Marketing checklist for a new business

A marketing checklist for a new business in Canada covers three stages. Before launch: a clear offer, a name and domain you own, a simple website, a Google Business Profile and basic tracking. In the first month: reviews, directory listings, telling everyone you know and setting up a way to capture enquiries. In the first three months: a first paid campaign, an email list built with proper consent, and a monthly routine to check your numbers. Do it in this order and you avoid the classic trap of paying for ads before anything is ready to turn clicks into customers.

Below is the full checklist, with short notes on why each item matters. Tick what you have done and start with the first item you have not.

Before launch: foundations

Offer and customer

• Write one sentence on who your main customer is and what triggers their purchase. My guide on defining your target customer helps.
• Write one sentence on why they should choose you over the alternatives.
• Decide your prices, or at least price ranges, and what is included.
• Check what three or four local competitors offer and charge.

Name, domain and accounts

• Check that your business name is available, both as a registered name in your province and as a domain. A .ca domain signals a Canadian business; its registration rules require a Canadian presence.
• Register the domain in your own name, not a supplier's.
• Create a business email address on your domain rather than a free webmail address.
• Reserve your business name on the social platforms you might use, even if you will not post yet.

Website

• A simple site or landing page that says what you do, where, for whom, at what price, and how to contact you.
• Phone number and contact form easy to use on a phone.
• A privacy policy that explains what data you collect. PIPEDA applies across Canada, and Quebec's Law 25 adds requirements if you have customers there.
• Cookie consent set up if you use analytics or ad pixels, particularly important for Quebec visitors.

You do not need a large website at launch. My Start package, a landing page plus analytics, starts at $1,950; a full business website starts at $3,000.

Tracking

• Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager installed.
• Form submissions and phone clicks recorded as conversions.
• Google Search Console set up to see how Google finds your site.

Month one: get found and get talked about

Maps and directories

• Create and verify your Google Business Profile with the right category, service area or address, hours, photos and description.
• Set up Apple Business Connect and Bing Places.
• List your business on key directories with exactly the same name, address and phone: YellowPages.ca, 411.ca, Yelp, and any directories for your industry.
• Consider your local chamber of commerce, which often brings a directory listing and local connections.

People you already know

• Tell friends, family, former colleagues and suppliers, one by one, what you do and who you are looking for.
• Ask your first customers for reviews as soon as the job is done.
• Identify two or three businesses that serve the same customers and could refer work to you.

Enquiries

• Decide where enquiries land: one inbox, one phone, one spreadsheet or CRM.
• Set up notifications so no enquiry waits more than an hour during working hours.
• Prepare a short reply template and a simple quote template.

Months two and three: first paid marketing

Ads

• Choose one channel that matches how customers look for you: Google Ads for services people search for, Meta ads for visual or impulse purchases.
• Set a realistic budget. I recommend about $1,000 a month as a minimum, paid directly to the platform.
• Make sure ads link to a page about that exact service, not just your homepage.
• Open ad accounts in your business's name. If someone sets them up for you, they should be added as users, not owners.

If you want help, Google Ads setup costs $650 with me and management starts at $750 a month. The advertising pricing page has the details.

Email and SMS

• Collect email addresses only with clear consent. Under CASL, commercial emails and texts need consent, your business identification and an unsubscribe option.
• Plan a simple message for past customers: a seasonal reminder or a useful tip, not constant promotions.

Routine

• Once a month, check enquiries, cost per enquiry, new customers and revenue from them. My list of 7 marketing numbers shows what to look at.
• Ask every new customer how they found you, and write it down.
• Review your plan every quarter. A one-page marketing plan is enough to start.

What can wait

New business owners are often sold things they do not need yet. These can usually wait until the basics work:

• A large multi-page website with a blog.
• Paid social media management and daily posting.
• Several ad channels at once.
• Expensive branding projects, beyond a clean logo and consistent colours.
• Long-term SEO contracts before the website and Google profile are in place.

Common mistakes in year one

• Spending the whole budget on a logo and a big website, with nothing left for getting customers.
• Letting a supplier own the domain or ad accounts.
• Running ads to a page that does not convert.
• Ignoring reviews in the first months, when every single one counts.
• Changing everything every two weeks. Give each channel time to show what it can do.
• Not tracking where customers come from, so you cannot tell what to keep.

A note on budget

Every new business is short of money and time. If you can only do a few things, do these: a simple page that converts, a complete Google Business Profile, a habit of asking for reviews, and a way to answer enquiries fast. They cost little and keep working for years. Add ads when the foundations are in place and you can afford about $1,000 a month for at least two or three months of testing. For help sizing the total, see my guide on how much a small business in Canada should spend on marketing.