1. What’s the quick origin story of your brand, and what makes your product or positioning genuinely different from other options in your niche?

Phillip Wendell: Click Click Media was founded in 2008 by my wife Claire and I at a time when digital marketing was still finding its feet. Many agencies were focused on clicks, rankings and impressions, but we were more interested in what those metrics actually meant for a business.

From the beginning, our view was that marketing shouldn’t operate in isolation. It should support broader commercial objectives, whether that’s generating more bookings, improving customer acquisition, increasing profitability or helping a business scale sustainably.

That perspective has shaped the business for the past 17 years. As digital marketing has evolved through mobile, social media, ecommerce and now AI, we’ve remained focused on helping clients navigate change while keeping sight of the outcomes that matter most.

Today, we work with businesses across healthcare, franchise, ecommerce and service industries, and many of our client relationships extend beyond a decade. I think that longevity comes down to the fact that we don’t approach the relationship as a campaign or a project. We take the time to understand how a business operates, where growth is being constrained and what role marketing can play in supporting the next stage of growth.

That’s what continues to differentiate us today.

2. Since launch, what have been the 1-2 real turning points for your brand-specific decisions, pivots, or experiments that noticeably changed your growth or profitability-and what did you learn from them?

Phillip Wendell: One of the most important decisions we made was shifting our focus from acquisition to retention.

Like many businesses, there was a period where success was measured by how many new clients we could bring through the door. Over time, we realised that sustainable growth comes from building deeper relationships with the clients you already have. That shift changed how we hired, how we serviced clients and how we measured performance internally. Today, we maintain more than 92% client retention and more than 92% staff retention, and many of our client relationships extend beyond a decade.

The second turning point has been embracing AI early. Rather than viewing it as a threat, we saw it as another major technology shift that businesses would need help navigating. That led us to invest heavily in understanding how AI is changing customer discovery, search behaviour and business operations, ultimately resulting in the launch of our new AI Consulting and ChatGPT Advertising services.

What both decisions reinforced is that sustainable growth rarely comes from chasing trends. It comes from adapting early, staying curious and remaining focused on the fundamentals.

3. Which 2-3 channels drive most of your revenue right now (for example SEO, paid social, email, marketplaces, influencers), and what have you learned about making those channels work in your category?

Phillip Wendell: Search remains one of the most important growth channels for our clients, whether that’s Google Search, paid search or increasingly AI-driven discovery platforms. We’ve also seen strong results from content-led strategies that help businesses build authority and trust over time.

Channels don’t create growth on their own, they create opportunity. The businesses that achieve the strongest outcomes are usually the ones that have the right foundations in place once a customer arrives.

We’ve seen this firsthand across our client base. Pro Cut Tree Services, for example, significantly increased lead volume and reduced conversion costs after partnering with Click Click Media, helping the business double in size over approximately nine years. The results weren’t driven by traffic alone. By improving lead quality, conversion performance and local search relevance, Click Click Media helped create a more predictable flow of work that supported the company’s expansion from around 10-12 staff to approximately 25 employees.

The lesson is that customer acquisition and business performance are becoming increasingly connected. Marketing can open the door, but long-term growth depends on what happens next.

4. How are you thinking about search in 2026 – Google, AI assistants like ChatGPT, and other discovery platforms? What, if anything, have you changed in your content or site to stay visible as AI search grows?

Phillip Wendell: Search is becoming far more fragmented than it was even a few years ago.
Google remains important, but customers are increasingly researching products, comparing providers and asking questions through AI platforms before they ever visit a website. As that behaviour continues to evolve, visibility is becoming less about keywords and more about trust, clarity and authority.

In response, we’ve focused heavily on helping clients improve the quality of information available online, strengthen customer reviews, improve website structure and create content that directly answers customer questions. The businesses performing strongly in AI-driven environments are often the same businesses that already have strong customer experiences, clear communication and trusted brands.

AI is undoubtedly changing how customers discover businesses, but it isn’t changing what makes a business worth choosing. In many ways, it’s simply making those qualities easier to see.

5. What do you do to turn first‑time buyers into repeat customers and advocates? Are there specific experiences, content, or community touches that work especially well for you?

Phillip Wendell: The biggest driver of repeat business is delivering on expectations.

Marketing can create awareness and generate a sale, but long-term growth comes from the experience customers have once they engage with your business. That’s why we encourage clients to focus on every stage of the customer journey, from onboarding and communication through to service delivery and post-purchase engagement.

We’ve seen firsthand how much impact this can have. Long-term client relationships have become one of the strongest drivers of our business, with partnerships such as Wesfarmers Health extending beyond a decade and clients like MATE remaining with us for more than seven years. Today, we maintain more than 92% client retention and 92% staff retention, which we see as a reflection of the importance of consistently delivering value over time.

For us, advocacy is usually the result of trust. Businesses that communicate well, deliver a strong customer experience and consistently follow through on what they promise tend to generate repeat business, referrals and long-term loyalty naturally.

6. If you had to write a short playbook for an ecommerce founder one stage behind you, what would you double down on over the next 12 months – and what would you stop doing entirely?

Phillip Wendell: I would focus on improving customer experience, conversion rates and retention before investing heavily in acquiring more traffic.

Many businesses assume growth comes from attracting more visitors, when in reality there is often far more value to be unlocked from the customers they already have. Improving conversion rates, increasing repeat purchases and strengthening customer loyalty can often deliver a better return than increasing advertising spend.
I would also spend time understanding how AI is changing customer behaviour and influencing the way people discover products and services online.

What I would stop doing is chasing every new platform, tactic or growth hack. After working with businesses for nearly two decades, I’ve found that the companies that perform best usually aren’t doing anything revolutionary. They’re simply executing basic fundamentals exceptionally well, year after year.