Marketing Strategy
13 articles on marketing strategy. More dropping every week.
What a small business should actually spend on marketing
The SBA says 7–8% of revenue. The honest answer depends on your stage — and on whether you can tie spend to return.
AI marketing for hair salons, built around chair time.
What a Marketing Brain that knows salons does. Rebooking cadence, stylist-by-stylist Instagram, color content, anniversary reactivation — the parts of the trade generic AI doesn't know.
AI marketing for auto repair, built around service intervals.
What a Marketing Brain that knows auto repair does. Service-interval reactivation, vehicle-specific content, review velocity, financing — the parts of the trade generic AI doesn't know.
AI marketing for roofing, when AI watches the weather.
What a Marketing Brain that knows roofing does. Storm triggers, insurance claims, neighborhood saturation, financing — the parts of the trade generic AI has no clue about.
AI marketing for real estate agents, built around your listings.
What a Marketing Brain that knows real estate does. Listing launches, neighborhood content, just-sold reactivation, agent personal brand at scale.
AI marketing for restaurants, when AI knows your menu.
What a Marketing Brain that knows restaurants does. Review velocity, dayparts, holiday booking, delivery-app parity, menu-launch math.
AI marketing for electricians, now that AI knows your trade.
What a Marketing Brain that knows electrical contracting does. EV chargers, panel upgrades, residential vs. commercial bidding, and the trust signals that close jobs.
AI marketing for HVAC, built around your busy season.
What a Marketing Brain that knows HVAC does for your shop. Weather-triggered campaigns, maintenance retention, the system-age math that becomes a replacement pipeline.
AI marketing for plumbers, built around the 11pm call.
What a Marketing Brain that actually knows plumbing does for your shop. Emergency calls, water-heater reactivation, seasonal patterns that generic AI has no idea exist.
AI marketing platform vs. agency vs. DIY — which one is right for your shop.
Three honest options for handling marketing in 2026. Real costs, real time investments, real fit map.
What is an AI marketing audit, and is it worth doing?
Three flavors of audit, three price points. What each one tells you, when each is worth doing, and which is the right fit for your shop.
Your first 30 days as an AI operator — a calendar.
A day-by-day plan. One 20-minute task per day, in the right order. Print it, tape it to the wall, cross things off.
Why we stopped recommending Mailchimp.
For fifteen years it was the right answer. In 2026 it's the wrong default for most shops. Here's the math, and a better pick.
Reading is good. Doing is better.See where your shop
actually stands.
The Guide tells you what to do. The free scan tells you what to do first.
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