Marketing for small businesses in Perth
Most small businesses can’t do everything at once, and shouldn’t try. Here is the order we would work in, what we’d leave alone and what it all depends on.
Small business marketing in Perth should start with the basics: know who buys from you, make sure they can find you, and count your enquiries before you spend on ads or content. Candour Media Solutions helps owners work through that order, one channel at a time, and says plainly what to leave alone.
Small business marketing in Perth, in the order we’d do it
Each step gives the next one something to stand on. Skip ahead and you pay to send people to a business they can’t find or can’t reach.
Name your buyer
Write down who buys from you and why they chose you. Ask your last ten customers how they found you. The WA Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) is blunt about the alternative: promoting to everyone can be costly and ineffective.
Fix what people land on
What you do and how to reach you should be easy to find on a phone. If you serve local customers, fill out your Google Business Profile. Google says complete and accurate details make you more likely to show up in local results. If the site itself is the weak link, sort out the website before you pay for traffic.
Count what comes in
Ask every new enquiry where they heard about you, a habit the SBDC suggests. Connect Google Analytics while you’re at it. Without a record, every later decision is a guess.
Meet the people already looking
Someone searching for what you sell is usually the warmest audience you can reach. Google Ads can reach them soon after a campaign goes live, and you pay for the clicks. SEO is slower, with no cost per click. We cover the choice in SEO or Google Ads first.
Show who you are
Now spend on proof: real photos of your work and your people, and reviews from real customers. One well-planned photo and video shoot can supply your website, profile and ads for months.
Add one channel, then review
Choose one social platform your customers actually use and do it properly before adding a second. The SBDC suggests reviewing your plan every three months at first. Keep what brought enquiries, stop what didn’t, then add the next thing.
Digital marketing for small business: match the channel to how people buy
No channel suits everyone. The SBDC says the right one depends on your product, brand, budget and where your audience spends its time.
They search when they need you
Plumbers, electricians, repairers: anyone called on the day a problem appears. Begin with your Google Business Profile and search ads, then build SEO.
They buy with their eyes
Food, fashion and homewares sell on how they look. Photography and short video carry the sale, and Instagram and Meta ads come in once your site can take an order.
They take their time
Bigger purchases get researched and slept on. A clear website and retargeting, which shows ads to people who have already visited, keep you in the running.
They buy on behalf of a business
If your customers are other companies, LinkedIn lets you reach people by role and industry. It suits higher-value services.
What to do now, and what can wait
Worth doing early
- A website that works on a phone and makes contact easy
- A complete Google Business Profile, if you serve local customers
- Reviews from real customers, with replies
- A simple record of where each enquiry came from
- A short written plan. The federal marketing plan template is a good start
Safe to leave for later
- Being on every platform because a competitor is
- Boosting posts with no goal behind them, or chasing likes
- A rebrand, when customers already know and trust the name
- A big brand film before your website can handle the interest
- Any SEO offer that promises a ranking. Google says no one can guarantee a top spot
A marketing agency for small business, at the size you need
Candour Media Solutions is based in Perth and works with businesses across Australia. Packages are curated to each client’s requirements, so the scope follows what your business needs next.
Some owners want a small business marketing consultant to spot what’s wrong and set the order, which is what our 12-month marketing plan is for. Others have someone on staff who could run it with guidance, so we train the team. Some simply want it handled.
The budget comes down to how many channels you run, how competitive your market is, how much content needs making and what ad spend you can sustain. Our guide on how much a small business should spend on marketing walks through it.
Whatever the scope, we aim to report on enquiries and sales in plain English. Likes don’t pay the rent.
Frequently asked questions
Which marketing channel should a small business start with?
Usually the one closest to a buying decision. If people search for what you sell, start with Google. If your product sells on looks, start with photography and Instagram. The SBDC’s guide to marketing channels is a good plain summary.
What marketing budget should a small business set?
The SBDC’s general rule of thumb is three to five percent of actual or expected annual turnover, and possibly more at first if the business is new. Treat that as a starting point. Our budget guide goes deeper.
Do I need a marketing agency, or can I do it myself?
You can do a lot of it yourself. An agency starts to make sense when the work takes time from paying customers, or when you’re spending money and can’t tell what it returns. Our comparison of agency, freelancer or in-house lays out the trade-offs.
How long does small business marketing take to work?
It depends on the channel, and nobody can honestly give you a date. Ads can reach people soon after a campaign goes live. SEO is slower: Google says some changes take a few hours and others several months.
Do you work with small businesses outside Perth?
Yes, anywhere in Australia. Shoots outside Perth take more planning, so we work that out when we scope the job.
Find out what comes next
Send a few lines on the business and what you’ve tried. We’ll give you our honest view of the next step, even if you can take it without us.