A beauty salon customer searches on Google Maps. Someone looking for custom furniture visits a workshop's website and requests a quote. A café customer sees an Instagram ad and stops by to try it out. If your marketing doesn't match the way customers make purchasing decisions, money gets spent — but sales don't follow.

Before launching advertising, answer three questions: Where do your best customers currently come from? What did they do before contacting you? How much does it cost to acquire one new customer? The answers will show you which channels are worth scaling and which ones you should stop investing in.