Days one and two: establish the facts
Do not act until you know what happened:
- When exactly did it stop? Find the date, not the week.
- Is it a total stop or a decline?
- Is there a notification, a suspension notice, an email you missed?
- Did anything change on your side around that date — a deployment, a payment failure, an edited listing?
- Is it affecting a competitor too, or only you?
That last question is worth answering. A market-wide change needs a different response from something specific to your business.
Days one to three: appeal or fix if you can
If there is a recovery path, start it immediately because these take time:
- Suspended listing — submit the reinstatement with everything requested
- Ad account issue — resolve the billing or policy problem
- Technical fault — fix and verify
- Partner relationship — call, do not email
Start this in parallel with everything else. It may take weeks, so it cannot be the only thing you do.
Days one to five: work the existing list
This is where the fastest revenue is, and it is under-used in almost every business:
- Every customer from the last two years who has not returned
- Every outstanding quote from the last ninety days
- Every maintenance customer overdue for a visit
- Every job where you recommended additional work that never happened
Call rather than email. For a Katy business with a local customer base, a call from someone the customer recognises produces work in days, not months.
Do not run a discount campaign at this point. You need revenue, not lower margins on the same revenue.
Days three to seven: tell your referral sources
Every business that serves the same customers as you — the plumber, the roofer, the realtor, the property manager — should hear that you have capacity this month. Be direct about it.
This works and it is chronically under-used because it feels like admitting a problem. It is not; it is how trades have always filled gaps.
Days five to ten: buy high-intent traffic
If cash allows, paid search on immediate-need terms produces enquiries within days. Constrain it:
- Only terms that indicate readiness to buy
- Your service area only, tightly
- Call tracking on, so you know what it produced
- A daily cap you can live with
This is expensive and it is a bridge, not a plan.
Days seven to fourteen: start the second channel
While the immediate work continues, begin the thing that stops this recurring. Whatever your dependency was, the second channel must not share its platform.
This will not produce revenue this fortnight. Start it anyway, because the alternative is being here again.
Throughout: assemble the customer list
If this crisis has shown you that you cannot easily contact your past customers, fix that now while the lesson is fresh. Names, numbers, emails, and what work you did, in one place you control.
It is the single most useful thing to come out of a bad fortnight.
Frequently asked questions
What comes first?
Establishing the facts — the exact date it stopped, whether it is a stop or a decline, whether there is a notice you missed, what changed on your side, and whether competitors are affected too.
Where does the fastest revenue come from?
The existing customer list — anyone from the last two years who has not returned, outstanding quotes from the last ninety days, overdue maintenance, and recommended work that never happened. Call rather than email.
Should I discount to bring work in?
No. You need revenue, not lower margins on the same revenue, and a discount trains customers to wait for the next one.
Is telling referral sources a sign of weakness?
No, and it is chronically under-used for that reason. Telling every business serving the same customers that you have capacity this month is how trades have always filled gaps.
When should I start the second channel?
In the second week, while the immediate work continues. It will not produce revenue this fortnight, but the alternative is being in exactly this position again.