Plummeting Contact Rates & Skyrocketing Acquisition Costs

LifeLiftFitness

I've been on Thumbtack for years now, and with every change the quality of the service declines. I track my leads with meticulous detail, and the numbers don't lie. Is this also happening with you? I'm a personal trainer, and here's my data:

*October 2020 - May 2021*

88 leads, response rate from the customer of 88.6%.

Avg. Lead Cost $15.52, Avg. acquisition cost $42.68

*July 2021 - Present*

68 leads, response rate from the customer of 72.1%

Avg. Lead Cost $35.97, Avg. acquisition cost $143.87

Needless to say, as the price has increased 2.5x, the response rate has dropped by 16%.

I don't mind paying higher prices for leads than it used to be, but the search rankings/choose-your-own-lead-price thing has been surely good for Thumbtack, less so for the pros. With each change made, lead prices have increased and overall quality has decreased.

Can we just go back to the way it used to be, like when a customer submitted an inquiry, the first 5 pros could respond to it?

I'll keep dreaming about that say (*sigh*). Anyone else track their lead data like me?

Theresa

I have similar experience. As a Pro in the category of Nutritionist and Health and Wellness coaching the number of leads has dropped 80% and more. Sad that the only answer is to keep paying more for those leads. I guess it's the only way TT can make $ these days. Their customer service is awful as well. NO one picks up the phone or you wait an hour for someone to answer. And if you email support they don't respond. Don't know whats happening with TT but they doing their best to keep pros in the dark

kostlover

I have also seen this. I have been with Thumbtack since 2014-2015. There are constant changes that we are never informed of. One of the biggest changes (next to constantly raising our lead fees to the point of ridiculous) was the Reward System. My response time just plummeted from 80% at the beginning of December to 56%. I was told by a Support Specialist that I had only answered half of my lead requests (under an hour.) I was stunned. I knew that this wasn't true and so I went in and opened every lead. Out of the last 22 requests, 15 of them were under an hour, 4 of them were 1 hr 3 min; 1 hr 4 min; 1 hr 13 min; and 1 hr 35 min. 3 of them were over 2 hours. Where does this add up to 56%? I can hardly believe that they would penalize me for my response running 3-4 minutes late. As an Organizer, my responses are detailed and tailored to the request of the lead. Many times I have to stop in the middle of my work to make sure I answer a request prior to that "magic hour mark" where we will have it affect our response time. It is no way to work and 's. I see complaints everywhere from Pro's Does anyone listen to us? Several friends (also Organizers) left for other platforms that do not have anything close to what we are being put through. Nothing is about tenure or that we have consistently stayed at 5 stars. It is how the can charge higher lead fees and we are all feeling it.

Mattacus

Ive noticed this lately too. I used to pay $18 avg for leads in my service area and this week paid $55 and $60 for the same service for two leads. This is 20% of the amount I charge for the service and that's if I get the job. This isn't sustainable for me

Matt

I am spending on average of $260 a week, and many leads are for jobs that aren’t my minimum threshold. The problem is, Thumbtack needs to ask more questions of the clients coming in. I am a muralist, and I need to know if they can even afford my $1800 minimum before they reach out. We need a way to reject client requests, and Thumbtack to not show us any of their contact info. I had a request for a mural, and it was for a student project to paint on a bedsheet,, and her budget was $100, and guess what, the lead price was $40. If I was able to ask questions ahead of time, I would have rejected this job, and saved the $40, but Thumbtack always seems to be in favor of racking in as much money as possible, without the consideration of the Pro’s on the system. Something needs to change.

Mattacus

Agreed, please go back to a set lead price for the week and we set a weekly budget.

LifeLiftFitness

I'm glad I'm not alone, but sad to see it's affecting others just as much if not more. From what I've experienced over that time frame, Thumbtack overvalues the phone number being provided by the customer to an extreme degree.

I believe that not only has the phone number reduced the number of overall leads (those who don't want to provide it move on without reaching out to pros), it has likely diminished the experience of the customer - I'd imagine they get a lot of spammy texts from pros that are probably just desperate to get a return on their investment.

In addition to that, the lack of refunds (aka accountability) for unresponsive leads makes the acquisition cost skyrocket the way it does. The cost of the leads would be at least more manageable if refunds were issued to those who never reply, but the phone number negates that.

I think the phone number requirement from customers, over-valuation of that phone number and lack of refunding is crushing pros, at least it is for me.