As expected, we’ve learned a lot since we first launched the beta service of Software Shortlist back in February this year. And right now we are flat out turning those lessons into new and improved services for small business customers and for software vendors alike.
Software directory
One such lesson was that, although people may struggle to make good decisions when faced with overwhelming choice, they want the comfort of actually seeing the long list of available options.
 |
While our online recommendation and comparison facility is proving just as valuable as expected … we realized many customers would value seeing the comprehensive list. As such, Software Shortlist is now developing an extensive software directory for small & medium businesses as an additional offering. |
Software Selection Consulting
We have also been pleasantly surprised by the demand from small business customers for help with software selection. Not only have we seen very good traffic numbers and site usage during our beta phase, we are already getting a number requests for software selection consulting assistance from customers. In responding to our customers’ needs, Software Shortlist has now added a range of software selection consulting services to our offer. In fact, we have just concluded our first major project, evaluating online database software for a specialist marketing agency.
Independent Software Comparisons
Of course, not all of the lessons learned required changing things. We have had great feedback from customers and vendors, validating our existing approach … such as the emphasis we have placed on the independence of our online software comparison service. This focus on providing independent reviews and suggestions will continue as we evolve the Software Shortlist offering and expand our coverage across more software categories. Accounting is very nearly ready for release, and email marketing not far behind, so watch this space….
Services for Software Vendors
On the vendor side of the equation, we have been fortunate to have received detailed feedback from a close network of supportive vendors. Plus we’ve seen an unexpectedly large number of unsolicited enquiries from other software companies. Together, their input has been invaluable in helping us design and prioritize a range of improvements to our website.
Among other things, we learned that many independent software vendors (ISVs) would value us offering other marketing services … such as conducting customer feedback surveys, gathering testimonials from their users, and developing a vendor benchmark study. More information on these is available on our vendor information page.
Watch this space…
So, a big thank you to all the SMBs, vendors and service providers who took the time to explore our services and provide us with input and advice. Your feedback has provoked some intense thinking and discussion behind the scenes here, and we’re excited about bringing you an expanded and improved range of services under the Software Shortlist banner. These new offerings will be rolled out gradually over coming months, starting with the official launch of our directory very soon. We will also update our home page and ‘how it works’ sections to reflect the changes.
