How we work
No surprises. No waffle. No BS.
Work with every client starts the same way: we find out what's going on, tell you how we can sort it, and give you a price. A bit like servicing your car. Simple as that.
The model
Three steps.
Every time.
The Findability Diagnostic
Before we start work, we need to know what's going on. Not what you think is going on, not what your developer tells you. What the data says is wrong.
The diagnostic is an evidence-based assessment of your platform: what visitors are looking for, where they're falling over, what the catalogue or content structure is doing to make things harder, and what needs sorting in what order.
Fixed price, fixed output. You get a full rundown with findings, priorities, and a clear scope for what we do next.
No diagnostic, no further engagement. This isn't a sales tactic, it's how we make sure we're sorting the right things and not pulling quotes out of thin air like a rabbit out of a hat.
The Fix
Scoped, quoted, and agreed from the diagnostic findings. Could be search index configuration, metadata applied to your products or content, synonyms built so search speaks your visitors' language, not yours, or a combination of all three.
Fixed price, paid in stages. You'll know exactly what you're getting and what it costs before we start. Time-boxed, set scope, no surprise invoices.
Keeping it working
Findability isn't a one-and-done thing. Catalogues grow, content expands and contracts, business direction changes, and what worked at launch drifts. Ongoing maintenance keeps things sharp. You wouldn't buy a car, fail to keep it serviced and expect it to work day-after-day. Same thing here.
We do this either via credits or retainer, whichever suits how you work.
Ongoing support
Retainer or credits.
Your call.
Once we've got the fix sorted, most of our clients like to keep their engine going. We offer two ways to do that.
Retainer
Scheduled, regular, predictable. A fixed monthly scope of things: search monitoring and management, catalogue maintenance, synonym tweaks, filter management. All agreed upfront and delivered consistently. Great if you need consistent, expert attention without the overhead of a hire.
Credits
Prepaid hours, bought in packs to use when you need them. No fixed schedule, no regular commitment. Buy a pack, draw down the hours when you need them. Brilliant if your needs are irregular, seasonal, or you just need the occasional extra pair of hands.
Credits can also be used as fractional director access. You or your team gets expert strategic or educational input when you need it. Whether it's teaching a new team member how to maintain your metadata, reviewing your year-ahead strategy, or gut-checking a decision. Your knowledge stays in your business.
The practical bit
Remote, async,
no surprises.
Murmuration is currently a solo consultancy. That's a feature, not a limitation. You work directly with the person doing your work, not someone managing the person doing your work. You're not paying for account managers, project managers, or juniors.
Async working means better quality work. Better decisions. Better outcomes. It also means you're not paying for a meeting that could have been an email.
The philosophy
We build capability,
not dependency.
We want your team to understand what we've done, and why. Always. Clearly documented decisions, transferable knowledge, no black boxes and no brain drain.
If you want to bring things in-house at any point, that's not a problem. If you want ongoing support until the cows come home, that's OK too. Either way, you own the outcome.
When people can find what they came for, we've achieved what we set out to do. That's the only measure of success that matters.
Next steps
Ready when you are. The first step, and your next one, is the diagnostic.
Fixed price, fixed output, no commitment beyond that first conversation with your data.
When you're ready, we are too.
Book the diagnostic