Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Thanks for the feedback, nhgnikole and asEZasABnC. I`m not getting down at all. I`ve been in this business for way to long to get down on constructive criticism. I welcome it.

Nhgnikole, would you mind elaborating what you mean when you state "that the site is really harsh and not inviting at all, as a mom of 2"? Are you referring to the readbility again, or the verbiage?

Thanks!

• How does guardrail compare with other parental control software - by feature?
• Sound like I must determine what site can be viewed - the default is not site is ok for the child to visit. If so, seems like  a lot of work up-front ???

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Roland,

Thanks for taking the time to look at the site and provide feedback. I`ve looked at the sites of other products, and the one thing I do not want to happen to my site is have it become too overwhelming, like Microsoft packaging. The feel I`m going for is "super easy".

This is what I don`t want to happen. (included for a chuckle, but some truth in it)

I don`t even know if I really want to make a comparison list or not. Why advertise the competition for free? So to do this, I need to really drive home the benefits of Guardrail.

Regarding functionality, the default is no site is safe. But getting it set up is really not much work. And like you mentioned, the graphic on the "How It Works" page is probably unclear. I`ve been thinking about re-doing that whole page to show how easy it is to use, with screen shots and all.

Meta tags are there now. I put them in last night after receiving the first feedback.

Thanks, all, for your feedback. Please keep it coming. I appreciate it.

• does it work (100% of the time)
• is it reliable
• is it user friendly - I don`t need to spend hours setting up or administering
• why is this software a better alternative

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Roland,

I certainly don`t mind the questions and comments. That`s the kind of feedback I am looking for. Now I need to think about how I can achieve what I what the customer wants to see without it looking like a Microsoft box. I don`t want to overwhelm them.

Thanks!

I actually like the site. It`s quick to read, gets the point across, and has tabs to get me where I wanted to go.

The only problem I see is that it really is very passive. It`s as if you`re saying, "Okay, here`s a problem, here`s a solution. If you want, use it. If you don`t, we don`t really care that much." See?

I agree with Nicole that you could use more white space between your bullet points, to make them easier to see separately. But I tend to like the contrast of black on white, being that`s easier for me to read.

The main issue is to make it more active. One way would be to have a testimonials page, with stories about how Guardrail solved a problem, prevented a problem, made life better, and so forth. You could make a tab, "Testimonials," and have links "See what people are saying about Internet Guardrail."

In that same vein, what are you doing to boost your general visibility? Who are you particularly trying to reach?

Well, I might be considered someone in your market, but  .... it`s hard to describe, but the graphics and the color scheme, to me, are not very friendly. This kind of product ... people want to be put at ease, to know their children are safe, etc. Pick up a copy of parenting magazine. What does the front cover give you? It gives you the idea of confidence, that you can do this, etc. Your color scheme, font choices, etc .. seem so harsh and institutionalized, not inviting at all. They say USER UNFRIENDLY SOFTWARE when the site is not inviting, simple, and easy to use.

Craig,

Great to see you chime in here. :-) I`m curious as to what made you feel like the site said "if you don`t, we really don`t care that much". If the site comes across that way, I would definitely want to fix it. I never got that impression, but obviously you got it. Would you mind elaborating on what led you to feel the site said that? It would help me a lot.

Nhgnikole, I`m working on the "inviting" thing. I can understand how you can see it looks institutionalized. You mentioned that the site is not simple nor easy to use. Could you elaborate? I haven`t heard that from anyone else, so I`m interested in learning what I can do to make it easier.

Thanks again for all of your feedback. Keep bringing it. I value it!

Regards,

Steve,
I`m not saying that the site is offensively thoughtless. I`m using the above phrase to highlight what I mean by "passive." The reason to become more active is to make a sale....get people emotionally involved with the product to the point of wanting to subscribe, purchase, etc.

What I get is a result of a combination of small cues. For example, on your home page you have:

• Guardrail is an easy-to-use product.
• It`s easy to install and manage
• It lets you decide on content
• It allows you to review sites.

Now on the surface, all those are excellent statements as to the features. That`s why I like the site, generally. I get it, I understand it, and saw right away what`s the product.

But where are the benefits? And that`s the subtle problem for a lot of businesses.

What if you went to buy a car, and the sales person tells you that the cars are easy to drive, simple to maintain, let you decide where you want to drive, and that you can choose when to start or stop? Would that build your passion about buying a car?

Ultimately, the question is what are you selling? Are you selling Guardrail, the software?

Or are you selling something intangible, relating to the health, safety, and happiness of a family and children?

I`m suggesting that you`re really selling the value of child safety. But your site focuses on selling a piece of software. Does that help?

Craig,

Your car analogy is great and you make perfect sense. I have been thinking about how to answer a similar question myself: "What makes it special?" I got that reading Inc. or watching Pitch Men or something. But it`s a great question. I just want the answer to resonate with my potential customers. The actual customers are already there. They "get it" and get super excited. I want to make prospective customers feel the same way...enough to try it.

I`m eternally grateful for all the feedback and am taking it to heart and tweaking things to account for all of your advice. If anyone has any more feedback, please feel free to chime it.

Craig, why aren`t you a Sunbassador yet?

Regards,