[Ed the Roofer]

I was wondering what anybody thought of this idea.

What if you added a forum discussion board to your website, either for your customers to post feedback on, (editable of course), or for other local contractors in your immediate area to have a place to network at?

Wouldn't all of that increased potential traffic boost up your sites ratings or page rankings and possibly become somewhat of a local media coverable concept adding even more exposure to your company hosting it?

For someone who does not yet have a website, I spend a lot of time thinking about ideas to implement in one.

Ed

[dougchips]

Ed, by the time you get around to getting a web-site the next technology will be here .

I use a chat board on the "staff only " area of my web-site.

[PressurePros]

I use a message board on Restore-A-Deck for customers to ask questions and leave feedback. There are a ton of keywords for search engines to find. I'm in the process of updating my server/e-commerce provider and will be updating this feature soon. The message board alone on my site gets 200+ unique hits every day.

[woodmagman]

It could be a double edged sword. I know a couple of companies that would have a hay day with a forum on the competitions site...

[GregS]

Be prepared for people to post things about you and your services you may not want public.

[Ed the Roofer]

What about if it were primarily used as a local contractor only networking forum?

If it were to have an option for customer input or even as only a local contractor networking forum, I would like the option to preview posts submitted prior to being posted online to prevent any inflammatory side tracking.

Would the contractor networking potential increase the potential websites ratings?

Ed

[PressurePros]

It will, Ed, but a forum that moderated won't get any traffic.

[Ed the Roofer]

Ken,

I guess we live in an instant feedback and response world, so maybe you are correct.

What do you think if a disclaimer were to be visibly posted that all posts will be reviewed for profanity, disparaging remarks, or spam, and that they would be entered into the forum board within 24 hours if deemed acceptable, would that seriously restrict the potential networking capabilities?

I'm just trying to throw out a possible idea, so honest feedback is appreciated.

Ed

[woodmagman]

Originally Posted by Ed the Roofer

Ken,

I guess we live in an instant feedback and response world, so maybe you are correct.

What do you think if a disclaimer were to be visibly posted that all posts will be reviewed for profanity, disparaging remarks, or spam, and that they would be entered into the forum board within 24 hours if deemed acceptable, would that seriously restrict the potential networking capabilities?

I'm just trying to throw out a possible idea, so honest feedback is appreciated.

Ed

Would you post here if that were the case......?

[woodmagman]

I think if you are looking to network then it is a good concept. Your disclaimer would need to be directed to that. No one wants to be censored or proof read. Even though you say to yourself WTF was I thinking.
You have my interest now......keep thinking out load.

[Ed the Roofer]

The actual only editing that I would intend to do, uless other suggestions come along, would be to censor that 1 out of a hundred customer, (probably less than that) , that would use the board as a beatching board to continually air their griping rants and also improper language, since the board could be viewed publicly.

With contractors doing networkin, mayby that are could be made private, so we could discuss things openly about our local market and potential bad customers on the horizon. But, whats bad for me, might be good for someone else.

Ed

[woodmagman]

If the board were to be tied to my buisness, I might try it as a public buttttt, private would seem to be smarter. The only reason for public would be to get the advertising dollar I would think. Your are going to get more sincere reaction from locals if you if were to offer membership. Free membership..........I am liking this more and more as I think about it. It is a morning coffee shop concept. I have 50 good contacts that have 50 good contacts that have 50 good contacts..and only 2 percent are active at any given time would make this.....Ed tell Wingate he is brilliant.
It could be very good for small companies.....

[Ed the Roofer]

I have already set up a free bulletin board as of yesterday for a different purpose. It is totally non-busiess related and deals with a 12 step community for a local area for people to share and help each other out.

I am doing this first to gain a little learning curve before attempting to add something like this into the business concept. Sort of like work the bugs out of the user friendliness first.

Woodmagman,

Thanks for the positive feedback. It is igniting a new flame of desire to follow through.

Ed

[woodmagman]

Good on you.....for the program (12 stepper) no man is an island.
I do know a couple of continents though....

[lawndart]

Ed, why have you not started on your website?

[Ed the Roofer]

Lawndart,

Because I was waiting for 4th generations web designer to get done with his site.

Just kidding. It's not as bad as he thinks and just needs the capital letters and red/maroon color removed and format the text better and insert some more relevant photos.

Money, time, and concentrating on building and setting up my new computer system at the office. Then I have to retrieve all of my documents and files from the crashed hard drive.

Or, I just procrastinate too much.

Ed

P.S. Lawndart, I just looked at your design you made for 4th gen and it looks nice. Are you able to add true house color tones to fill in the image too?

[lawndart]

PM sent Ed.

[lawndart]

Originally Posted by Ed the Roofer

P.S. Lawndart, I just looked at your design you made for 4th gen and it looks nice. Are you able to add true house color tones to fill in the image too?

I sure can Ed. You supply me with an image, and I can pick the colors right off it

[PressurePros]

Originally Posted by Ed the Roofer

Ken,

I guess we live in an instant feedback and response world, so maybe you are correct.

What do you think if a disclaimer were to be visibly posted that all posts will be reviewed for profanity, disparaging remarks, or spam, and that they would be entered into the forum board within 24 hours if deemed acceptable, would that seriously restrict the potential networking capabilities?

I'm just trying to throw out a possible idea, so honest feedback is appreciated.

Ed

Ed, I have no such disclaimer nor do I think you will need one. I have probably 900 people that have bought product from me. No one has ever left negative comments. Don't underestimate the power of self restraint in an individual. I have deleted two posts from the message area and they were both SPAM advertisements. If someone were to bad mouth my products or customer service I would not delete it, I would address it. True customer service is revealed only when there is a problem. I welcome people to view how I handle and resolve issues. Don't over analyze it, Ed. You can always make adjustments as you go along.

[Prostaff]

A forum is a great addition to any site, it's all about how you intend to use it. I would suggest using it for displaying how-to tips, articles and to get feedback from customers.

Don't let it become a posting ground for other businesses and competitors.