Marketing expert David from redrose.digital shares his advice to local businesses hiring a new marketer.
For many local businesses, hiring a marketer feels like a turning point.
You’re busy running the company, leads feel inconsistent, and marketing has probably grown in fits and starts. So when someone new joins, there’s often an unspoken hope that things will move quickly.
- A better website.
- More visibility.
- More enquiries.
But this is also where many businesses unintentionally set marketers up to fail.
At redrose.digital, we work with SMEs across Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas, and one pattern shows up again and again: new marketers are pushed into activity before they’ve had time to understand the business they’re meant to be promoting.
The strongest results come when the first three months are used differently.
Why Rushing Marketing Rarely Pays Off
In many local businesses, marketing responsibilities have been shared out over time. A website update here. Social media handled by whoever had time. An advert run once because it seemed like a good idea.
None of this is wrong — it’s normal.
But when a marketer joins and is immediately asked to “fix” everything, they’re often working without context. They don’t yet know:
- Which enquiries actually turn into sales
- Which services are most profitable
- What customers regularly ask before committing
- Why previous efforts stalled or stopped
Without that understanding, marketing decisions are based on guesswork rather than insight.
Month One: Getting a Clear Picture of What’s Already There
The first month should be about listening and reviewing, not launching.
This means looking at everything that already exists — the website, old campaigns, social channels, email lists, feedback, reviews, and even sales notes.
For local businesses especially, there’s often a wealth of knowledge that’s never been written down. The reasons customers choose you. The objections you hear on the phone. The services that quietly perform best.
Capturing this information gives marketing direction before a single new campaign is launched.
Month Two: Understanding Local Customers and How They Decide
Local buying behaviour is different from national or online-only brands.
People want reassurance. They want clarity. They want to feel confident that a business understands their situation.
A good marketer will spend time learning:
- Who typically makes first contact
- What triggers an enquiry
- What causes delays or hesitation
- What finally convinces someone to go ahead
This insight often comes from conversations with business owners, sales teams and long-standing customers — not dashboards or tools alone.
When marketing reflects real customer behaviour, it immediately feels more relevant and trustworthy.
Month Three: Positioning the Business in the Local Market
Only once the internal and customer picture is clear does strategy start to make sense.
This is when a marketer can look outward and ask:
- Who do customers compare us to locally?
- Where are competitors unclear or generic?
- What do we do well that isn’t being communicated?
For many local businesses, the opportunity isn’t shouting louder — it’s explaining things more clearly and consistently.
What This Means for Business Owners
If you’re hiring a marketer, the most valuable thing you can give them in the first few months is time and access.
- Time to understand the business.
- Access to conversations, feedback and history.
- And space to ask questions without pressure to deliver instantly.
When that foundation is in place, marketing stops being reactive and starts supporting growth in a meaningful way.
About Redrose Digital
Redrose Digital works with local and national SMEs to help build marketing strategies that are grounded in insight, not guesswork. We support businesses at key transition points — including when new marketers join — to make sure structure and clarity come before activity.
👉 You can read more about our approach to strategic marketing at redrose.digital
