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Based on my own experience, I agree with a lot of what Kyle says and disagree with some of it.
1. I would definitely launch in Beta mode first. You need to figure out what works with your site and what doesn't. What are you missing that customers want? What would make customers more engaged? Are you providing immediate value. Test everything about your site, from the sign-up process to the review process after a job is complete. Fix what is not intuitive or hurts the flow. Do all of this in beta with a limited numbered of trusted testers (and maybe a few randoms if others aren't being brutally honest). Testing in beta gives you license to make mistakes and your customers will forgive you - as long as they trust that you will improve the site based on their feedback. In a best case, they will feel ownership in the process and feel proud that they helped you make your site better and then will be incentivized to tell their friends. See Kyle's comments about those first few testers. This will also let you build social proof.
2. My advice would be to market the concept to service professionals first. The people who need tasks done are your customers and are ultimately the most important people for your business - they will be paying you and they will be (hopefully) marketing for you by telling their friends. At the same time, consumers have a very short attention span and willingness to try a new, unknown service. Therefore, if you screw up their first interaction with your site, they may be gone forever. I can't think of anything worse than someone finding your site, going through the trouble of posting a job, and then having no service professionals on the other end to actually bid on that job. At that point, your site is completely worthless and that person is never coming back. So, all of that being said, I think you need to make sure that your site is first seeded with many different service professionals that are ready to make bids. Then, get your consumers to come.
3. Facebook Ads - I like these better than AdWords because the level of targeting is so much more granular. But agreed with Kyle, start with your personal network in your town.
Hope this helps.
1. I would definitely launch in Beta mode first. You need to figure out what works with your site and what doesn't. What are you missing that customers want? What would make customers more engaged? Are you providing immediate value. Test everything about your site, from the sign-up process to the review process after a job is complete. Fix what is not intuitive or hurts the flow. Do all of this in beta with a limited numbered of trusted testers (and maybe a few randoms if others aren't being brutally honest). Testing in beta gives you license to make mistakes and your customers will forgive you - as long as they trust that you will improve the site based on their feedback. In a best case, they will feel ownership in the process and feel proud that they helped you make your site better and then will be incentivized to tell their friends. See Kyle's comments about those first few testers. This will also let you build social proof.
2. My advice would be to market the concept to service professionals first. The people who need tasks done are your customers and are ultimately the most important people for your business - they will be paying you and they will be (hopefully) marketing for you by telling their friends. At the same time, consumers have a very short attention span and willingness to try a new, unknown service. Therefore, if you screw up their first interaction with your site, they may be gone forever. I can't think of anything worse than someone finding your site, going through the trouble of posting a job, and then having no service professionals on the other end to actually bid on that job. At that point, your site is completely worthless and that person is never coming back. So, all of that being said, I think you need to make sure that your site is first seeded with many different service professionals that are ready to make bids. Then, get your consumers to come.
3. Facebook Ads - I like these better than AdWords because the level of targeting is so much more granular. But agreed with Kyle, start with your personal network in your town.
Hope this helps.
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I can address this issue based on my own experience with starting Whinot.
You are a two-sided platform. You have two sets of customers, right? People who need help with small jobs and people who are going to do the work. The people who need help are the ones who are going to have to open their wallets, so they are going to be the ones harder to attract. Focus on them first. I guarantee that if you find someone who needs a job done, you will find someone who can do it. I can't say the same about the inverse (just because you have someone capable of performing a job, you don't have someone who needs their services).
Forget web-based advertising to start. You need to go super-local and super personal to get a handful of jobs under your belt to be able to populate the site and demonstrate that you have happy customers and some sort of track record. The good news is that this approach is super affordable... all it takes is your time and energy. The bad news is that it's hard, it's awkward, and it's probably not what you want to do. Tough noogies.
Start with your friends. Figure out what jobs they have planned already. Tell them you will take care of everything to make it a success. I mean everything....you can wait at their house while the work is done, so they can go out and do something else. They will love you for it.
After you do this, and only after you do this, then start focusing on the other things. I've learned the following about the different options you mention:
p.s. required reading for you is "Strategies for two-sided markets" (hbr.org)
You are a two-sided platform. You have two sets of customers, right? People who need help with small jobs and people who are going to do the work. The people who need help are the ones who are going to have to open their wallets, so they are going to be the ones harder to attract. Focus on them first. I guarantee that if you find someone who needs a job done, you will find someone who can do it. I can't say the same about the inverse (just because you have someone capable of performing a job, you don't have someone who needs their services).
Forget web-based advertising to start. You need to go super-local and super personal to get a handful of jobs under your belt to be able to populate the site and demonstrate that you have happy customers and some sort of track record. The good news is that this approach is super affordable... all it takes is your time and energy. The bad news is that it's hard, it's awkward, and it's probably not what you want to do. Tough noogies.
Start with your friends. Figure out what jobs they have planned already. Tell them you will take care of everything to make it a success. I mean everything....you can wait at their house while the work is done, so they can go out and do something else. They will love you for it.
After you do this, and only after you do this, then start focusing on the other things. I've learned the following about the different options you mention:
- Adwords: works but is generally low quality clicks/jobs (in my case, they result in low quality issues on Whinot)
- SEO: haven't figured this out yet... I never see keywords for things like "find someone to hire" because people don't think like that. Instead I see keywords for things like "do facebook ads work"
- Social Media: I'm sure it would work but it's time-consuming as all hell and I haven't been able to dedicate myself to it yet
p.s. required reading for you is "Strategies for two-sided markets" (hbr.org)
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Carter Hoerr advised on 27 Jan 2012
Experienced Business Manager; National Expert, Online Meal Ordering
There's lots of opportunity in this market...very local, very fragmented, very inefficient. But there are also lots of similar web-based services up and running and trying to capture it. Do some basic research to understand who they are, where they are, and what they're offering to customers and professionals. Can you offer something different from them that will give you an advantage?
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Mark Wright advised on 24 Jan 2012
Business consultant to turnaround situations bringing to bear over 30 years of corporate and mid sized company leadership and success.
Take a look at Angie's List. They seem to fairly successful. You have nice site.
Kyle Hawke commented on 25 Jan 2012
Angie Hicks was interviewed about how she got started, here's what she had to say:
...I worked by myself the first year and signed up a thousand members in Columbus that year. In the beginning, I went door-to-door selling the membership.
Q. You literally knocked on people's doors?
A. Yes. I was a pretty reserved, quiet person, so that was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I remember one of the first houses I went to, her name was Patty. She was so excited that she bought two memberships, one for herself and one for her son. Then she asked me: How many memberships do you have now? I said, 'Well, that makes three!' (Laughs.) She then hurried to get a list of contractors she had used and friends she insisted I call. To this day I thank Patty for taking a leap of faith.
Source: online.wsj.com
Another article: www.inc.com
Angie Hicks was interviewed about how she got started, here's what she had to say:
...I worked by myself the first year and signed up a thousand members in Columbus that year. In the beginning, I went door-to-door selling the membership.
Q. You literally knocked on people's doors?
A. Yes. I was a pretty reserved, quiet person, so that was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I remember one of the first houses I went to, her name was Patty. She was so excited that she bought two memberships, one for herself and one for her son. Then she asked me: How many memberships do you have now? I said, 'Well, that makes three!' (Laughs.) She then hurried to get a list of contractors she had used and friends she insisted I call. To this day I thank Patty for taking a leap of faith.
Source: online.wsj.com
Another article: www.inc.com
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Hunter Murchison advised 4 months ago
Based on my own experience, I agree with a lot of what Kyle ...
Based on my own experience, I agree with a lot of what Kyle ...
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Mark - can you share any thoughts on the launch strategy for a site like this / Angie's List?