Running a business makes us acutely aware of problems.
So when something breaks, jumping straight into fix-it mode is completely natural. We’re also short on time; the quicker it’s dealt with, the better. But the obvious problem isn’t always where the thread broke, which means we can just be making even more problems for ourselves.
BLOG SERIES: THREADS
The Tangled Business Series
STAGE
Diagnosing
READ TIME
2 mins
What that looks like in practice
Someone’s enquiries have slowed down, and their completely understandable instinct is to do something promotional. An offer, a sales email, some ads. Or all three at once.
But before any of that: trace the thread.
Enquiries slowing down is a comparison. So the first question is whether we’re comparing like for like. Same month last year, where did those enquiries actually come from?
In this case, it was the website. So we go deeper. Same number of visitors? Similar time on page? Coming from a similar source?
And this is where it gets interesting. The previous year, the business had been mentioned on a prominent industry website, with a link back. The visitors arriving through that link were already warm. They arrived knowing a little about the business, trusting the person who’d recommended it. The journey from visitor to enquiry was short.
That’s where the thread broke.
In the source of the traffic, and what those visitors needed when they arrived. So no type of promotion can solve that.
The real question then moves from ‘how do I get more enquiries?‘ to ‘how do I get warmer leads to the website‘.
Which is a completely different problem, much more specific, and much more solvable.
The extra thing tracing gives you
It doesn’t just find the real problem. It shows you things you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
In this example, it became clear that the website was struggling to warm up cold visitors, which opens up a whole range of possible next steps.
Now it’s simply a matter of deciding which one makes the most sense for this business, right now.
The real work begins when you stop asking how do I fix this? and start asking where did this actually break?
If you’re not sure where your thread broke, the Tangled Business Check-in is a good place to start.
Five questions, an honest picture of what’s likely going on, and a clearer place to begin.
The Tangled Business Series
More posts from this series
back to the blog
