HelloPeter improves on redesigned site
Peter Cheales, website owner of HelloPeter.com, said that the website needed a cleaner, sharper and more professional design.
The new colors and design were purposefully chosen to ‘psychologically temper’ the site to induce more professional and gentle responses from customers.
Cheales pointed out that the new design has already reaped rewards with an increase in positive responses and favourable feedback from both companies and consumers.
The initial response to the new design after its launch in the middle of January was overwhelmingly negative with over 80% of pollsters saying they hated it.
Cheales said that they listened to the gripes from consumers, which were focused around legibility and color, and improved on these facets of the site. The situation subsequently changed with around 37% saying that they now love the site.
The majority of visitors remain negative towards the new design, but Cheales is confident that it will change over time.
Pay to respond
HelloPeter has also endured criticism over its revenue model where companies are charged before they can respond to customers who complain. This issue raised tempers when Telkom jumped from the top spot of ‘companies who don’t respond’ with the most complaints to the top spot for compliments about ‘companies who respond’.
Cheales confirmed that companies are required to pay a yearly subscription fee before they can respond, but said that these fees are typically only tens or hundreds of Rands per month. He said that a company was prevented from responding because of monetary restraints.
Apart from the service of receiving great market research and the ability to respond directly to consumers, HelloPeter can serve as a Public Relations vehicle for companies, which Cheales stated is a great investment for businesses.
Cheales said that this model provides a way for HelloPeter to survive and encourage open communication between companies and consumers.
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