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1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation came to life when…
Quite often, we experienced great difficulties finding reliable service providers at reasonable cost. It was especially acute when urgently required. The search engines, the business directories, and even the RFQ platforms that were springing up did not really help because of their inherent deficiencies.
I had an idea for some time about solving the customer’s problem, but now understood that it cannot be done in isolation from the providers’ problems. That started the deeper analysis about all possible problems for both parties and finding an all-in-one solution.
2. WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
Help Consumers get the best value for money very conveniently by getting multiple upfront quotes from reliable providers (evaluated and ranked).
Help Providers get low-cost, highly targeted and quality leads (from purchase-ready consumers in their chosen territory).
It does this by…
The RFQ Platform which sends instant alerts to all registered providers with quote requests. The automated Quote Engine evaluates and ranks all quotes at the Quote deadline by considering all important parameters and not just the price. This helps the Consumer in the decision making and booking the service without voice calls for most services — even urgent ones.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
Now shopping around becomes easier. Requester gets multiple quotes evaluated and ranked for easier decision making. The bid evaluation considers various parameters that are important to the requester — not just the price.
Instead of the customer reviews, the new rating system is objective and helps in bid evaluation and encouraging good service.
Providers get better lead generation system.
The benefits to the customer/end-user include…
It saves time and money for both parties.
Consumers get wider choice and better value for money because it encourages more reliable and quality service providers to compete.
Providers get more flexibility, better leads, market intelligence, and fairer, transparent RFQ system.
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
Consumers used word-of-mouth referrals, online directories, local papers, search engines, and RFQ platforms, and providers spending big on customer acquisition or lead generation.
Those methods cannot offer an ideal solution for customer’s problems. Comparison based on price alone makes decision-making difficult. The feedback/reviews on RFQ sites are neither very credible nor convenient, especially in urgent situations.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
- RFQ platforms (ServiceSeeking, ServiceCentral, Quotify, WhoCanDo, AtOnce, DoMyQuote)
- Search Engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing)
- Online business directories (Yellow Pages, Truelocal, HotFrog, HiPages, dLook, GumTree etc.)
- Price comparison sites
- Print directories (Yellow/Pink Pages)
(Only Australian competition considered)
5. TARGET MARKET
This innovation is made for…
The Providers (businesses) and the Consumers (buyers). The former are revenue generators. Both get a number of advantages from this innovative service compared with the competition.
Being a combination of online business directory and an RFQ platform, it is targeting any business, but because of the high volume, low-cost model, it is perfect to attract the SMBs.
Consumers can find value for money more easily with this innovation and could well patronise it. Providers are likely to go where they find most of their customers. Product advantages and pricing together can be compelling value propositions for both groups.
6. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
It is available for sale through…
The website: www.galaxc.com. This will be directed to the local sub-domain when launched (e.g. in Australia, au.galaxc.com).
Login not needed for Directory Search. For other high-value service, members use secure dashboard/user accounts.
Our marketing strategy is to…
- Promotional offers and incentives for referrals to providers to encourage registrations quickly.
- Focus on a small geographic area to pilot test in a few categories.
- Promote to industry associations for their members as a very important business/marketing tool.
- Find strategic partner/investors for funding operations and marketing.
- Promote to buyers through schools and clubs to raise awareness in their constituencies.
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FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
