What Do You Want?

The most useless common phrase in product listings is "Our biggest seller." Translation: "We don't know what it does - you're on your own if you buy here."

Most often, I can't find physical dimensions and/or weight.

Let me refine the question a little: When you find something interesting on the Internet and you go to the company's web site, what do you hope to find there? What kind of information would encourage you to pick up the phone or send an email to that company's sales office?

I'm a PR flack-the one who writes a new product press release and gets it placed on magazine web sites so you can find it, and then go to my client's web site. I've been trying to convince my clients that they need to put meaningful information there. The question is: What kind of information do you want to see?

Re: I'm a PR flack ... What kind of information do you want to see?

As a preliminary response, let me say: Thanks for asking! I'll have to give it some thought. (I should mention I'm mostly out of that loop these days.)

are you kidding me?

No, not kidding. One of the biggest problems most suppliers have is that you folks use the Internet to research information on new robotic and automation systems. You are looking for, say, a "left-handed robot with gold-plated screws," and Google finds 10,000 such references. You spot my client's robot, and go their web site looking for information. In almost all cases, this just brings up a photo and a brief description. We know you aren't going to call a salesman based on just that. But how much information do you want at this stage?

Providing such information is usually a salesperson's job--answer your questions, fish the appropriate data sheet out of the attache case, buy you a greasy cheeseburger for lunch and ask for the order--but we also know that's the last thing you want. At this stage, you are gathering information, and aren't ready for a salesperson.

A simple data sheet : weight, dimensions, drawings, power/voltage/inputs/outputs. Don't need the switching time or operating instructions until at least the final few are selected, then these can be used for a purchase decision. And a search engine which can find my parameters, rather than having to go through the vendor's selected route. (Is input power something I know, when I'm working from the desired output speed/torque, and have yet to spec the gearbox???)

I have the answer.

I need to qualify you before I tell you. What are you going to be able to do with the information?

Chris

I am going to summarize the answers and take them to my clients, saying you have GOT to do a better job in meeting the needs of potential customers who go to your web site. Here's what they want to know.

This plan starts with Comparison and "the Value Formula" as fundamentals.

What I hear you asking with "What do you want?", is "What is of Value, relative to you, that we can provide?"

Based on the value formula, Value is first determined by placing or positioning the product line in a Absolute Human Needs array of products and services. This equates to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.. but I have my own, and you can too.

Freedom to Act
Air
Water
Food
Shelter
Clothing
Security
Transportation
Communication
Safety
Community
Law
Government
etc.

These are really like menu items on a lazy susan, as priorities for a person or organization are always changing... that is constant. You are looking for the items that are more frequently required. With this, you are trying to determine the levels of desire... the hardest part, and perhaps this is what you are really asking for. just wait, and I will come back to this.

Secondly, from the Value formula, is Comparative Cost. I'm sure your clients have already priced their product, and done so with a reasonable approach. One thing I can tell you is that this data is perpetually out-of-date. Only a real-time comparison System can get close to accurate pricing by comparison. Find a way to accomplish this. Many people think that by providing comparison data that they are chiselling away at their profits... however I think that this apparent is wrong, and that by providing 'live' comparison data, you open the floodgates to tremendous sales volume, assuming you are willing to allow your pricing to fluctuate. Comparison will show the true value and prices. Those organizations that can't produce at those prices will decrease in volume... or change so they can. Artificial supports don't help anyone here. Nature has the best ways.. and this makes the market 'natural'.

Comparative Quality. Like Cost, this is a complex issue, and only Comparison in real time can truly solve it. Some say, Quality is what you specify, and can prove. (conformance to requirements per Crosby) (ISO900x) and some say Quality is all in the Image or perceived value,etc. Whatever it is., the comparative market will determine, and what is really needed is a common basis for measurement of any discrete market sector (ie automobile used parts)

Perhaps at this point I should show the following. I know you can't see it.. but you can see a tree and a comparison data grid, and a 'negotiation panel' (for transactions, auctions, etc.)

The tree allows the user to penetrate to exactly the market sector they want.. (thus answering part of your question.) without doing searches, but based on the standardized classification system. (like using the phonebook.. that easy) The data grid provides columns of comparative data for individual products in that class. (like AutoTrader, but sortable by what the user wants)

There will be groups of columns that represent the Comparative Quality of any given product or service, and there will be groups of columns that represent Comparative Cost, and the same for Availability (location), Age, Liens, Conditions, Colors... etc.

As the customer Sorts, Filters, and Selects different products or services, the built-in programmed value formula continues to narrow and refine the available choices that meet their criteria.

Which brings us to the next major sector. Criteria. What is it that people want you say? Based on this understanding of constantly changing priorities, it is impossible to know, in an absolute sense. What you have to do is to create an interface that allows the user to define their basic 'profile' that matches their own lifestyle and Hierarchy of Needs. This is critical.

You know how much money you make, where you live, how many mouths you are feeding. Why not create a module that takes your 'profile' and acts as your own personal search agent to seek out a list of available products and services based on your desires?

I think that the first step is to have a basic 'budget planning' tool, allowing you to allocate funds towards individual categories, to create balance in your life. The system then follows this guidance to provide the required products and services appropriate to your plan. (what you can afford) and any other affordable options.

Now you have a system that defines basic customer needs, and a search system that will act on the behalf of the customer to find those. The customer is not limited to those choices that the system presents.. but would be an excellent starting point.

Of course Vendors would want to manipulate the search engine to bring those eyeballs and clicks to their website.. but in this paradigm, that kind of crap would actually go away.. All Suppliers would have to compete equally, on the basis of actual comparative values, and relative to their customer needs.. not on how big their marketing budget is. A small vendor has the same representation as a big one... and if they can compete, they will sell.

well I hope you are getting some of what I'm on about... comparison. What a person really wants is to fulfill their needs with the budget they have. Comparison is the ABSOLUTE (and only) way to accomplish that. My endeavor here is to show a way to accomplish some of that.

I had this "The Comparator" idea in 1996.. but was in no way able to launch it. Then a few years later, along came Ebay, the Microsoft Transaction Server, etc. Of course databases alreadly existed, and treeviews.. but the important thing is to represent the 'Economy' in a structured classification and comparative way. You should also know that there are large (huge) classification systems out there for all products and services.

I doubt that you can actually go build this thing.. but I can see some of the thinking involved being useful to you. (that is why I asked what you were going to be able to do with the answer) I think sites like E-bay are using whole sectors of this thinking to provide market opportunities.. but still falls short of true data-grid comparison shopping, etc. It would take millions of dollars and dozens of programmers to create what I'm thinking about. It was an idea far beyond my capabilities. If you have more questions... let me know.

I should stop here.. there is of course, always more to say... but I'll stop here.

Chris

Hey, that was pretty clever. You wanted to know if I was a "serious customer" (what we call a "B" lead) or "just looking" (a "C" lead).

Companies want to know that, too, which is why they sometimes put up registration forms before they send you a data sheet. That gets them a sales lead, so they can hound you with phone calls and emails. That's a terribly stupid tactic in my book. I druther just give engineers the information they want.

The home run answer is an app that would configure a possible product

default to very general parameters, which leads to existing product

for example...

sure that would do

that site is kind of ugly & not as intuitive at the beginning as it could be

every page has lots of flash, which can be a problem

I'd like to know where the decimal point is on the price, or even a range

every one understands that the final price varies

It's nice to know if I'm shopping at the Roll-Royce dealer

oh sorry that's more of a critique of the site