The marketing tool stack I actually use to grow local businesses

Klaviyo

Email and SMS marketing that builds itself from your URL

Automatically generates on-brand campaigns, emails, SMS, flows, and forms from simply entering a website URL — no manual briefs needed. The fastest way for a small service business to turn search traffic into repeat revenue.

Shopify

The best converting checkout on the planet

If you sell anything online, checkout conversion matters more than another blog post. Shopify handles payments, inventory, and the storefront so your SEO work lands on a page that actually converts.

Impact Advocate

Scalable, configurable customer referral programs

The most scalable and configurable customer referral solution — customize your referral program to fit your strategy and your customers. Word of mouth is still the highest-margin channel a local business has; this makes it measurable.

CapCut

Fast video editing for social and local ads

7-day free trial

Short vertical video is how local businesses get discovered now. CapCut handles captions, trims, and templates without a full editing suite or an agency retainer.

ClickUp

Are you tired of being in 50 tools at once?  This is the software to replace all your software

One workspace for projects, knowledge, and communication, powered by context-aware AI. Teams switch to ClickUp when tasks live in five tools and nobody knows what shipped.

Notion

Build and run your entire startup in one place

Up to 6 months free on the Business plan with Notion AI included

The AI workspace from idea to exit — docs, wikis, CRM, and content calendars in one system. This is where I keep client strategy docs and content briefs.

TheTop

Turns scattered info into one focused daily plan

TheTop brings clarity to your day by turning scattered information into a simple, focused plan. Useful if you are the owner, the marketer, and the operator all at once.

Uber for Business

Rides, meals, and expenses for modern teams

Built for how modern teams move — rides, meals, and more in one platform. Easy expense integrations make tracking and reporting a breeze. No sign-up fees, just powerful features.

Semrush

The search visibility platform for owners ready to run their own SEO

Exclusive Semrush & Susan Dutcher offer — 14-day free trial

About 60% of Google searches now end without a click, so ranking alone no longer guarantees traffic. Semrush is the one platform that tracks both sides of that shift: traditional rankings, backlinks, and keywords, plus where your brand actually shows up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. If you have the time and capacity to run your own search visibility — audit the site, track keywords, fix technical issues, and build content — this is the platform I recommend. It is also where I run every audit, keyword map, and AI-visibility check for Michigan service businesses — 3.7B U.S. keywords, a 43 trillion backlink index, and data going back to 2012.

Upwork

Find freelancers for every type of work

When you need a one-off designer, developer, or video editor instead of a full-time hire. I use it to scale delivery without growing headcount.

Payoneer

Hire, manage, and pay global teams with confidence

The platform helps support onboarding, payroll administration, localized benefits, contractor agreements, timesheets, payments, offboarding, and more within a single system.