Why Most Brisbane Business Owners are Flying Blind
I was sitting down with a landscaper in Chermside last month. He was frustrated. He was spending three grand a month on ads, his website looked great, and he knew people were visiting the site. But his phone wasn't ringing nearly as much as it should have been.
"I don't get it," he said. "I’m getting the clicks, but where are the customers?"
Most small business owners are in the same boat. You see a number in your dashboard that says 500 people visited your site, but you only got two phone calls. You start wondering if the marketing is a rip-off or if people just aren't interested in what you’re selling.
Here is the truth: People don't just land on your site and magically turn into a cheque. They go on a bit of a journey. They see an ad, they check your reviews, they look at your gallery, they read your 'About Us' page to make sure you aren't a cowboy, and then they decide to call.
If there is a 'pothole' anywhere on that road, they leave. And usually, they leave without telling you why.
Tracking this journey isn't about fancy charts or tech talk. It’s about finding where that road is broken so you can fix it and actually see which clicks turn into cash instead of throwing money down the drain.
The Three Stages Where You’re Losing Money
To grow your business, you need to stop thinking about your website as a digital brochure and start seeing it as a sales funnel. There are three main spots where your potential customers are dropping off.
1. The "First Impression" Flop
Imagine a customer clicks your ad for "Emergency Plumber Brisbane." They land on your page, but it takes eight seconds to load, or they have to squint to read it on their phone.What do they do? They hit the 'back' button immediately.
Google likes it when people stay on your site, but more importantly, your bank account likes it. If 80% of people leave within three seconds, you are paying for visitors who never even saw your phone number. We call this the 'bounce,' but you should call it 'wasted petrol.'
2. The "Trust" Gap
Let’s say they stay. They’re looking at your services. This is where they decide if you’re the real deal. If they go to your gallery and the photos are blurry, or if they can't find proof that you've done work in their local area (like Indooroopilly or North Lakes), they lose interest.I’ve seen dozens of Brisbane businesses lose sales because their 'Contact' page was too hard to find or had too many questions. If you want to stop losing customers at the finish line, you need to make it dead simple for them to take the next step.
3. The "Forgetful" Exit
Sometimes people are interested, but their kids start screaming, or they arrive at their destination and put their phone away. They liked what they saw, but they didn't buy. If you aren't tracking how many people come back a second or third time, you’re missing half the story.Quick Wins: How to See What’s Actually Happening
You don't need a degree in data science to figure this out. You just need to look at a few specific things that tell you if your marketing is working. Here is what I’d tell a mate to do if they wanted to fix their business results this week.
Look at Your "Phone Call" Numbers
Stop looking at 'hits' or 'views.' They are vanity numbers. Look at how many people actually clicked your phone number or filled out your form. If you have 1,000 visitors and 0 calls, your website is a liability, not an asset.Watch the "Exit" Pages
Every website tool can show you which page people were on right before they left. If 90% of your visitors leave on the 'Pricing' page, your prices might be fine, but you haven't explained the value well enough. If they leave on the 'Home' page, your message is confusing. When you stop guessing why customers leave, you can start making changes that actually put money in your pocket.Test Your Own Site Like a Customer
Get on your mobile phone—not your office computer—and try to book a job on your own site. Is it easy? Can you do it with one hand while holding a coffee? If it’s a pain for you, it’s a nightmare for your customers.Real Example: The Morningside Electrician
We worked with a local sparky who was spending a fortune on Google Ads. He was getting plenty of traffic, but his booking rate was terrible.
When we looked at the 'journey' his customers were taking, we noticed something weird. Almost everyone was clicking on his 'About Us' page and then immediately leaving.
Why? Because his 'About Us' page didn't have a photo of him or his van. It was just a wall of text about 'synergy' and 'excellence.' Customers in Brisbane want to see who is coming to their house. They want to see a local face and a clean truck.
We swapped the text for a photo of him standing in front of his branded van in a local street. Phone calls went up by 40% the next week. No extra ad spend. Just fixing a pothole in the journey.
What’s a Waste of Your Time and Money?
I’ll be blunt: most of what you hear about 'big data' is rubbish for small businesses.
Don't spend thousands on complex software that tracks every mouse movement. You don't have time to watch 500 videos of people scrolling. Don't worry about 'industry benchmarks.' Who cares what a plumber in New York is doing? You only care if your phone is ringing more this month than it did last month. Don't hire a 'data consultant' who talks in acronyms. If they can't explain how a piece of information will get you more jobs, they are wasting your money.
How Long Until You See Results?
This isn't an overnight fix, but it's faster than you think.
Week 1: Set up basic tracking so you can see phone call clicks. Week 2: Identify the top two pages where people are leaving. Week 3: Make one simple change (like adding a 'Call Now' button or a better photo). Week 4: Compare the numbers.
Usually, within 30 days, you’ll see a noticeable difference in the quality and quantity of your enquiries.
Your Action Plan
If you’re tired of wondering where your marketing budget is going, do these three things today:
1. Check your mobile site: Open your website on your phone. If you can't find your phone number within two seconds, fix it. 2. Ask your last 5 customers: Ask them, "Was there anything on the website that almost made you not* call?" You’ll be amazed at what people tell you. 3. Find your 'Leaky Bucket': Look at your stats and find the one page where everyone drops off. Focus all your energy on fixing that one page first.
Marketing shouldn't be a mystery. It’s just a series of steps a customer takes. Your job is to make those steps as easy as possible so they end up on the phone with you.
Want to stop guessing and start growing? At Local Marketing Group, we help Brisbane business owners find the gaps in their customer journey and fix them so they actually make money.
Contact us today and let’s get your phone ringing.