3 ms·

Gotcha, I'll pass it along. Is the profile with the video in it any more compelling?

DanielStraight 17y ago
Not especially, no. The issue wasn't that the picture in the middle didn't move. It was that the picture in the middle was the only thing on the page I could see myself possibly caring about. Nothing else on the page helps me make a decision between competitors. I would look at companies like Fog Creek and 37 Signals to get an idea of what a profile should look like. Here's the thing. I don't know anything about your experience, but I bet you recognize both of those names, and I bet you recognize both of them because of their popular blogs. In fact, I can't even tell you what 37 Signals does, but I know about them anyway. I have no first hand experience with anyone at Fog Creek, but I feel like it would be an awesome company to work with. Profiles need to have something personal. You aren't going to hook people with an address and a promise to offer "strategic solutions" (a phrases that as far as I can tell means nothing to anyone). I don't care who your business contacts are. I don't care what your "third industry" is. I definitely need more than one big ad to get me to choose you. I think if you take just 5 minutes to look through 37 Signals home page, you will see how it is at least 100 times better than what any profile on there could be. Above the fold of 37 Signals home page, I learn that they develop web apps, that they offer 4 main products, and what those products do. If I scroll down a page, I hear their pitch of their best strengths, see that I have access to video customer testimonials (awesome!) and learn that they have two regularly updated blogs (awesome, that means they didn't just throw up a website and leave it there hoping something would come from it). I also learn that they have a book and some more smaller apps. At the bottom of the page, I learn some cool stuff not directly related to their business. They developed Ruby on Rails, they have an affiliate program, etc. I also see that people care about their business and are talking about it. If I compare a Prospect Vista profile... I see an update at the top, pushing down the main content of the page to give me information I don't care about. I see a quick profile with nothing that I care about in it. I see a list of contacts that I don't care about. In the middle, I see a big banner ad that I may or may not care about depending on how talented the person who made it was. I see comments and a discussion board, both of which are likely to be quiet and therefore not worth caring about. Finally, I see a huge amount of contact information which I have no reason to care about because nothing has hooked me. I don't mean to be harsh. I think I can sum up everything by saying that your profiles are too much like MySpace pages and not enough like compelling business websites.
- leftnode 17y ago
  Thats incredibly insightful and thoughtful advice. You're right, I do know about 37signals and Fog Creek (and do read their blogs). To be honest, I didn't originally come up with the idea for the website, I was just asked to write it because the two people who did don't know how to program. I think what it really needs is a way for businesses to make their profiles personal so when a prospective consumer/customer sees them, they're drawn in. Again, thanks for your comments. I'll pass them along.

Not especially, no. The issue wasn't that the picture in the middle didn't move. It was that the picture in the middle was the only thing on the page I could see myself possibly caring about. Nothing else on the page helps me make a decision between competitors. I would look at companies like Fog Creek and 37 Signals to get an idea of what a profile should look like. Here's the thing. I don't know anything about your experience, but I bet you recognize both of those names, and I bet you recognize both of them because of their popular blogs. In fact, I can't even tell you what 37 Signals does, but I know about them anyway. I have no first hand experience with anyone at Fog Creek, but I feel like it would be an awesome company to work with. Profiles need to have something personal. You aren't going to hook people with an address and a promise to offer "strategic solutions" (a phrases that as far as I can tell means nothing to anyone). I don't care who your business contacts are. I don't care what your "third industry" is. I definitely need more than one big ad to get me to choose you. I think if you take just 5 minutes to look through 37 Signals home page, you will see how it is at least 100 times better than what any profile on there could be. Above the fold of 37 Signals home page, I learn that they develop web apps, that they offer 4 main products, and what those products do. If I scroll down a page, I hear their pitch of their best strengths, see that I have access to video customer testimonials (awesome!) and learn that they have two regularly updated blogs (awesome, that means they didn't just throw up a website and leave it there hoping something would come from it). I also learn that they have a book and some more smaller apps. At the bottom of the page, I learn some cool stuff not directly related to their business. They developed Ruby on Rails, they have an affiliate program, etc. I also see that people care about their business and are talking about it. If I compare a Prospect Vista profile... I see an update at the top, pushing down the main content of the page to give me information I don't care about. I see a quick profile with nothing that I care about in it. I see a list of contacts that I don't care about. In the middle, I see a big banner ad that I may or may not care about depending on how talented the person who made it was. I see comments and a discussion board, both of which are likely to be quiet and therefore not worth caring about. Finally, I see a huge amount of contact information which I have no reason to care about because nothing has hooked me. I don't mean to be harsh. I think I can sum up everything by saying that your profiles are too much like MySpace pages and not enough like compelling business websites.

leftnode 17y ago
Thats incredibly insightful and thoughtful advice. You're right, I do know about 37signals and Fog Creek (and do read their blogs). To be honest, I didn't originally come up with the idea for the website, I was just asked to write it because the two people who did don't know how to program. I think what it really needs is a way for businesses to make their profiles personal so when a prospective consumer/customer sees them, they're drawn in. Again, thanks for your comments. I'll pass them along.