@MR
Yes! I am having success with Thumbtack.
1) What line of work you are in?
>>I'm own a Professional Organizing company.
2) Where generally you are located?
>> I'm in Philadelphia, PA. I work in Philly, the suburbs surrounding Philly, Northern Delaware, and Southern New Jersey.
3) Do you use promote?
>> I do use promote. I have it on at all times.
4) About how long have you been with Thumbtack?
>> I joined Summer of 2017 I believe so almost 2 years.
5) Are you more successful in the last 6 months than before that? (if applicable)
>> I am more successful, but I will add that my company's growth on Thumbtack is similar to my organic sales and even my referrals.
6) Why you consider things to be successful?
>> I'm not sure exactly what you're asking here. Is it how I personally measure success or why do I think I'm successful right now? It's hard to know exactly why you're successful but for 1, business is business. I'm good at business and I enjoy it. I will also say, from the beginning, I saw Thumbtack as a partner, I read all of the info they could give me and took all of their advice and their advice has ALWAYS worked for me. I've spoken with many Thumbtack employees and even met some of them personally at events and they really do care. I think I'm successful on Thumbtack because I've listened to what they've had to say, taken their input to heart, added my own flair that works for me outside of Thumbtack, and focused on making the Thumbtack platform work FOR ME and my company. I have always taken to heart and trusted the research they have spent countless hours and dollars incorporating from customers for not only themselves but for us. So, in summation, I've listened to, absorbed, and modified for myself, all of the data that they say works and all of the data I know works for me outside of Thumbtack.
7) Besides "respond quickly and often" and "have a great profile"... what advice would you give us having troubles?
>> Be a customer... try it yourself. The first thing you see is the list of pictures, company names, how many reviews they have and how many hires. In competition you want all of those to be the best. You will want the best picture, the best company name, the best quality and number of reviews, and the most amount of hires. End of story. So, think of everything listed in promote, which is what they see first in a list of others, as your visual appearance. Your profile is the first conversation.
So that being said, let's say you're at a bar.... (I know, where am I going with this? Trust me... people choose contractors, service workers, and anyone else on the internet, much like they choose a date. The data is out there.) So at the bar, let's say there's average 1:10 ratio of the opposite sex. Your appearance is a huge factor in all attraction, including business (which is why branding is so important)and just as important with promote. Well, adding to your outward appearance on Thumbtack, the profile is that first conversation with the person you're interested in. If you don't communicate well or give too little info about your business and what you do, but you have a nice appearance, it still may put some people off. If you blab on for way too long and give too much communication, similarly off-putting. Tweaking this may take time, but certainly, take the time to do so.
SO, my point above about the bar is that appearance is 100% key, but the first conversation is how you lock them in (your profile). Third, is that first real connection with them. When you are in business, all of this matters for everyone. This isn't just the case on Thumbtack... this is life as a business owner. Yes, your profile needs to be awesome, but your outward initial appearance is even more important. Get a great and professional picture. It's an investment that will be worth it. Focus on the great reviews. Make sure you're marking everyone who's hired you as hired. Get those numbers up! In your picture, look honest and personable. This alone will set you apart from 80% or more of the other companies (your competitors on Thumbtack! Speaking of them, seek successful people in your industry (you can zip code search anywhere) and figure out what they're doing right. See how you can emulate what they're doing.
My advice is that if you see people out there being successful in your industry on Thumbtack, you need to figure out why and meet that standard if you want to be successful, but blaming Thumbtack does nothing for anyone on here (not saying you personally are doing that, just seeing this as an easy trap as a business owner to get yourself into). If there is not one successful pro in your industry on Thumbtack, then (maybe) you can blame Thumbtack for the failure on this platform. I personally don't see the world like that because I would never judge my success or failure on Thumbtack. For me, it is my responsibility to get my business out there and customize it to the platform I'm on, where my customers are, and be successful. I've determined my customers are here on Thumbtack and that's why I'm here. If your customers aren't here, go to where they are!
I hope I can help. I generalized a lot and wasn't just talking specifically to you in most cases. Let me know if you want clarification on anything. Also, it's been a long day, I'm sure there's a lot of typos, please excuse them. Thanks, Laura.
