10 Steps to Revive Your Small Business | Cap Puckhaber | Black Diamond Marketing

Originally posted here 

If you’re a small business owner — a nail salon, exterminator, coffee shop, antique store, or something in between — chances are you’re feeling the strain. Inflation is up, tariffs are squeezing margins, budgets are tight, and competition is fiercer than ever. Maybe your revenue has flatlined or even started declining. And when it comes to marketing — digital or otherwise — you might feel overwhelmed or unsure where to start.

You’re not alone. Trust me.

I’m Cap Puckhaber, owner of Black Diamond Marketing Solutions. I’ve spent over 20 years in business and marketing, including 15 years leading major initiatives in the tech world. I’ve worked with manufacturers, small business owners, and consumers alike. I know what it’s like to wear every hat in the business — especially when there’s no time or budget for guesswork.

Here are 10 steps every small business should consider right now to stop the bleeding, revive your small business, regain positive momentum, and build a foundation for long-term growth.

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1. Move Your Website to a Simple, Expandable Host (WordPress, Wix, or Bluehost)

If your website is outdated, hard to update, or non-existent — fix this first. How do you know? If your website hasn’t been updated in months, you find it difficult to make very small changes, and/or you just don’t like how it looks (but you love your competitor’s websites), then that’s you.

A modern website is your digital storefront. Whether you’re a plumber or a bakery, 80% of customers will search for you online before they visit or call. If you’re not there (or if you’re there but invisible), you’re losing business. You don’t have to be a digital artist, web designer or programmer, but you should be able to convey to potential customers what service or product you offer and provide a clear path to conversion. Fancy doesn’t equal success.

Platforms like WordPress (with Bluehost), Wix, and Squarespace offer easy drag-and-drop functionality, mobile-friendly templates, and most importantly, SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO to help your site rank higher on Google.

Why This Matters:

• Google is the new Yellow Pages. Without a website that ranks, you’re invisible.

• SEO plugins help you target local keywords like “nail salon near me” or “best coffee in [your town].”

• You don’t need a $10,000 agency site. A basic, clean website with 3–5 pages (Home, About, Services, Contact, and Blog) is plenty to start.

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2. Claim and Update Your Google My Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is free and insanely powerful. If someone types your business name into Google, this is the first thing they’ll see.

Make sure:

• Your name, phone number, address, hours, and services are correct

• You upload recent photos

• You actively respond to reviews

Why This Matters:

• Appearing in Google Maps or the “Local Pack” is free local advertising

• Complete profiles are 70% more likely to attract visits

• It improves trust, clicks, and visibility — fast

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3. Pause Organic Social Media (Unless You’re Winning at It)

Let’s be honest: attempting to go viral on TikTok is a losing game for most local businesses.

Unless you’re already getting real results from organic social (and not just likes — actual leads and customers), pause it. Posting every day on Instagram or TikTok “just to keep up” wastes time and energy you could be using more strategically.

Instead:

• Focus on owned platforms: your website, your email list, and Google

• Post only when you have something valuable or promotional to say

• Consider ads, not just posts (more on this below)

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4. Focus on Customer Retention Before Acquisition

If you’re bleeding customers, new ones won’t fix the problem.

Retention is cheaper and more profitable than acquisition. A 5% increase in retention can boost profits by 25–95%. If your current customers aren’t coming back or converting, you have a deeper issue.

Steps to Take:

• Send out a “We Miss You” email with a small discount

• Ask for feedback: Why did they leave? What could you do better?

• Offer a loyalty program — coffee punch cards, 10% off next service, referral perks

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5. Research Local, Low-Cost Marketing Opportunities

Start looking around your community with fresh eyes. Local exposure can cost little to nothing but bring in consistent leads. Some of these ideas may sound archaic, and you might be right, but “fish where the fish are”. Meaning, you can try to spend thousands of dollars trying to capture people on Google and Facebook, where you are essentially competing with the world, or you can try to capture people that live within a 5 mile radius of your house. Also, keep in mind, the point of this blog is to focus on the basics. Not going straight into five-figure figure marketing budgets.

Examples:

• Partner with nearby businesses (cross-promotions, bundled offers, joint events)
• Sponsor a local kids’ sports team (usually under $250)
• Leave flyers at complementary businesses
• Attend farmer’s markets or community events
• Consider advertising your business on your car. Heck, I just hired someone to fix a dent in my car because they had their logo, phone number, and website on their car.

Pro Tip: Think hyper-local. Get visible where your audience already goes.

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6. Set Aside a Small Paid Search Budget

Digital ads don’t have to be expensive to be effective. You can start local Google or Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads for as little as $5–10/day.

But don’t DIY unless you know what you’re doing.

What to Do:

• Hire a freelancer (Fiverr, Upwork) or contact Black Diamond Marketing Solutions

• Target locally: ZIP codes, city names, or 5-mile radius

• Focus on search intent: “exterminator near me” beats “funny pest memes”

Paid ads deliver fast, trackable traffic, and with local targeting, you can stretch your dollars far.

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7. Offer New Customer & Loyalty Promotions

You don’t need to race to the bottom on price. But you do need to give people a reason to try you or come back.

Ideas:

• “First Visit? 20% Off Any Service”

• “Refer a Friend, Get $10”

• “Visit 5 Times, Get 6th Free”

• “Flash Sale Fridays” for slow periods

These offers reward loyal customers while nudging new ones over the edge — without devaluing your brand.

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8. Rethink Your Location

This one’s hard — but necessary.

If your business depends on walk-in traffic but your location is poor (bad visibility, no foot traffic, hard parking), you’re losing sales. My wife and I talk about this regularly. Our city is FILLED with strip malls, which 10+ years ago was where all the foot traffic was and now they are ghost towns. You see a kids clothing store, next to a donut shop, next to a vacuum store, next to a vacant Big Lots. This is where hopes and dreams went to die.

Where does that leave you? Depends on your product or service. Some businesses will inherently live in industrial parks (think construction, blue collar, etc.) But if you are that nail salon, record store, florist, etc think about (and even measure) the amount of foot traffic going to areas with a high density of restaurants, coffee shops, yoga studios, doctors offices. Places where people have to and will physical travel to.

On the flip side, if you don’t need a physical space (or can downsize), that rent could be reinvested into marketing or operations. Our favorite Thai restaurant is always busy, but also always empty. Why? Take out, Grub Hub, etc. So maybe consider a smaller footprint or even a food truck.

Ask Yourself:

• Are people finding you, or are you buried?

• Could you operate with a shared space, popup model, or even go mobile?

• Is your lease up soon? If yes, start planning now.

A bad location can choke a great business. Don’t let pride or inertia cost you everything.

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9. Get Real About Overhead

Too many small businesses go under not because of lack of customers — but because of bloated overhead. One of my favorite episodes of Restaurant Impossible and something I always take note of is how many items are on the menu (or services are provided) when I go somewhere. My gut tells me that if this Italian restaurant has more than a 2–3 page menu and offers chicken strips, grilled cheese, hot wings, etc. then we are in trouble but they are also in trouble. The same applies for all types of businesses. Having too many things on the “menu” tells me a few things 1) you don’t know what customers want 2) you aren’t really good at making 3 things so you’re “ok” at making 30 things and most importantly 3) you probably have three months worth of wages sitting in inventory. All of these spell disaster for a small business.

The other thing we often notice, particularly in restaurants but also places like Kohl’s is when there are more employees than shoppers. I “get” that you need to staff for busy times, but you’re tracking historical data, by the hour, you know exactly what hours and what days those are and if you have “busy times” this blog likely doesn’t really apply to you. If you’re a restaurant, coffee shop, or salon and you have 3–5 employees walking around, checking their phones, hanging out in the backroom and only 1–2 customers send the employees home.

Questions to Audit Your Operations:

• Are you sitting on stale inventory?

• Do you have more employees than necessary?

• Is your marketing spend returning a profit?

• Are you actually looking at your P&L monthly?

Tip: Build a simple marketing and sales plan. Track leads, conversions, and costs weekly. If something isn’t working — cut it.

Cash flow is oxygen. Protect it.

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10. Evaluate Your Offer — and Ask for Help

Finally, be brutally honest: Are you offering something people want, at a price they’re willing to pay, in a way that stands out from competitors?

If a product or service isn’t selling, it may not be worth pushing. Just because you make kick-ass coffee doesn’t mean you have to sell bagels. Just because you’re really good at painting doesn’t mean you need to offer window cleaning. It all depends on the ROI. How much time, money, and energy are you putting into what it is your company offers and is every single one of those offering returning 2X, 3X, 5X that investment.

How to Adjust:

• Look at your competitors — what are they doing better?

• Look at your best sellers — what’s working?

• Ditch the dead weight and double down on demand

Then, don’t go it alone. Join a local Facebook small business group, start your own network, or reach out to a local agency.

If you’re reading this and need real, grounded marketing help — reach out to me directly at Black Diamond Marketing Solutions. Whether you’re ready for a full strategy or just need a few smart tweaks, I’m here to help.

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Final Thought

Marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming, expensive, or complicated. But it does need to be intentional.

By fixing your foundation — your website, local presence, and current customer experience — and building from there with smart, affordable tactics, you can regain momentum and grow in any economic climate.

You don’t need to go viral. You just need to get visible, stay consistent, and keep improving.

Let’s get your business back on track.

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Cap Puckhaber

Founder, Black Diamond Marketing Solutions

20+ Years Business & Marketing Experience

Helping Small Businesses Succeed