Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

Formreturn Software

Posted by Anonymous on 11/27/2010 at 8:34 PM ET 250 Points
We would love to hear your feedback about our new FormReturn software. The software allows users to create and automatically mark multiple-choice paper forms such as those used for exams, surveys and data collection. You can learn more about it and download a free trial by visiting our website at https://www.bainbridge.com.au/formreturn .
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  • Posted by mgoodman on 11/27/2010 at 9:08 PM Accepted
    I can't give you much useful feedback on the FormReturn software because I don't think I have any need for the product (and I'm therefore probably not in your target audience).

    I will, however, comment on the page you linked to. First, you have to remove the period at the end in order to get there. Second, it took a long time (i.e., a lot of reading) before I could figure out who your target audience is, whether I could use the product, and/or what it could do for me. You might want to talk more about the benefit and less about how the product works/what it does. (There are a lot of first-person words ... a sign of inward focus.)

    The "saves time" and "time equals money" pitch is old news, not unique and usually not very compelling. If I bought every product that claims it can save me time, I'd end up with a lot of products and a lot of free time on my hands, and I probably wouldn't make any more money!

    You might also consider some visuals to tell the story about what your software can do. A picture of the hardcopy form, the interface/scanner, and the output would go a long way toward communicating what the software does. People look at and remember pictures long before they'll read a page full of words. (Your page is three full screens deep on my laptop! That's a lot of words.)

    Just a few suggestions. They don't address your specific question, but I suspect you won't find a lot of folks on this forum who actually need software for marking multiple-choice hardcopy forms. We may be the wrong people to ask for feedback on your software.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 11/27/2010 at 9:28 PM Accepted
    I'd like to see a matrix comparing your product to your competition (cost, features, portability, accuracy, etc.).

    Like Michael, I'm not your target audience. However, the web page you pointed us to is chock full of SEO text describing features but low on things that I'd look for: testimonials, pictures of using the program, and a simple description of why your paper-based solution is the right choice for your target market.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 11/28/2010 at 7:21 AM Moderator
    How about segmenting your audience and creating a different page for each sub-segment? That way each person gets just the information they need, and not a lot of stuff they don't need.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 11/28/2010 at 8:10 AM Moderator
    The reason you're having a problem condensing everything onto one page is that the material you're condensing is all about your product, not about the benefit for your target audience. If you focus on the benefit, you can get it into a sentence or two. Then you can put all the product stuff on other pages for the few crazies (and your competitors) who really want to read about it.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 11/28/2010 at 3:29 PM Member
    Brendan, you said above "My concern with scattering the data across multiple pages is that it may not all be seen."

    Precisely. That's exactly where mgoodman is leading you.

    The idea is to segment the audience and then tell them what the benefits are for their application, company size, industry sector or whatever other basis for segmentation you may have chosen.

    I'm based in Melbourne, and would be happy to help you on a professional basis. My contact details are available via my profile (click on my name at the head of this post).
  • Posted by mgoodman on 11/28/2010 at 5:47 PM Moderator
    Take Chris up on his offer. He's very good at what he does, and I believe he can help you improve the page/site almost immediately. (And he's in YOUR time zone!) Chris and I have collaborated on projects before, so I know he can do this job well the first time. I've seen him in action.

    I think you've made some good changes in the copy, and the graphic hidden at the bottom of the long page is exactly what I had envisioned ... except that it's very "sterile," with no humans in it, and it's going to be missed by the 75% of people who never make it to the bottom of the page.

    The problem is that the page is still waaaaaay too long ... too much copy, not easy to digest. You need to cut out 75% of the words, add 2 or 3 small images, and then link to other pages for those who want more detail.

    I actually forced myself to read all of the copy, and it was painful ... and it would be even more so if I were a prospective customer. If I'm a hospital person, I don't want to read about Schools, Colleges, Universities, RTO's, Research, Marketing and Communication. And vice versa. And long lists just invite people to skip all the points.

    You're trying too hard to cram all the information onto a single page, and that's a great way to make sure that nobody reads it all. Segment your audience up-front, and then deliver the perfect, targeted, benefit-specific message to each segment.

    P.S. You might also want to re-think your call to action. It's hard to find and not very action-oriented. You need to put the big yellow banana where the monkeys can find it without trying too hard.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 12/3/2010 at 4:40 PM Moderator
    You asked: "Would you be interested in re-writing this page to help me understand what you mean? I'd be happy to pay you if I agree with the finished product you provide."

    My response: I'd be interested in re-structuring that section of the site and re-writing the page to segment your audience and then make the pitch more specific for each target audience. I'm very good at that sort of thing.

    I do not, however, work on a basis that makes the fee contingent on whether the client agrees with the finished product after the fact. What we could do is define the project objectives explicitly up-front and establish a fixed fee for delivering those objectives. Let me know if you would like to proceed on that basis.
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