The 100-Day Marketing Plan for UK Startups (With Templates & Real Examples)

If you’re a new startup in the UK, the first 100 days decide everything:

Whether you get customers
Whether you get traction
Whether your brand gets noticed
Whether you gain confidence in your idea
Whether your marketing engine starts working

Most founders never grow because they spend months “preparing” — instead of executing a clear and simple plan.

This 100-day marketing plan is designed for UK founders, written in real language, and tested with dozens of startups we’ve worked with at 5xBusiness.

Let’s get straight into your 100-day roadmap.

Table of Contents

Section 1: DAY 1–30 — Setup, Clarity & Foundations

Your goal in the first 30 days is NOT scale.
It’s clarity, validation, and setting up your marketing engine.

DAY 1–7: Define Your Foundation

✔ Identify your perfect customer (UK-specific)

Ask:

Who benefits most from my solution?
Who can pay NOW, not later?
Who feels the pain the most?

✔ Define ONE core problem you solve

Example:
“We help UK startup founders get their first 20–50 leads without spending thousands.”

✔ Craft your offer

Your offer must answer:

What you do
How you do it
How fast
Why it’s better
What they get
What problem you remove

Template:
“We help [audience] achieve [result] using [method] without [pain point].”

DAY 7–15: Build a Simple Landing Page (Not a Full Website)

Tools you can use:

Carrd – https://carrd.co
Wix – https://wix.com
WordPress
Squarespace – https://squarespace.com

Your landing page must include:

✔ Your main headline
✔ Problem → Solution flow
✔ Benefits
✔ Social proof
✔ Case studies (even 1–2)
✔ CTA (Book Call / Get Quote / Buy Now)
✔ A clear promise
✔ A guarantee (optional)

Remember:
Early-stage landing pages convert MUCH better than complex websites.

DAY 15–30: Set Up Essential Marketing Systems

These are the systems 90% of UK startups don’t set up — and it costs them leads.

✔ CRM

HubSpot CRM (free)
GoHighLevel (low-cost)
Zoho CRM

These tools alone can double your conversions within 3 months.

Section 2: DAY 31–60 — Build Traffic & Awareness

Now that your foundation is set, it’s time to bring people in.

DAY 31–45: Publish High-Value Content (Proof, Not Theory)

You don’t need to post daily.
You need to post meaningful content.

Ideas for UK founders:

Case studies
Before/after examples
Mistakes UK customers make
“How we helped a client” stories
Behind-the-scenes
Industry insights

Platforms:

LinkedIn
Facebook Groups
Instagram
TikTok (emerging for founders)

This content builds trust — and trust = leads.

DAY 45–60: Run a Small Paid Campaign (£5–£10/day)

Start small.
Even £5/day can produce results.

Option A: Google Ads (high-intent leads)

👉 https://ads.google.com

Best for:

Trades
Local services
B2B startups
Agencies
Consulting
Urgent needs

Remember:
Google offers £400 in free ad credit to new accounts once you spend your first £400.

Terms:
👉 https://ads.google.com/intl/en_gb/home/terms/

We help you set this up correctly at 5xBusiness — and many founders have generated leads purely from this free credit.

Option B: Facebook Ads (low-cost leads + awareness)

👉 https://facebook.com/business/ads

Great for:

Coaches
Product brands
Beauty
Fashion
Lifestyle
Low-ticket offers

Boost engagement → retarget → convert.

Option C: TikTok Ads (fast-growing for UK brands)

👉 https://ads.tiktok.com

Best for:

Younger audiences
Product brands
Fitness
Jewellery
Skincare

Section 3: DAY 61–80 — Build Your Trust Machine

This phase turns strangers into customers.

DAY 61–70: Collect Reviews & Testimonials

Critical for the UK market.

UK buyers trust:

Google Reviews
Trustpilot – https://www.trustpilot.com
Facebook Reviews

Start with:

5 written reviews
2–3 video reviews (if possible)
Screenshots of messages

Even small social proof increases conversion massively.

DAY 70–80: Build a Simple Email Nurture System

Just 4–7 simple emails, including:

Welcome + your story
What problem you solve
Case study
Proof
Offer breakdown
Call to action
FAQ / objections

Use automations via:

MailerLite
Mailchimp
HubSpot

Section 4: DAY 81–100 — Sell, Optimise & Scale

This is where you turn marketing into revenue.

DAY 81–90: Optimise Your Funnel

Check:

Which pages convert best?
Where do people drop off?
Which ads work better?
Which messages perform well?

Small changes = big impact.

DAY 90–100: Start Selling Aggressively but Humbly

By Day 100, you should:

✔ DM leads
✔ Follow up
✔ Email your list
✔ Push offers
✔ Run retargeting
✔ Increase ad spend slightly (if profitable)
✔ Evaluate pricing
✔ Review customer feedback

You are no longer guessing.
You now have a system.

Final Thoughts: A Startup Doesn’t Need a Big Team — It Needs a Clear Plan

Most early-stage UK founders don’t fail because the idea is bad.
They fail because they:

❌ Don’t market early
❌ Don’t build systems
❌ Don’t collect proof
❌ Don’t execute consistently
❌ Don’t know what to do next

This 100-day plan removes the guesswork.

And if you want faster traction, automation, ads, websites, or support — 5xBusiness helps UK startups build:

Landing pages
Ads campaigns
SEO foundations
Funnels
Tracking & analytics
CRM systems
Email automations
Content strategies
Startup marketing engines

All at much more affordable prices than typical UK agencies.

Let’s Talk About Your Growth