Kirsten Johnson, Founder of Reverie
The 15-minute test every small-business owner should try before spending more on marketing.
Here's a question for you:
If you were a potential customer trying to contact your own business today, how easy would it actually be?
Not from your computer, where you're already logged into everything and know exactly where to click.
I'm talking about someone discovering your business for the very first time.
Maybe they found you on Google. Maybe a friend recommended you. Or perhaps they saw one of your ads and decided to learn more.
They pull out their phone, visit your website, and decide they're interested.
Now what?
Can they easily find your phone number? Does your contact form actually work? Is your booking link taking them to the right place? And most importantly, does someone on your team receive their inquiry and follow up?
These might seem like small details, but they can make a big difference in whether someone becomes a customer.
Before you invest more money into attracting new customers, it's worth making sure the people already trying to reach you can actually connect with your business.
The good news? You can start with a simple 15-minute test.
Why This Matters More Than You Might Think
As business owners, we're often focused on getting more people to discover us.
More website visitors. Better Google rankings. More social media engagement. More leads from advertising.
And there's nothing wrong with wanting those things!
But what happens if all that attention leads someone to a website where the contact form isn't working? Or they call a number that goes unanswered? Or they try to book an appointment and the scheduling link is broken?
It's possible to have a beautiful website and a strong marketing strategy while still creating unnecessary obstacles for potential customers.
At Reverie, we believe thoughtful marketing is about more than getting noticed. It's about creating a clear, welcoming experience that helps the right people confidently take the next step.
And sometimes, the most valuable improvements aren't the biggest or most expensive ones.
Take the 15-Minute Customer Contact Test
Grab your phone, open a private browsing window, and pretend you've never visited your own business online.
Work through these five simple checkpoints.
1. Google Search: Can People Find the Right Information? (2 Minutes)
Start by Googling your business name.
Take a look at what a potential customer sees.
Is your phone number accurate?
Are your business hours correct?
Does the website link take people to the right place?
Are your services clearly represented?
If you have a physical location, is the address accurate?
Next, try searching for one of your primary services without including your business name.
For example, if you're a dentist in Gilbert, Arizona, you might search "family dentist Gilbert AZ."
You don't need to spend hours analyzing your rankings. For this exercise, simply pay attention to how your business appears and whether the information is helpful.
Why it matters: Your customer's first impression may happen before they ever reach your website.
If you have a Google Business Profile, make sure it's accurate and provides an easy path for customers to connect.
2. Your Website: Is the Next Step Obvious? (3 Minutes)
Now visit your website on your phone.
Not your desktop. Your phone.
Imagine you're a first-time visitor who knows very little about your business.
Ask yourself:
Can I quickly understand what this business offers?
Is the website easy to navigate on a mobile device?
Can I find the service I'm interested in?
Is the contact button easy to locate?
Do I know what to do next?
Pay attention to how the experience feels.
Are you scrolling endlessly to find basic information? Do buttons feel too small to click? Is the contact information buried at the bottom of the page?
Your website shouldn't require visitors to work hard to become customers.
Why it matters: A beautiful website is wonderful, but a beautiful website that helps people take action is even better.
That's why strategic website design should consider the entire visitor experience, not just how the website looks.
3. Contact Forms: Are Inquiries Actually Reaching You? (4 Minutes)
This might be the most important test on the list.
Go to your website's contact page and submit an inquiry.
Use something simple, like:
"Testing our website contact form. Please confirm this message was received."
Then check what happens.
Does the website confirm your message was submitted?
Does the inquiry arrive in the correct email inbox or CRM?
Did it accidentally land in spam?
Does the customer receive an automatic confirmation, if you have one set up?
Is someone on your team responsible for following up?
Here's something that surprises business owners: A website saying "Your message has been submitted" doesn't necessarily mean the inquiry reached the right person.
Forms can experience delivery problems, notification settings can change, and messages can end up somewhere no one is checking.
If your website relies on contact forms to generate leads, testing them periodically is worth the effort.
Why it matters: Every legitimate inquiry represents someone who has taken the time to express interest in your business. You want to make sure those opportunities aren't disappearing behind the scenes.
4. Phone Calls and Booking Links: Does Everything Work? (3 Minutes)
Next, test the other ways customers might connect with you.
If your business relies on phone calls, call the number listed on your website and Google Business Profile.
Consider:
Does the call connect to the correct number?
Is the voicemail greeting accurate and professional?
If a call goes unanswered, is there a clear process for returning it?
If your business offers online scheduling, click through the booking process.
Does the link work? Are the correct services available? Is it easy to understand what happens next?
You don't need to complete an actual booking. Just make sure the experience works as expected.
Why it matters: When someone is ready to schedule an appointment or request a service, you want to remove unnecessary confusion.
5. Follow-Up: Who's Taking Care of Those Inquiries? (3 Minutes)
Finally, think about what happens after someone reaches out.
This is where marketing and customer service really start working together.
Ask yourself:
Who receives new inquiries?
Is someone clearly responsible for responding?
Are Facebook, Instagram, and other business messages being monitored if you've enabled them?
Do you have a system for following up when someone doesn't immediately become a customer?
Do you know which inquiries are turning into actual business?
You don't necessarily need to be available on every platform.
In fact, it's often better to have a few reliable ways for customers to contact you than several communication channels that no one consistently monitors.
You may not be able to evaluate your complete follow-up process in three minutes, but you can determine whether there is a clear process in place.
And if you submitted a test inquiry earlier, check back later to see how long it took to receive a response.
What Did Your 15-Minute Test Reveal?
If everything worked beautifully, that's wonderful!
You've taken an important step toward confirming that your business is creating a positive experience for potential customers.
But if you discovered a few things that need attention, that's valuable information too.
Maybe your Google Business Profile needs an update.
Maybe your contact form is sending notifications to an old email address.
Maybe your website looks great on a computer but is difficult to navigate on a phone.
Or perhaps your team needs a clearer system for handling new inquiries.
These aren't necessarily reasons to completely overhaul your marketing.
They're opportunities to improve what you've already built.
Where Should You Start?
Not every issue deserves the same level of attention.
I'd recommend prioritizing improvements in this order:
Fix anything that's completely broken. Contact forms that don't deliver, disconnected phone numbers, or booking links that don't work.
Remove unnecessary obstacles. Make contact information easier to find, simplify confusing navigation, and clarify the next step.
Improve your follow-up process. Make sure inquiries reach the right person and don't get forgotten.
Then evaluate whether you need more traffic or advertising. Once your customer contact process is working, you can make more informed decisions about growing your visibility.
You might be surprised how much clarity comes from simply experiencing your business the way your customers do.
Are Your Marketing Efforts Turning Into Real Opportunities?
There's one more important piece to consider.
Once you know customers can reach you, how do you determine whether your marketing is actually helping your business grow?
Website traffic is useful information. So are ad clicks, form submissions, and phone calls.
But they're not the same as gaining a new customer.
For example, imagine two marketing campaigns.
One generates 20 inquiries, but only a few are relevant to the services you offer.
The other generates 10 inquiries, but most come from people who are a good fit for your business.
Which campaign is performing better?
You can't answer that question based on inquiry volume alone.
You need to understand lead quality, follow-up, and ultimately which opportunities are turning into customers.
Tools like Google Analytics 4 can help businesses measure different stages of the lead generation process when properly configured. But your internal process for managing inquiries and understanding customer outcomes is just as important.
The goal isn't to collect more numbers.
It's to understand whether your marketing is creating meaningful opportunities for your business.
Good Marketing Isn't Always About Doing More
As you think about your marketing goals and budget for the coming year, here's something I'd encourage you to remember:
You don't always need another campaign, a bigger advertising budget, or an entirely new website.
Sometimes, you need to make sure what you've already invested in is working the way it should.
That might mean improving a contact form, simplifying your website, updating your Google Business Profile, or creating a more reliable follow-up process.
Small improvements can make a meaningful difference in how customers experience your business.
And that's a pretty great place to start.
Have Questions About Your Website or Marketing? Let's Talk!
Did you discover something during the 15-minute test that needs attention?
Maybe you're not sure whether your contact forms are working properly. Perhaps your website isn't providing the experience you'd like, or you're wondering whether your marketing is bringing in the right opportunities.
Whatever it is, we'd be happy to talk through your questions and help you identify a sensible next step.
At Reverie Creative Agency, we believe marketing should be thoughtful, practical, and built around what your business actually needs.
Sometimes that means building something new. Other times, it means helping you get more out of what you already have.
Reverie is an Arizona website design, SEO, and Google Ads agency helping small businesses grow online in Gilbert, Queen Creek, Mesa, Chandler, and the East Valley.