E41: The 13 Marketing Habits of Top Local Business Owners
Most business owners think success comes from one big marketing secret, but it’s actually built on small, consistent habits.
In this episode, I pull back the curtain on what the top 1% of local service business owners do differently to dominate their markets year after year.
I walk you through the 13 marketing habits that fuel their growth from the daily actions that build trust and visibility, to the weekly, monthly, and annual routines that keep their systems running like clockwork.
You’ll learn how to stay consistent, create real momentum, and finally stop guessing at your marketing. If you’re ready to grow your business and become the clear leader in your industry, this episode is your blueprint to make it happen.
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P.S. When you are ready, here are a few ways I can help…
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Sean Garner is a marketing consultant and Certified StoryBrand guide dedicated to helping small business owners grow and dominate their industries. He created the Marketing Domination podcast to teach people how to combine storytelling with strategic marketing to help businesses connect with customers and stand out online.
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MARKETING DOMINATION PODCAST
Introduction
Sean Garner: [00:00]
Do you ever wonder why some local businesses seem to crush it year after year while others can’t get past survival mode? It’s not luck — it’s habits. The top 1% of local service business owners don’t just hope their marketing works — they have a complete system.
Today, I’m breaking down ten marketing habits that separate industry leaders from everyone else. These are the things that happen daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly — not at random or reactively, but consistently to drive results.
If your marketing feels all over the place, or you’re just guessing what to do next, this episode will show you exactly what the best in the business do to stay booked, visible, and trusted year-round. Let’s get into the habits that make the difference between struggling to get leads and dominating your market. Welcome to Marketing Domination.
Sean Garner: [00:58]
I broke today’s list down into daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual habits. What I’ve found after working with hundreds of small business owners is that there isn’t just one secret to success — it’s consistency across all these habits at different intervals.
Daily Habits That Drive Consistent Growth
Sean Garner: [01:15]
Let’s get into it. Starting with the daily habits that the top 1% of local service business owners do in their marketing. The first one — they request and get customer reviews every single day.
This right here is the number one thing you should prioritize as a local business: getting new customer reviews for your Google Business Profile (GBP), or other platforms like Yelp, Trustpilot, and Facebook. If your business has repeat customers, your first focus should always be your Google Business Profile. After that, depending on your industry, focus on sites like Yelp or Trustpilot, and then Facebook.
When a returning customer says, “I already left you a review,” respond with, “That’s awesome, thank you so much for leaving a Google review! Have you left us a review on Yelp or Facebook or Trustpilot?” You want to have all those options available for your staff to share — or even better, build them into automation so if someone already reviewed you on one platform, you can ask for another on a different one.
Now, what the top 1% businesses do next is take those reviews and use them as daily social proof. They turn them into social media posts, add them to their Google Business Profile, and share them publicly to strengthen the trust they’ve built.
Sean Garner: [02:32]
The next daily habit that the top 1% of local service business owners do is post daily to social media. When they do this, they’re not posting random content or generic infographics — they’re sharing client success stories, job progress photos, and quick tips. It’s the kind of content people actually want to engage with.
Too many people try to outsource this completely. You can outsource parts of it, but someone in-house still needs to be involved. Think about what you actually engage with online — it’s not stock images or generic posts. You need someone in-house capturing real photos from job sites and creating short-form video content.
Now, this doesn’t mean they’re filming every day. The top 1% batch their content — they’ll create or record in batches so someone else can schedule it out daily. They’re not waking up every morning wondering what to post. They have a plan, a system, and a process built into their quarterly and annual marketing plans. That’s how they stay consistent.
When it comes to social media for local service-based businesses, there are two main strategies. The first is using it like a billboard — staying visible so when people scroll, your name pops up. You don’t have to be hyperactive; posting three times a week can work. But if you want to be in the top 1%, you should post daily.
They share behind-the-scenes updates, progress photos, and client wins. The difference is they’ve made it scalable by batching and scheduling everything so it’s consistent and easy to manage.
Weekly Marketing Habits
Sean Garner: [04:01]
Now, moving on to the weekly habits of the top 1% of local service-based business owners. One of the biggest things they do is consistently add content to their website.
Now, that doesn’t mean they’re writing blogs themselves — many of them hire agencies like ours at Sean Garner Consulting to handle it. But the key is, content is being added regularly. That means new blog posts, case studies, and testimonials are always being published.
Google loves seeing fresh content. It shows you’re active, knowledgeable, and sharing valuable information. That’s a huge factor in SEO — adding new, relevant content consistently.
I always tell clients: SEO isn’t about tricking Google; it’s about being clear and proving why you should be number one. The way you prove it is by taking everything you’re doing in the real world — your jobs, your results, your expertise — and publishing it on your website so Google can see it. That’s how you show that you’re an expert and authority in your space.
So the top 1% of businesses are always adding new content weekly to their website.
Sean Garner: [05:20]
The next weekly habit that top business owners have is updating their Google Business Profile.
This means they’re adding new FAQs, uploading fresh photos, and creating posts weekly. Again, all of this can be delegated or automated, but the point is that they’ve built a process for it. Their profile stays fresh and active. Google rewards consistent updates — it helps boost your rankings in the map pack.
If you want your business to show up like the top 1%, you have to be adding content to your Google Business Profile regularly.
Sean Garner: [05:56]
The fifth weekly habit of the top 1% of local service business owners is emailing their list every week. Now, when I say that, people often respond with, “No, no, I don’t want to spam people!” But this isn’t about spamming. These aren’t “buy my stuff” emails.
These are helpful, value-driven emails — reminders of the problem you solve and how you can help. Share useful tips, quick wins, and case studies that show you’re the expert and that you care about helping them succeed.
You want to send the type of email you’d actually want to open. These aren’t weekly sales blasts — they’re weekly value emails that remind people who you are and how you can help them. That way, when you do send a strong call-to-action or special offer, your audience already trusts you and is primed to buy.
The top 1% email their lists weekly so when their customers are ready to buy, they think of them first.
Sean Garner: [07:32]
Most local business owners aren’t losing customers because of bad service — they’re losing them because they don’t have enough reviews. The truth is, your Google reviews are often the first thing people see before they even call or click. That’s why I created the Five-Star Google Review Scripts. These are done-for-you templates that show you exactly how to ask, follow up, and collect more five-star reviews without feeling awkward or pushy. With more reviews, you build trust, rise in the rankings, and become the obvious choice in your market.
Download it free today at SeanGarner.co/reviewscripts. Now, back to the show.
Sean Garner: [08:04]
The sixth habit that the top 1% of local service business owners have when it comes to their marketing is this — they promote their lead generator every single week.
Too often, local business owners create something like a guide, ebook, mini-course, or discount code — and then never tell anyone about it. One of the biggest benefits of having a lead generator on your website is that it gives you a reason to send people there. It’s not just “come buy our stuff” or “check out our services.” Instead, you’re inviting them to get something valuable for free.
Once they’re on your site, they’ll explore your other services, book an appointment, or learn more about your business. But if you’re not consistently promoting your lead generator, only the people who stumble onto your website will ever see it. You need to promote it across all your social channels every week at a minimum.
If you want more leads, you have to tell people to go to your website and download the free resource you created. A good lead generator should position you as the expert, have a clear and catchy title, and give the reader a quick win or the first step in your process. The top 1% of business owners market and promote their lead generators every single week.
Monthly and Quarterly Habits
Sean Garner: [09:12]
Now that we’ve covered the weekly habits, let’s move on to the monthly ones — the habits the top 1% of local service business owners focus on every single month.
The seventh habit is having a dedicated marketing meeting every month to review your data. This could include your vendors, networking partners, and internal team members who help manage your marketing. Every month, they sit down and review what’s working and what isn’t.
The top 1% know exactly what’s happening in their marketing because they’re consistent about reviewing results. This keeps them proactive instead of reactive. Where most businesses struggle is when they have internal staff or outside vendors managing their marketing, but no regular check-ins. They have no idea what’s working, where the money’s going, or whether they’re getting any ROI.
You need a monthly meeting with your marketing agency, vendors, and team to review the data, see what’s performing well, and make sure the plan stays on track.
Sean Garner: [10:08]
The eighth habit of the top 1% of local service-based business owners is collecting video testimonials every month from their clients.
Daily, you should be asking for Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, or Facebook reviews — but video testimonials take it a step further. They’re more powerful, but also a bit more effort for the client. That’s why the best business owners have a process to collect them monthly.
Here’s how they do it: start with your best customers — the ones you really connected with and delivered great results for. Add them to a separate follow-up sequence asking for a video testimonial. Make it simple for them to say yes.
You can do this a few ways. One, hop on a short Zoom call and interview them about their experience — that way, you get natural, conversational responses. Two, send them a testimonial script that outlines what to say and how to film it. We even send clients a short tutorial video showing them exactly how to record it, plus three simple questions to answer.
Remind them to restate the question in their answer, and tell them not to worry about editing or production — your team can clean it up. The goal is to make it so easy they can’t say no.
The top 1% do this every month. Whether it’s a Zoom recording, a Loom video, or a quick on-site clip, they’re consistently collecting video testimonials to use in their marketing.
Sean Garner: [15:53]
The ninth marketing habit of the top 1% of local service-based business owners is sending out press releases and getting backlinks every single month.
A backlink is basically a digital referral — it’s another trusted website linking to yours and saying, “Hey, these guys are legit.” In SEO, backlinks are one of the biggest trust signals Google uses to decide who to rank higher.
One of the easiest ways to build backlinks is by sending out regular press releases. You might think, “I’m a roofer” or “I’m a plumber — what could I possibly announce every month?” But if you’re creative or work with a good agency, you can always come up with something.
There are plenty of local events or updates you can share — a new service you’re offering, a new team member, a community project, a new service area, or a seasonal promotion. At our agency, Sean Garner Consulting, we partner with PR firms to send these out for our clients every month.
Don’t overthink it — it doesn’t have to be a huge grand opening or major announcement. Even small updates can generate backlinks, improve your authority, and drive referral traffic.
Sean Garner: [17:43]
Okay, so we’ve talked about the daily, the weekly, and the monthly habits. Now let’s look at some of the quarterly and big-picture habits that the top 1% of local service business owners follow when it comes to their marketing.
The tenth habit is attending industry-specific or Dream 100 conferences and events on a quarterly basis. What that means is this — if you’re a plumber, you might attend an industry-specific plumbing event that focuses on lead generation, sales, or marketing, where you can connect with other professionals in your field.
Or maybe you’re a real estate agent. You could attend a conference or networking event full of people who might share your ideal clients — like a home builder association event. That kind of event lets you meet potential referral partners and expand your network.
This is one of the big habits the top 1% use to expand their brand and reach. They’re intentional about networking and attending the events where their dream clients or referral sources are.
Sean Garner: [19:39]
Now for a bonus — number eleven. A quarterly marketing habit the top 1% all have is a marketing planning meeting with all their vendors together to align and review the upcoming quarter.
On top of those monthly meetings to review data and performance, you also need a quarterly planning session. Typically, with our clients and their other vendors, we meet the month before a new quarter starts to review and finalize the plan. That way, when everyone goes into their monthly check-ins, they have clear goals to stay accountable to, and those goals tie back to the quarterly plan.
Annual Habits That Keep Your Marketing Sharp and Strategic
Sean Garner: [20:06]
Now, moving on to some very big-picture habits — the annual ones. These are the things that keep your marketing sharp and your brand fresh.
The twelfth habit is updating your website annually. Once a year, take a step back and ask: do we need to update photos? Do we have new team members to add? Have we added new products or services that aren’t reflected on the site?
Don’t wait a full year to fix urgent updates, but do plan for an annual deep dive. Refresh the images, review your copy, update your layout, and maybe test a new lead generator. An annual website audit ensures everything is up-to-date and performing well.
And finally, the thirteenth habit — the top 1% of local service-based business owners hold an annual marketing planning meeting.
Now, this isn’t a short meeting. Sometimes it takes several hours, a full day, or even happens offsite. During this meeting, they look back at the past year — what worked, what didn’t, and what goals they achieved — and then create a strategic plan for the year ahead.
This is where you set objectives, define your KPIs, and determine what success will look like. These annual goals then feed into your quarterly plans and monthly check-ins to keep your business on track all year long.
Sean Garner: [22:08]
Marketing should be far more proactive than most businesses make it. If you truly want to be at the top of your game and dominate your industry, you need to put these habits in place.
The most successful people in your industry aren’t hiding some secret strategy — they’re simply consistent with the small things that matter. That’s what creates long-term success.
So, if you want to be the clear leader in your market and truly dominate your industry, this is where we come in. At Sean Garner Consulting, we help business owners like you execute these strategies so you can focus on what you do best — serving your clients.
You’re great at your craft, but managing these marketing systems might not be your strength — and that’s okay. Our team steps in to help take control of your marketing so you can grow your business and dominate your industry.
If you’re interested in seeing how our Marketing Domination Framework fits into your business, schedule a call with me at SeanGarner.co
