent health club, Stokes, Syed and Lomax, Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 2002.
4. Adults’ media use and attitudes report 2025, Ofcom, May 2025.
5. Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, Google Business Profile Help.
6. Tips to get more reviews, Google Business Profile Help.
7. Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, BrightLocal (survey of US adults), February 2026.
8. Reviews: guidance for businesses and agencies, Competition and Markets Authority, GOV.UK, updated August 2025.
9. Fake reviews (CMA208), Competition and Markets Authority, GOV.UK, April 2025.
10. How long does it take to form a habit?, UCL News, on Lally and others, European Journal of Social Psychology, August 2009.
11. Artificial intelligence in UK businesses: 2023 to 2026, Office for National Statistics, July 2026.