The step you never see
Picture how a new client reaches you. A friend, a colleague or an existing client mentions your firm. The person nods and says they will get in touch.
Then they go home, and before they do anything else they type your name into a phone.
You are not there for this part. You cannot answer questions, read their expression or explain that the website is about to be redone. They are alone with whatever is public about you, and with two or three other firms they are looking at in the next tab.
If what they find matches what their friend said, they call. If it is thin, old or confusing, they hesitate. They do not ring to tell you why. They simply call someone else, and you never learn there was an enquiry to lose.
Owners tend to judge their marketing by the clients who arrive. The ones who looked and left are invisible. That is why this step is so often neglected, and why fixing it is some of the best value work a firm can do.
What they look at, in order
People are fairly consistent about this. The sequence below is typical.
1. The search result itself
Before any page is opened, the results list has already said something. Does the firm appear when its own name is searched? Is the short description under the link a clear sentence or a jumble? Is there a panel with an address, hours, photographs and a rating? Is anything alarming on the first screen?
Many prospects get their first impression here and never revise it.
2. The first screen of the website
Usually on a phone. Usually for a few seconds. They are asking one thing: am I in the right place?
A good first screen says what the firm does, who it does it for and where. A poor one has a large photograph, a slogan that could belong to anyone and a menu.
They also notice whether the site works. Slow loading, text too small to read and buttons that are hard to press all suggest a firm that is not paying attention.
3. The about page
This is one of the first pages a prospect opens, and often the weakest. The prospect wants to know who they would be dealing with. A name, a face, a real background and a sense of how the person thinks.
What they often find is three paragraphs about commitment to excellence and no people at all.
4. Proof
Now they look for evidence. For a designer or a builder, that is a portfolio with recent work. For a professional firm, it is the kinds of clients served, credentials and specifics about the approach. For a shop or a practice, it is reviews.
They are checking whether the firm has done this before, for someone like them.
5. Reviews and what others say
They read the rating, then they read the worst review, then they look at whether the firm replied. A calm, courteous reply to a complaint can reassure people more than a row of five stars. No reply at all suggests nobody is watching.
6. A social profile
A glance, not a study. They scroll far enough to see the date of the last post and the general feel. A recent, sensible post says the firm is alive. A last post from two years ago raises a small doubt.
7. How to get in touch
Finally, if they are still interested, they look for the way in. A phone number they can tap. A short form. Hours. If they have to hunt, some will not bother.
That is the whole inspection. It takes about ten minutes.
What they are really asking
Underneath the clicking, a prospect is trying to answer three questions.
Who are you? Not your legal name. Who are the people, how long have you done this, and are you established enough to rely on?
What are you about? What do you believe about your work? What do you do differently? What kind of client are you for?
Why should we hire you? Of the three firms I am looking at, what reason do I have to pick this one?
A firm whose public face answers all three makes the decision easy. Most answer the first one partly and leave the other two to chance.
The clients who looked and left are invisible. That is why this step is so often neglected.
A twenty-minute check of your own firm
You can run this inspection yourself. Use a phone, not your office computer, and use a private browsing window so the results are not shaped by your own history. Better still, ask a friend outside your field to do it while you watch and say nothing.
Search
- Search your firm’s name. Are you the first result? Is the description under it a clear sentence?
- Search what you do plus your town. Do you appear at all?
- Is your address, phone number and opening time correct wherever it shows?
The website, first screen
- Within five seconds, can a stranger tell what you do, for whom and where?
- Does it load quickly and read easily on a phone?
- Is there an obvious next step without scrolling?
About
- Are there names and photographs of real people?
- Does it say how long you have been doing this and what your background is?
- Would a reader come away with a sense of how you work?
Proof
- Is your most recent work, or a description of the clients you serve, on the site?
- Is the newest item less than a year old?
- Are any claims backed by something specific?
Reviews
- Have the last ten reviews been answered?
- Has the worst one been answered calmly?
Social
- Is the last post less than a month old?
- Do the name, description and contact details match the website exactly?
Contact
- Can someone call you with one tap?
- If they fill in your form, how long until a person replies? Test it.
Count the answers that were no. Most owners who do this honestly find more than they expected. That is normal, and it is fixable.
What to fix first
Do not start with a new website. Start with the things that are wrong, then the things that are missing.
This week: correct what is false. Wrong hours, an old address, a dead phone number, a broken form, a team page showing people who left. These cost you enquiries every day and take minutes to fix.
This month: answer the three questions. Write one page that says who you are, what you are about and why someone should hire you. Put the short version on the first screen of your website and the fuller version on the about page. Add names and faces.
This quarter: add recent proof and a rhythm. Publish the work you have finished. Reply to every review. Set a posting schedule you can keep. Test your contact form once a month.
If you keep to that order, each hour goes where it matters most.
Why it keeps slipping
Owners know most of this. The difficulty is never knowledge. None of these tasks has a deadline, a client waiting or an invoice attached, so each one loses to something that does.
The only lasting fix is to make it somebody’s job. That can be you, with an hour blocked each week. It can be a member of staff with the authority to act. Or it can be someone outside the firm who works as part of your team. We have set out a simple version in A weekly marketing routine a busy owner can keep.
If you would rather hand over the whole list, that is what our 90-Day Plan is for. It begins with exactly this inspection, done properly and written up, and then fixes what it finds.