The channel map

Before choosing anything, write down every route by which a customer could reach you, and then find out which ones already work. The fastest way is to ask your last ten customers how they found you. Most small businesses have never asked, and the answer is usually concentrated in one or two routes nobody was deliberately investing in.

The full list is longer than people assume: referral from a past customer, referral from someone adjacent who is not a competitor, walk-past or local presence, a marketplace or platform, search, content, social, cold outreach, partnerships, events and associations, and paid advertising. Most businesses can name three and are quietly living off one.

Then narrow honestly against three constraints. Where does this particular buyer already look when they have this problem — a question your ENT-101 conversations answered if you asked it. What can you sustain for a month with the hours you actually have, as opposed to the hours you imagine having. And what does the channel demand: search needs months, paid needs money you can afford to lose, referral needs customers you already have. A channel that suits the business next door may be closed to you this quarter, and knowing that early is worth more than optimism.