Customer Profiles

[Debbi]

I was wondering if it would be helpful for customers to have profiles? I thought it might be useful for authors to see who the potential buyer is, what they want articles for, what their budget is, what kind of rights they prefer, who is their audience (UK, Canada, US, Australia, etc.), and so on. It seems like it would also be useful for the customer as well since they could refer authors to their profile for those kinds of questions instead of being deluged with emails asking the same questions over and over. I'm thinking more of those customers who require ongoing submissions than the one- or two-timers. Just like for authors, the customer profile would be optional.

If the concern is that spammers and such would annoy them or that non-CC authors (or unscrupulous CC authors if there is such a thing) would steal them away, access to these customer bios could be restricted to authors who have made at least 5 sales (I say this, becuase I've had 7, heh) or some other viable criterion.

I'm sure Support grows weary of authors always making suggestions like this, but I think most of us just want to serve the customer better.

Thoughts?

Debbi

[Constant]

I agree Debbi. This is an issue that we have struggled with for a long time. One of the reasons that we haven't done it is to take down as many sign up barriers as possible, making the sign up process for our customers a painless process. This is beneficial for everyone as we ensure that we are capturing the maximum number of potential buyers. There are obviously some drawbacks to this plan, and perhaps its time to reevaluate and perhaps add something like a voluntary profile page for clients that would like to. Either way good suggestion and it will be addressed at our next staff meeting.

David

[audrabianca]

If you want to have web meetings with an author to chime in from time to time, I would volunteer my time and ideas.

[Zabrina]

That's an interesting idea, audrabianca. I'd also be interested.

Maybe CC could form some kind of web panel or focus group someday? Then again, that's kind of what this is -- a place to make, revise, and bounce around ideas for suggestions (like this/that one). Hmm.

[Debbi]

David,

Thanks for your message

Just a side note: I just read a very lenghty and in-depth critique of the site from a customer in Spring 2008 asking for a customer profile option (among other things), so I'm glad to see I wasn't too far off the mark. It looked like most of the problems he pointed out have been remedied since then, except for the customer profile. Your idea of a voluntary customer profile option is just what I was aiming for. Authors already have the option to fill out their profile and many don't bother, but I think those who do may benefit from taking this step. It gives them the opportunity to provide their qualifications and areas of interest. The customers would probably like the chance to portray their "business personality" as well.

Anyway, thanks for taking my suggestion seriously! I would also like to be involved in a CC foucs group. Since I am relatively new here, I am looking at the site with fresh eyes.

Debbi