Scrolling advertisement MUST GO!!!!!!!! - Page 3

pingme97 · 19 Dec 2007, 05:24 AM

Geir, not sure what more negative feedback you are looking for? This entire thread is about negative feedback from most of current customers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geir

goky,
We were, and are, ambivalent about the ticker, for the reasons outlined in this discussion. However, we have had no other negative feedback, and our visitor statistics aren't conclusive yet.
- Geir

goky · 22 Dec 2007, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geir
goky,
We were, and are, ambivalent about the ticker, for the reasons outlined in this discussion. However, we have had no other negative feedback, and our visitor statistics aren't conclusive yet.
- Geir

Quote:

Originally Posted by pingme97

Geir, not sure what more negative feedback you are looking for? This entire thread is about negative feedback from most of current customers

I just supposed he cut and pasted from an email response. Though I suppose he might mean that other than this forum they haven't had any negative response.

Ascanius · 1 Jan 2008, 11:01 PM

Hi Geir and others,

I think one issue is lacking from the discussion (or i've overseen it...): Does the use of "testimonials" do anything good in relation to make potential new customers gain trust in a product?
My personal view on this: Quotes from "satisfied customers" can be pure manipulation, by bringing them out of their context. Seen countless examples of this; advertising new movies with "positive" quotes from consistently bad movie reviews is a common example. If I was to consider becoming a Runbox user, the "testimonial" advertising would definitly *reduce* my trust in the product. But I'm danish - I know marketing in e.g. US works very differently

Geir · 3 Jan 2008, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goky

I just supposed he cut and pasted from an email response. Though I suppose he might mean that other than this forum they haven't had any negative response.

That's exactly what I meant. If you read carefully you might notice that I referred to "this discussion" in the previous sentence.

- Geir

Geir · 3 Jan 2008, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ascanius

Does the use of "testimonials" do anything good in relation to make potential new customers gain trust in a product?
My personal view on this: Quotes from "satisfied customers" can be pure manipulation, by bringing them out of their context.

Understandable, but we'd hope you'd know us well enough to know we don't do such things.

Also, if you click the Testimonials link you'll find the context missing from the quotes in the ticker -- i.e. the actual messages we received from our users.

It's interesting that some users are very keen on letting us, and other users, know that they're satisfied with Runbox, while others find the idea entirely negative.

Personally I'm ambivalent; I'm certainly interested in other users' experiences upon purchasing a product (think of Amazon, for instance), but some types of quotes can potentially lessen or cheapen the perceived value of said product.

I think the quotes we've selected are fairly factual and therefore helpful to new visitors, but it's quite possible that the format should be adjusted.

- Geir

Ascanius · 3 Jan 2008, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geir

Understandable, but we'd hope you'd know us well enough to know we don't do such things.

Sure... but the ticker was mainly for people who *don't* know you yet, right? It's in that situation that such quotes tend to cuase me to barf, rather than buy

carverrn · 4 Jan 2008, 02:03 AM

Personally I'm usually indifferent to testimonials on a service's site. Although I will look over them. Some times a detailed testimonial that sounds like what I'm looking for will get me more excited about investigating the service.

I usually prefer to look at the support forums to see what kind of problems people are reporting with the service and how customer support handles the problems.

Regards,
Rich

hajonez · 4 Jan 2008, 09:48 AM

Like many here, I'm unsure about the effectiveness of the scrolling "ticker" testimonials recently added to the Runbox front page. I do, however, believe that testimonials themselves can be persuasive so long as they are short and well presented. Testimonials themselves don't sell products but I think they play a role in helping convince potential customers who are considering buying.

I would be in favour of a static "Testimonials" box on the front page. Perhaps this box could be randomly "populated" with a different testimonial quote or two every time a user refreshes/loads the page. This would provide potential purchasers with another reason to buy but would not be as distracting as the current scrolling testimonials. I also think such a static box would be more obvious. What do others think of this idea?

Edit: Having just revisited the front page, I think there could be two static testimonial boxes: one could be placed under the "Take a tour" box; the other could be in a complementary position under the "Support" box.

- Henry

goky · 6 Jan 2008, 10:31 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by goky
I just supposed he cut and pasted from an email response. Though I suppose he might mean that other than this forum they haven't had any negative response.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geir

That's exactly what I meant. If you read carefully you might notice that I referred to "this discussion" in the previous sentence.

- Geir

Hmmm, slightly subtle connection in the phrasing for me. Apparently for the other fellow as well.

Actually, I had sent in an support thingie commenting on it about a week before I joined this discussion. Liz, runbox support, was the person I interacted with. Not sure if it would have been counted as truly negative. The way I put it was " I wanted to point out a couple of problems with it".

On the subject of testimonials: I tend to go to third party sites to find reviews. If one gets over X number of pro and con emails (let's say a thousand) finding 20 great ones or 20 dreadful ones is probably not that hard for most businesses.

As an example: Looked at a fancy coffee maker once... Checked online. Some LOVED it. Others DESPISED it. Many of the people who liked it said not to press the little door too hard or it would kill the unit. Decided that was where the despised side came from. Bought it, works great - real careful with the door.

But there were dozens of potential positive "testimonials" that were mixed in... So a list of just the positive would not have indicated the real usability.

I think the real selling point is the Runbox free trial. As long as it is fully functional (I assume it still is), you try it, it works, you buy it. It sucks, you don't buy it.

I liked it, I bought it. When it's time to renew, I will see if anything is better. Easy.

On things I can't try, reviews (good and bad) are far more important than testimonials to me.

But as has been mentioned here: It is the mostly the "how" presented that is iffy, not the "what".

goofy · 8 Jan 2008, 03:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carverrn

Personally I'm usually indifferent to testimonials on a service's site. Although I will look over them. Some times a detailed testimonial that sounds like what I'm looking for will get me more excited about investigating the service.

I usually prefer to look at the support forums to see what kind of problems people are reporting with the service and how customer support handles the problems.

Regards,
Rich

Ticker still at FP

petrs · 9 Jan 2008, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by positivelyjim

I think it's both. According to several people I've consulted at All Experts.com, one of which has built 1000's of web sites, scrolls are considered annoying by most visitors to a site. .

it's a question of prompted vs. unprompted awareness, i.e. asking people directly about the scrolls. I would argue if you ask people about 5 things they're bothered about surfing the net, scrolls won't make it there...

goky · 18 Feb 2008, 03:54 PM

Any idea when (or if) this is going to change?

Thanks

goofy · 11 Mar 2008, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goky

Any idea when (or if) this is going to change?

Thanks

After some months, wondering about the outcome of campaign

Still, myself feeling absolutley annoyed.

mdembski · 12 Mar 2008, 03:30 AM

If the scrolling was on the web page with the email, I would say it has to go. For the short time I am on the logon page, I don't even notice it anymore.

robegusn · 12 Mar 2008, 04:03 AM

Absolutely ridiculous

I can’t believe that this thread has gone on for months. This is irrelevant and pointless.

Every business needs to advertise, the scrolling text is small and barely noticeable and the average person would need to look twice to actually notice it.

Give it a rest and allow Geir and his crew the time and space to work on other issues.

Like most of the people on this forum I have complaints and concerns about Runbox, but in terms of value, it works for me. I would like to see a new and improved IMAP server, a more modern AJAX based web interface would be nice and speed, or lack of speed, is an issue. These are worth posting and discussing. Problems are worth positing and discussing. Needless whining wastes resources that could be used elsewhere?

Robert

1 Jan 2008, 11:01 PM	#33
Ascanius Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 51	Testimonials... sigh Hi Geir and others, I think one issue is lacking from the discussion (or i've overseen it...): Does the use of "testimonials" do anything good in relation to make potential new customers gain trust in a product? My personal view on this: Quotes from "satisfied customers" can be pure manipulation, by bringing them out of their context. Seen countless examples of this; advertising new movies with "positive" quotes from consistently bad movie reviews is a common example. If I was to consider becoming a Runbox user, the "testimonial" advertising would definitly reduce my trust in the product. But I'm danish - I know marketing in e.g. US works very differently

18 Feb 2008, 03:54 PM	#42
goky Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 58	Time line? Any idea when (or if) this is going to change? Thanks

12 Mar 2008, 04:03 AM	#45
robegusn Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 21	Absolutely ridiculous Absolutely ridiculous I can’t believe that this thread has gone on for months. This is irrelevant and pointless. Every business needs to advertise, the scrolling text is small and barely noticeable and the average person would need to look twice to actually notice it. Give it a rest and allow Geir and his crew the time and space to work on other issues. Like most of the people on this forum I have complaints and concerns about Runbox, but in terms of value, it works for me. I would like to see a new and improved IMAP server, a more modern AJAX based web interface would be nice and speed, or lack of speed, is an issue. These are worth posting and discussing. Problems are worth positing and discussing. Needless whining wastes resources that could be used elsewhere? Robert

4 Jan 2008, 02:03 AM	#37
carverrn Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5,606 Representative of: Runbox.com	Personally I'm usually indifferent to testimonials on a service's site. Although I will look over them. Some times a detailed testimonial that sounds like what I'm looking for will get me more excited about investigating the service. I usually prefer to look at the support forums to see what kind of problems people are reporting with the service and how customer support handles the problems. Regards, Rich

4 Jan 2008, 09:48 AM	#38
hajonez Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 727	Like many here, I'm unsure about the effectiveness of the scrolling "ticker" testimonials recently added to the Runbox front page. I do, however, believe that testimonials themselves can be persuasive so long as they are short and well presented. Testimonials themselves don't sell products but I think they play a role in helping convince potential customers who are considering buying. I would be in favour of a static "Testimonials" box on the front page. Perhaps this box could be randomly "populated" with a different testimonial quote or two every time a user refreshes/loads the page. This would provide potential purchasers with another reason to buy but would not be as distracting as the current scrolling testimonials. I also think such a static box would be more obvious. What do others think of this idea? Edit: Having just revisited the front page, I think there could be two static testimonial boxes: one could be placed under the "Take a tour" box; the other could be in a complementary position under the "Support" box. - Henry

12 Mar 2008, 03:30 AM	#44
mdembski Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 65	If the scrolling was on the web page with the email, I would say it has to go. For the short time I am on the logon page, I don't even notice it anymore.