Significant Drop Off in Leads

Lorray

I have been on Thumbtack.com for many years, and have a great record of ratings, reviews, standings, etc. I have been hired 250 times (probably more, those are just the ones that have been reported) and have 149 ratings and reviews, with only three reviews that are under 5.0. I am consistently the top-ranked contractor in one of the video production categories. (see attached screenshot)

Screenshot 2023-09-16 at 8.24.33 AM.png

So my credentials are solid; what concerns me is that leads have trickled done to almost none over the past two months. Meanwhile, on Bark.com, a significant competitor to Thumbtack, I see leads doubling and tripling. I see gigs posted that should be on Thumbtack. I see client gigs that are prime jobs, yet none of them are showing up on Thumbtack. It seems that Bark.com is winning the war of being the "go-to" agency for clients looking for contractors. This concerns me because I have spent thousands of dollars on Thumbtack to build a business. I'm wondering why Bark.com is so successful at capturing clients while Thumbtack, which is by now I'm sure a billion dollar business, is showing signs of weakening? It makes me wonder if I now need to "jump ship" in order to focus on the company that seems to be working hard at landing clients rather than a company that seems to be more concerned with its own profits. Perhaps I'm not seeing this clearly, would love to know if anyone else is experiencing this problem, or is it just my imagination? What is Thumbtack doing to recapture the market? Is company leadership at all concerned about the serious competition to their position in the marketplace?

Matt

I have had zero leads in almost a month, I have been a top pro almost since I started on the platform a year ago and usually had 1-2 leads a week for murals. It seemed to occur right when the instant booking features was implemented (very poorly in my opinion), and has been a complete ghost town.

Tarkus

Exactly the same for me and it looks like many others. Something's up. And it can't be a drop in demand for services. Mine's Piano Tuning and I'll bet all the others are different completely different services.

Lorray

I am updating this more than three months since I last first posted this. Things have gone from bad to absolutely horrible with respect to leads. I know there are clients out there looking for the kind of services we offer - but Thumbtack is failing miserably to capture those leads and put them in front of us, while still raising prices to the point where it is absolutely nearly impossible to afford the leads if they do come in. I have been on this platform for many years, and it has never been this bad. Given my reputation, reviews, skills, availability, location, and expertise, it's not anything I'm doing differently. There is definitely something wrong with what Thumbtack is doing, and no one seems to be taking it seriously. There was a time when I could make a full-time living just from leads on Thumbtack. The quality leads are almost non-existent, and even the leads that are not worth the time or expense to pursue are gone. Where are they going? Thumbtack is making literally a fortune off our fees. This is all going to come crashing down if none of us are working because no leads are coming in. Wake up, Thumbtack! Do something about it!!

Matt

The same for myself, used to get 2-5 leads a week, now it is down to mostly 1 an every couple of weeks. Hoping it was only the holidays that did it.

Jeff_jtv2020

So I’ve been trying to figure out why leads have died off and get a lot of scam leads and instant book. I do not like instant book it does not work for industries that are not recurring services the price for leads are too steep and a lot are looking for quotes. So like many other pros I block my calendar so I don’t get instant book if you do that the customers will not see you in their search if they are looking for quicker services for instance I block off for 13 days on my calendar if a customer searches want the work done within 48 hours or a week or even 2 weeks my business does not even show up I thought we were supposed to still get our regular leads but thumbtack is blocking customers from viewing my business if calendar is blocked very dirty considering they all know we don’t want the instant book still seems to be a greedy money grab on thumbtacks part.

Tarkus

I unblocked my account after 2 months but my credit card was canceled (unrelated to TC). Now I'm getting 2 to 3 leads a week. Before I blocked my account in Sept. I was suddenly getting no leads. I'm hesitant to add any bank info. I'm getting texts that those customers can't find anyone. Hopefully all other Piano Tuners in my area are also blocked. Please TC, go back in time 2 years. Make TC great again.

"Instant karma's gonna get you TC

Going to knock you on the head

You gonna break your body, darling

Pretty soon you're going to be dead"...John Lennon