Bids Compare – Compare Home Repair And Improvement Bids By Zip Code

16 thoughts on “Bids Compare – Compare Home Repair And Improvement Bids By Zip Code”

1. Feedback sought:
    

   Is it easy to understand what we do and why? If not, what do you suggest?

   It appears that your service has to do with comparing bids and has to do with home repair bids.  It seems like sort of a hassle to have to call the first one to have a point of reference, but if a person has the time to compare prices for this type of service, then this process seems viable.

   Typical homeowner calls 3 service provider and then selects the least expensive one – does the Bids Compare value proposition (call one and compare to all others) make sense? Do we need to explain the advantage of doing this more on our web site?

   The value proposition seems reasonable and after putting more thought into what you have to offer – it seems like a helpful service.  However, I had to think about it.  At first, it didn’t seem worth the time, but if I knew about your service before needing to get a repair done, I really think it is a good idea.  Your homepage shows to me that I need to get one repair quote to start the process.  The issue I have with this is that I’d rather see on your homepage how it works and then if I’m sold on the idea, then I’d like to click on a button to “Get Started” and on this 2nd page I would enter the quote.  I think you need to sell the idea better on a homepage and if the visitor likes it, they will actively search for the next step which would be “getting started”.  A How To Tutorial video would be helpful for the homepage, plus you could have this on Youtube and link it to your website.

   Would more social networking features help?

   I don’t know. I mean for marketing – yes.  Social networking like a facebook page, twitter account, and youtube video page is always a good idea.  But is your question asking about creating an app?  I don’t know what the app would do.  Please explain.

   Would rewarding home owners who save the most money using bids compare be a good incentive? For example: Homeowner saves $100 using the bids compare service, and we gave them 5% of the cost savings (i.e. save $100 get $5 back) be a good incentive?

   Well, if your website does what you claim to do – then I think by offering the best price is enough reward for your services.  But if you want to reward the best bidder a 5% cost savings, that wouldn’t hurt.

   Would it help to make Yelp reviews available so you could see the reputation of the service provider?

   To be honest, I don’t know what Yelp is, but my deduction is that Yelp is a place to provide satisfaction reviews based on a company’s performance.  So to answer your question – Yes, I think the more content you add to your service, the better you will build your brand.

   Other Actionable suggestions:  Your current homepage does not sell me on using your service.  Not knowing what you do – I would actually be confused upon one glance and leave.  I think you need to put up a how to video and selling points on why your service is great and helps people.

   Currently, I see one small link on your homepage that says how it works, but I don’t think you have designated it enough clout.  Not everyone who is a visitor will see that if you only get a 15 second glance-over.

   I would suggest selecting 10-20 random people who know nothing about your service ( a blind survey if you will) and tell them nothing about your service.  Ask them if they are sold on your services just by looking at your homepage.  My honest reaction is more confusion on what your services do and if it is worth the time to take part in your site, because I honestly do not know how big your current database is.  It might help to proclaim on your desktop how many entries or how big your database is to get actual results.

2. Is it easy to understand what we do and why? If not, what do you suggest?
   Yes, it looks like your site is about comparing prices on home repair based on bids received from each company. Your site allows people to plug in their specific requirements in order to find the best provider for the service needed.
    
   Typical homeowner calls 3 service provider and then selects the least expensive one – does the Bids Compare value proposition (call one and compare to all others) make sense? Do we need to explain the advantage of doing this more on our web site?
   The bids compare value proposition is definitely an easier way to compare prices than just calling every place you see in a phone book. It makes sense to just need one provider bid and compare to others using your service, because it allows the homeowner to see everything all in one place. I read the FAQs and I think that explains how your site works well.
    
   Would more social networking features help?
   Well, I see there is a section for facebook, twitter and others that you can use to share the site with others, but you can also add a twitter or facebook page to follow. Plenty of people could find out about your site if there is more visibility of your site.
    
   Would rewarding home owners who save the most money using bids compare be a good incentive? For example: Homeowner saves $100 using the bids compare service, and we gave them 5% of the cost savings (i.e. save $100 get $5 back) be a good incentive?
   Yes that would be a great incentive. Homeowners are always trying to save money, so if you provide a bonus for using your service, that would probably get your site free advertising through word of mouth. Consumers love telling people where they got a good deal from. Besides, your site has a very useful service so this would only add to the value of it.
    
   Would it help to make Yelp reviews available so you could see the reputation of the service provider?
   The yelp reviews certainly couldn’t hurt. By showing people the reputation of the service provider, you would also be giving consumers a little extra that they weren’t expecting. It can make their decision easier to make, and will help make your site more sought after and trusted amongst comparison sites.

3. Is it easy to understand what we do and why? If not, what do you suggest?
   When I read the homepage, my impression was that Bid Compare is a site where homeowners can post projects and contractors can bid on them.  A visit to your About Us and How It Works pages pretty much confirmed this initial impression.  However, I would add another tab to the top of your homepage that links to How It Works.  That should definitely be accessible from the homepage and not just from About Us.
    
   Another thing that’s not clear upfront is that you don’t require visitors to register in order to use the site.  When I clicked on the Homeowner link on the homepage, it took me directly to a registration form.  That made me assume that I had to register in order to go any further.  It was only when I read your FAQ that I realized I didn’t have to register after all.  Then I visited the Compare Bid page and saw that I could indeed post a project without registering.  To fix this problem, I would have the Homeowner link on the homepage take visitors directly to the Compare Bid page, just like the Service Provider link on the homepage also connects directly to a bid form.  This latter set-up raises another issue, though.  Service providers only seem to be able to get to the appropriate bid form by clicking Service Providers on the homepage.  However, homeowners can get to the appropriate bid form by either clicking Homeowners on the homepage or the Compare Bid tab at the top.  I think service providers also need a similar tab at the top that links to their own bid form because some people will invariably navigate using the tabs instead of the links in the center of the page.
    
   Typical homeowner calls 3 service provider and then selects the least expensive one – does the Bids Compare value proposition (call one and compare to all others) make sense? Do we need to explain the advantage of doing this more on our web site?
   I understand your value proposition, and it makes sense.  (I should add that your copy is really very good but that you also need to proofread for minor errors one more time, too.)  However, I don’t know if it should be an absolute requirement for a homeowner to get a bid from a professional before posting a project.  Some homeowners may already know all the specs of their project and have a good idea of how much they’d like to ask for it without needing confirmation from a contractor.  They simply want to find a contractor who can do the work for the rate they have in mind.  I think such people should be permitted to post their projects without seeking a professional consultation first.  Overall, though, I think your service looks really useful.  I love that you’re helping people compare contractors’ rates!
    
   Would more social networking features help?
   I don’t know if it would help, but I doubt if it would hurt.  This seems like something that could catch on well by word of mouth.
    
   Would rewarding home owners who save the most money using bids compare be a good incentive? For example: Homeowner saves $100 using the bids compare service, and we gave them 5% of the cost savings (i.e. save $100 get $5 back) be a good incentive?
   Wow, that would be…very generous of you.  I would think that just finding a good deal would be incentive enough!  If there was an additional cash-back incentive, that would just be an even bigger draw.  I mean, you’d basically be saying, “Here, we’ll pay you to use our free service.”  Could you actually sustain that long-term?
    
   Would it help to make Yelp reviews available so you could see the reputation of the service provider?
   Absolutely.  I think that’s a wonderful idea.  And I know you mentioned you were working on adding a review system to your own site so that homeowners can leave feedback for providers.  That sounds great!
    
   I know you didn’t ask for additional comments, but I just wanted to sum up by saying that I think you have a really good idea and that I basically like your website quite a bit.  One suggestion, though: I found the design a little plain.  Usually I think simpler is better, but in this case, I would’ve liked to have seen a more inviting image of a home on the homepage, perhaps with a contractor at work or shaking hands with smiling homeowners.

4. One more thought: One of my comments above was that the Homeowners link on the homepage shouldn’t go directly to a registration form because it makes people feel like they have to register to use the site.  While I stand by this, it occurs to me that even though you offer your service to unregistered users, your goal, of course, is to get them to register.  I think a good compromise here would be to have the Homeowner link on the homepage lead directly to the bid form but include an option to “register now” on the form, maybe with a link underneath that says, “Why register?”  This link could then lead to a pop-up bubble or window that explains why it’s important to register.

5. Feedback sought:
    

   Is it easy to understand what we do and why? I am not really sure that if at first glance it is clear to me of what your site provides.  The logo really catches my eye which is a good thing.  But, so much that I am not sure of exactly what the site provides even with the “house” graphic being there.  If not, what do you suggest? Maybe place the text “Welcome.  Start comparing  home repairs….” could be placed out to the right of the logo.

   Typical homeowner calls 3 service provider and then selects the least expensive one – does the Bids Compare value proposition (call one and compare to all others) make sense? Yes.  But. just by taking that first glance it makes me wonder.  What is the catch?  Is there a charge for this service?   Do we need to explain the advantage of doing this more on our web site? Yes, I think that you do.  Even though I think that the advantage is the more people that submit information makes the consumer have more bids to compare.

   Would more social networking features help? I am not sure about that.  It depends on what your target audience is geared toward.  With that in mind, I would do some research and maybe add 1 or 2 more.

   Would rewarding home owners who save the most money using bids compare be a good incentive?  That would be a great incentive. For example: Homeowner saves $100 using the bids compare service, and we gave them 5% of the cost savings (i.e. save $100 get $5 back) be a good incentive? Yes.  What about rewarding the contractor with the most bids won a feature on the site advertising their business or  something like a 5 star rating system for the contractors?

   Would it help to make Yelp reviews available so you could see the reputation of the service provider? This would be helpful.  Also, you might incorporate a “community” page where this yelp information could be accessed and then discussed among those whom have used “Bids Compare” a certain amount of times.

6. Feedback sought:
   
    
   Is it easy to understand what we do and why? If not, what do you suggest?

   When I went to the site, my impression was that you could search for contractors in your area to call.  When the page came up for bids, I thought I was entering the information to find contractors in my area.  I did not know I was actually supposed to enter the bid that I had already received.  I don’t think that you should have to enter a bid that you already have.  I think that a contractor should have to bid on the job based on their prices and shouldn’t be able to see the bid that you already have attained.
   Typical homeowner calls 3 service provider and then selects the least expensive one – does the Bids Compare value proposition (call one and compare to all others) make sense? Do we need to explain the advantage of doing this more on our web site?

   Well, I think it’s a good idea for people to call around when they need a job done.  But it sounds like the reason that you want this done is so that measurements can be verified.  If you already know your measurements, you should be able to post a job on there for somebody to bid on based on the measurements that you provide.  If you put in the wrong measurements obviously the bid was based on those measurements and the job will be a different price.  Contractors can make mistakes measuring also.
   Would more social networking features help?

   I think there should be a place where people can recommend certain contractors for certain jobs or rate contractors based on the job that they did.  It should include how satisfied the homeowner is with the finished job, the amount of time it took the contractor to get it done, the price for what they did and the attitude of the contractor.  Low prices are nice, but if they contractor doesn’t do the job right and it has to be redone, it’s not saving any money. 
   Would rewarding home owners who save the most money using bids compare be a good incentive? For example: Homeowner saves $100 using the bids compare service, and we gave them 5% of the cost savings (i.e. save $100 get $5 back) be a good incentive?

   I don’t think it would be a good incentive.  The best incentive would be just to provide a service that is valuable for saving money.  How can somebody really prove that they actually saved that much money by using your website?  They can call around and find the highest price and enter it in there first. 
   Would it help to make Yelp reviews available so you could see the reputation of the service provider?

   I think it would help to provide this service.  Reputation is a big thing when it comes to this.  Your home and assets are very valuable.  You want to know who you have working there and if you can trust that person.  We hear too often in the news about people posing as contractors to steal from other people.
   

7. Is it easy to understand what we do and why? If not, what do you suggest?

   The name says it all.  It is easy to understand what service your company provides.  You compare prices of home repair bids in which you get from home repair companies or businesses.

   Typical homeowner calls 3 service provider and then selects the least expensive one – does the Bids Compare value proposition (call one and compare to all others) make sense? Do we need to explain the advantage of doing this more on our web site?

   I think this is a great idea.  It saves time of not having to call around to a number of places.  I think that your site clearly explains that.  Even though cheaper is good, but it’s not always the best.  I put in a bid (as explained below) in hopes that cheaper companies would come up.  I was wanting to find out if your service provides not only cheaper rates but also experience or a little bit of background on these companies.  Do you just provide rates?  Or do you provide other information?  If you only provide rates, it would be helpful if you can include more information such as background info.  It would be easier to have all the information needed in just one click. 

   (I did the process of comparing prices.  I choose something as simple as cleaning the ducks of my A/C.  I put in a bid of 20,000 which is very high for something so simple.  When I submitted the information it and it came up with no results.  I’m assuming no home repair services in my town has put in their bids to your company yet.)    

   Would more social networking features help?

   You have links to the most common social networking such as “Facebook” and “twitter” which is good.  It would not hurt if you get accounts with more social networks but I don’t think it’s needed since you already have it with the most popular ones already. 

   Would rewarding home owners who save the most money using bids compare be a good incentive? For example: Homeowner saves $100 using the bids compare service, and we gave them 5% of the cost savings (i.e. save $100 get $5 back) be a good incentive?
   Yes I think it would be a good idea.  People love to save people like getting money back.  

   I think it would also be a good idea to reward the most used (through your site) home repair comapnies too.  You can provide them with ratings on your site such as “most used” which would help bring them more business.  

   Would it help to make Yelp reviews available so you could see the reputation of the service provider?

   Yes!!  You can have something like a rating system to where clients can rate the companies but also like I stated above, you should provide backgrounds and experience information on these companies. 

   Suggestions:

   Overall, the site is good.  It is easy to understand and navigate.  I have a few suggestions for you:

   Like I stated above, you should provide background information on the comapnies along with a rating system for the clients.  

   You have a link called “How it works” which when you click on it, it is actually a “FaQ” page.  “How it works” and “FaQ” are two different things”.  “How it works” should be a page about you explaining how your service works and exactly what you provide.  “FaQ” page is answers to the most common questions asked.   It would be very useful for you to provide both links.  Maybe putting the “FaQ” at the top of the page by the “home” link and keeping the “How it works” link right where it’s at.

   Another way to promote your service would be to find other sites such as yours that provide services like yours but not the exact service that you provide (example:  “Best bids on furniture” or “Buy hud homes”.  Team up with the sites such as agree to put a link to their site on your homepage and have them put a link to your site on their homepage.  This is a good way to provide more clients on both ends. 

    

8. Is it easy to understand what we do and why? If not, what do you suggest?

   I thought it was easy to understand what you do.  Its similar to getting bids on your own for projects that you want done around the house. The only difference is that this site has a listing of people in your area instead of the old fashion way of looking for someone

   Typical homeowner calls 3 service provider and then selects the least expensive one – does the Bids Compare value proposition (call one and compare to all others) make sense? Do we need to explain the advantage of doing this more on our web site?

   I thought it made perfect sense.  I do think that anymore explanation is needed because the people using this site understand the bid process. I do think that there should be some type of rating for both parties.  For me, I go on recommendations from friends on a person’s work and I can see their work.  How do I know that they people on this list are reputable?

   Would more social networking features help?

   Social networking helps to market a business or website to bring in more business.  So in one aspect it would help to get your name out there.  You can also use word of mouth from the people who used this site to get bids. 

   Would rewarding home owners who save the most money using bids compare be a good incentive? For example: Homeowner saves $100 using the bids compare service, and we gave them 5% of the cost savings (i.e. save $100 get $5 back) be a good incentive?

   Saving money is always a good thing and to get an additionally 5% on top would be even better.  However, its not always a money factor with me. I would rather pay a little more to get the quality and friendly service than to just take the lowest price.  Sometimes, you get what you pay for, and when you are having work done on your home, you might to make sure that you will not experience headaches later

   Would it help to make Yelp reviews available so you could see the reputation of the service provider?

   I think it would be a good idea, as long as they are from the customer.  I think you need to see both the good and the bad from the individual that will be doing work at your home. Of course, my decision would not just be based on that, I would still want to do my homework first just to make sure.
    
    

9. $5 awarded to zeke2100.

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16. Excellent site with lots of information.
    Thanks for sharing.
    :0)

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