If your enquiries have been feeling a bit up and down lately, you’re not alone…

If you run a local business, you’ll probably recognise this pattern…one week you’re flat out…the phone’s going, messages are coming in, and your diary is filling up nicely.

Then it goes quiet…a bit too quiet and you’re wondering where the next enquiry or order is coming from.

It’s frustrating and it can feel a bit unsettling too, because you know you’re good at what you do. So why does it feel so unpredictable?

Most local businesses aren’t doing anything ‘wrong’ as such. They’re just relying too much on things that they can’t control, like…

• Word of mouth
• A few social media posts
• Recommendations from happy customers

All of these are brilliant when they work, but they’re not consistent and you can’t control when someone recommends you, or when someone happens to see your post. And you definitely can’t control when someone suddenly needs what you offer.

So you end up getting a burst of enquiries…then a gap…then another burst…

This is what’s often called the feast and famine cycle and it’s something so many small businesses get stuck in.

The Bit Most People Don’t Realise

Customers don’t usually buy from the first business they come across…they buy from the one they recognise and trust.

When someone finally decides to book a service or buy a product, they’re thinking about who they’ve seen around and who they recognise.

And that familiarity doesn’t happen overnight.

It comes from seeing the same business name more than once…over time.

What Consistent Visibility Actually Looks Like

So what does that look like in real life?

When local people need a product or service, they don’t always act straight away.

But they are subconsciously taking note of the businesses they see and recognise.

So when they’re ready they already have someone in mind.

That’s what consistent visibility does.

It builds familiarity…and familiarity builds trust…and trust is what gets you the enquiry.

Why Your Enquiries Feel So Up and Down

When your marketing is stop-start, your visibility is too, which means people forget about you or don’t see you at the right time.

So your enquiries follow the same pattern. Busy… then quiet… then busy again.

So How Do You Make Things More Consistent?

You don’t need to be everywhere, you just need to stay visible consistently in the same places.

That’s where West Midlands Magazines comes in. Being featured in our magazines gives you a steady, reliable presence in your local area.

Our trusted magazines are landing through letterboxes, kept on the coffee table, picked up at the local shop, which helps your business to be seen more than once and over time, that builds recognition.

Many of our advertisers stay with us month after month because of the consistent enquiries they receive.

Want More Consistent Enquiries?

If you’re tired of the stop-start cycle and want your enquiries to feel steadier and more predictable, that will help you to be more visible as well as building familiarity and trust download the Media Pack or get in touch for a chat about what might work for you.