If you are working out how to get more customers for a service business, the answer is rarely one clever tactic. It is a short chain: people find you, they choose you, and then they actually book and turn up. Most businesses do not have a traffic problem everywhere. They have one weak link.
This guide covers 12 ways, grouped by that chain, with the evidence we could verify and a calculator that turns your target into the leads you need. If cost is your main question, see our guides to Google Ads cost and cost per lead benchmarks.
Start with the customer maths
Before you pick a channel, work out how many leads you need and the most you can pay for one.
Customer maths calculator
Illustrative arithmetic, not a forecast. The starting values are placeholders (10 customers, 25%, 1,200, 15%). The currency selector changes the symbol only and does not convert. Use gross profit instead of revenue for a stricter ceiling.
Now compare the ceiling with real costs. LocaliQ's US data shows Google search ads averaging $66.69 per lead (June 2026) and Facebook lead campaigns $27.39 (September 2026), both vendor averages with no stated sample. Against the placeholder ceiling of $45, Facebook fits and Google search does not, unless your close rate or customer value is higher. For the UK we found no audited benchmark, so use your own numbers.
Get found: 3 ways
Complete your Google Business Profile
Google says local results are based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up. It also says verifying your business makes you more likely to appear, and that there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.
Fill in every field: categories, services, hours, photos, website and phone, and keep them accurate.
Build a page for each service and area
A page for each service and area matches what people type better than one "services" page. Local SEO is slow and nobody can honestly promise a ranking date. For Manchester Aesthetics, a skin and laser clinic, local SEO took the clinic into the top 5 in Manchester (our own account of that client). Our guide to local SEO for service businesses shows the steps.
Buy the searches that are ready to book
Google Ads can put you in front of searches like "emergency plumber near me" the same day. LocaliQ's average click cost $5.42 and 8.18% of clicks became leads, but industries vary widely, so read what Google Ads costs a small business before you set a budget.
With Local Services Ads, Google says you pay for leads, not clicks, and must pass screening to earn the Google Verified badge. Google is moving them into Google Ads, from August 2026 for select US advertisers and in 2027 for non-US accounts. We could not verify UK availability, so check Google's page for your area.
Get chosen: 3 ways
Collect reviews on a schedule
In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, 97% read reviews for local businesses. Rating and freshness both count, as the chart shows.
Google's help page says you can ask customers to leave a review with a Google link or QR code. Ask right after a good visit. Never offer a discount or gift in return: Google prohibits incentivised reviews. General guidance, not legal advice. Our guide to getting more Google reviews has wording you can copy.
Make a clear offer
"We do plumbing" is a category. "Same-day boiler repair in Leeds, fixed-price quote before we start" is an offer. Say what you do, for whom, how fast and what happens next. We found no study that isolates the effect of an offer, so this is judgement, not a statistic.
Put a website that books behind every channel
Every other way here ends at your website or phone. Make the next step obvious on a phone: tap-to-call, a booking button, prices or ranges and a short form. See what a small business website costs. Online booking and instant replies, as in our guide to AI chatbots for booking appointments, catch after-hours enquiries.
Get referrals: 2 ways
Ask for referrals at the right moment
Nielsen's 2015 Global Trust in Advertising report found 83% of global respondents completely or somewhat trust recommendations from friends and family. A published academic study of one German bank found referred customers at least 16% more valuable over six years. That is one company, so do not assume the same gap for your trade.
Ask when satisfaction peaks, such as after a completed job, and give them something easy to forward.
Partner with neighbouring businesses
Find businesses that serve the same customers at a different moment: a physiotherapist and a gym, a wedding venue and a photographer. Agree to recommend each other. We found no published benchmark for this.
Reach people who are not searching: 1 way
Run Meta ads for demand you create
Facebook and Instagram ads reach people before they search. LocaliQ's Facebook lead campaigns averaged $27.39 per lead, but a lead from a scrolling feed is usually colder than one from a search, so judge Meta on cost per booked customer. See what Meta ads cost for service businesses.
For Crovillas, a Croatian luxury villa company, we ran Meta and Google ads for 16 months at about EUR 35k a month in ad spend, and our own account puts the return at about 5x each month. That is one client with a high-value product, not a forecast for yours.
Follow up: 3 ways
Reply within minutes
Harvard Business Review's 2011 study "The Short Life of Online Sales Leads" found most companies were not responding nearly fast enough. According to a secondary summary, only 37% of 2,241 US companies replied to a test web lead within an hour, and firms contacting a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as those waiting an hour longer. Qualifying meant a conversation with a decision maker, not a sale. We could confirm only the headline on HBR's page, so treat the exact figures with care. An automatic text with a booking link keeps you fast when you are busy.
Send reminders so booked customers turn up
A Cochrane review of eight randomised trials found attendance of 78.6% with text reminders against 67.8% without. It covered healthcare, with low to moderate quality evidence, so expect a different effect in other trades. See how to reduce no-shows.
Win back past customers
Your cheapest lead is someone who has already paid you. Message customers who are due a repeat visit or have gone quiet, and make rebooking one tap. For Manchester Aesthetics, automated reactivation saves about 15 appointments a week (our own account of that client).
Mind the rules. In the UK, the ICO says you normally need consent before unsolicited electronic marketing, with a narrow soft opt-in for similar products sold to people whose details you collected during a sale, and an opt-out in every message. General guidance, not legal advice. US rules differ and we have not covered them. Our Autopilot System bundles instant replies, reminders and win-back messages in one inbox.
What the research says
| Study | What it found | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| BrightLocal review survey, 2026 | 97% of US consumers read reviews for local businesses; 68% only use businesses with 4+ stars | US adults only. Self-reported attitudes, not bookings |
| Google Business Profile Help | Complete, verified profiles are more likely to appear; you cannot pay for a better local ranking | Gives factors, not weights or timings |
| Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising, 2015 | 83% trust recommendations from friends and family | 2015 attitude survey; sample not stated |
| Schmitt, Skiera and Van den Bulte, 2011 | Referred customers worth at least 16% more over six years | One German bank; modelled lifetime value |
| Cochrane review, 2013 | Attendance 78.6% with text reminders versus 67.8% with none | Healthcare only; low to moderate quality |
| Harvard Business Review, 2011 | Contacting a lead within an hour made qualifying it nearly 7 times as likely | US sales leads, not bookings; figures via a secondary summary |
Limits: none of these studies measures how many customers a small service business gains from a tactic. Use them to prioritise, then measure your own results.
What to do first, by budget
Do not try all 12 at once. The tiers are our judgement, not a benchmark; numbers in brackets refer to the ways above.
| Budget | Start with | Then add | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free (time only) | Google Business Profile (1), review requests (4), referral asks (7), fast replies (10) | A clear offer (5) | Treating it as a one-off. These need a weekly habit |
| Low (small monthly spend) | Service and area pages (2), text reminders (11), win-back messages (12), a site that books (6) | Local partnerships (8) | SEO is slow. Check consent before messaging past customers |
| Paid (real ad budget) | Google Ads or Local Services Ads (3), Meta ads (9) | Tracked follow-up for every lead | Buying traffic before the basics convert |
Tiers describe effort, not amounts, because the right spend depends on customer value. Use the calculator to set it.
If you can only pick one, pick your weakest link. Plenty of enquiries but few bookings points to follow-up. Traffic without enquiries points to your offer or page. Little traffic points to being found.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to get more customers for a service business?
Usually people who already know you. Reply to every enquiry within minutes, ask recent customers for a review and a referral, and message past customers who have gone quiet. Paid ads also start quickly, but need a clear offer, a page that books and a budget you can afford to test.
How can I get customers without paying for ads?
Complete and verify your Google Business Profile, collect reviews, ask for referrals, build a page for each service and area, partner with neighbouring businesses and follow up every lead quickly. These cost time rather than ad spend.
How many leads do I need to get ten new customers?
Divide the customers you want by the share of leads that become customers. If one lead in four books and pays, ten customers need 40 leads. That close rate is a placeholder, so measure your own over a few months.
Can I offer a discount in exchange for a Google review?
No. Google's policy treats reviews influenced by a payment, discount or free goods or services as incentivised and prohibits offering them. You can ask for a review, including with a Google link or QR code. General guidance, not legal advice.
How much should a small business spend on getting customers?
There is no reliable universal figure, and we did not find an audited benchmark to quote. Decide what share of a new customer's revenue, or more safely gross profit, you can spend on winning them, then keep each channel's cost per lead under the ceiling that implies.
Sources
- BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (published 11 February 2026). Primary. 1,002 US adults via SurveyMonkey; US only, fieldwork dates not stated. A secondary summary quoted a conflicting figure for reviews left when asked, so we do not use it
- Google Business Profile Help: How to improve your local ranking on Google. Primary
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews. Primary
- Google Maps policy: Incentivized or biased reviews. Primary
- Google: Local Services Ads (US page). Primary. We could not verify UK availability
- Google Ads Help: Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max. Primary, for the migration timeline
- LocaliQ: Search advertising benchmarks (updated 1 June 2026). Vendor benchmark ($5.42 CPC, 8.18% conversion, $66.69 per lead); sample not stated
- LocaliQ: Facebook advertising benchmarks (updated 23 September 2026). Vendor benchmark ($27.39 per lead); sample not stated
- Nielsen: Global Trust in Advertising (September 2015). Respondent count and countries not stated on the page
- Schmitt, Skiera and Van den Bulte: Referral Programs and Customer Value (2011, author-hosted PDF). Academic study; one German bank
- Cochrane Review: Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments (2013). Primary
- Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, “The Short Life of Online Sales Leads”, Harvard Business Review, March 2011. We could confirm only the headline on the HBR page; the figures come from a secondary summary
- AINORA: Lead response time statistics. Secondary summary of the HBR figures; we could not open the original study text
- ICO: PECR electronic mail marketing rules. Primary. General guidance, not legal advice