A case for a better client inquiry flow (for a muralist)

Matt

Hey Thumbtack, I am going to be speaking about my industry (Muralist) on ways that Thumbtack could improve things for both the user AND the pro.

I decided to try out the user flow from the consumer side and see how it worked. What I found is that Thumbtack isn't asking enough from the client to get the best, clearest view of their project for the Pro, and the fact they can give an inquiry to the Pro without setting up an account when giving the phone number seems like a huge oversight.

Here is the current flow (which I got by clicking my reviews widget).

First thing client sees when reaching out -

Screen #2

This is great information to know, location influences price!

Screen #3

This is also good information, usually commercial projects cost more, and have more strict guidelines.

Screen #4

Most muralist charge by the square foot, this is great to know! However, the sizes listed are not useful. The issue is that the designation on size of a small mural is 25sqft, but a large mural is not 50-100sqft!

The best option is to get ACTUAL square footage (or dimensions) from the client. Saying that a very large mural is over 100sqft offers no insight to the pro, my average sized mural is 200sqft+, and I wouldn't say they are VERY LARGE. Size is relative to the pro's experience, not strictly square footage.

Screen #5

This shouldn't be an optional thing, we as pro's need to know as much information possible, including location (cliffside on a house, or a back brick wall can influence the price vastly!) and how the space looks. It seems silly I have ask for this from the client after they reached out.

It would be nice to have Thumbtack collect as much information as possible before we are charged for the lead.

Screen #6

Also, this should not be optional, I get a lot of referrals that have ZERO information, so I have no clue if they are looking for a mural, or something else.

Screen #7

This should say "Please confirm the zip code where the mural will be done"

I have had people looking for house painters reach out to me, and this doesn't help with that.

Screen #8

Its great to get the phone number, but in this screen it should be where they setup an account, including providing an email, and 2-factor verification. This would reduce the scammers/tire kickers that I have to pay for regardless if they give us a fake number.

This is where I stopped the process so I wouldn't get charged, but I really feel that Thumbtack has a decent platform, but they need to put more responsibility to the clients reaching to the pro's.

Better, more curated clients = happier Pro's.

Here is a screenshot from another company that I use for jobs - notice they ask what the budget is. Sometimes people have no clue what murals cost, but they have an idea on what they are willing to spend, it helps the Pro understand what they are working with.

Finally, in the end, it would be amazing to have the ability to reject a job based on the data inputed by the client, without any contact information being exchanged so no need for a charge.

DustiO

@Matt I should have commented earlier about this — but can you send these suggestions to support@thumbtack.com so they can be properly logged? This is really great feedback for your category. We are working to get a feedback or suggestion box feature here in the Community that can be filled out and linked to your account and logged, but until that happens I want to make sure suggestions and feedback like this go through support so they can get logged/linked to your TT account.

Matt

Thanks @DustiO , I have sent stuff to them before and the responses are get are not even understanding my issue, that is why I posted here since you are more responsive and understanding of the issues/suggestions.