business suggestion please

[gentech5]

hi there,

I need some suggestions about a new business idea. I am currently developing several widgets for windows 2000, XP and vista.

These products are desktop enhancement software that include social media widgets ( facebook, myspace, etc), a vista style sidebar, clocks, calendars, and stuff like that. It's meant to be functional and also look good on the desktop.

I was thinking about selling these as branded software to businesses. Businesses will have their name, logo and weblink on it, and can distribute them to their customers royalty free.

I plan to charge a small fee, like 20-30 pounds to businesses for this service.

The users, specially those using windows 2000 and xp, will have vista style widgets for free. And the companies will have their brand displayed right on their client's desktop.

However I have done some preliminary research, and this business model doesn't seem very widespread. Would you guys with businesses actually use such a service?

And if I am missing the plot, please provide your suggestions.

thanks..

 

[Curtis]

I think its a good idea, and could work well. Personally, I would charge more than £20-£30 per widget, as the exposure is potentially huge for businesses. (e.g) You sell 10 different widgets to a company for £300. They can use them on millions of PCs/Macs all over the world; and if they bought ten, they are unlikely to use you again in the near future.

But I think if its a clock, then surely it will have to do something more than the current clocks available. I don't have vista but I know whatthese widgets are you are talking about. So maybe have a clock, that is a stopwatch, timer, has different timezones, editable skins...etc?

Hope this helps

 

[.Charlie]

The idea is a great one, but as Key Marketing said, you would need to add something to make it more interesting.
If they just wanted a nice clock, there are hundreds readily available from a quick search on google/bing.

Possibly add:
Stopwatch
Small calculator - OR, a calculator button that makes a small calculator pop up for easy use
News feed - Have a small RSS feed from news.bbc.co.uk, or any kind of news site. The real vista toolbar has this option, and I think its very useful.
Latest emails - Im not that experienced with emails. I have only recently moved from my old web-based one to a outlook based, server one. I think it is possible to have this, and then you could pitch it as some kind of "work tool" that not only is a clock, but an email checker, a news feed ETC.

 

[RobAtPressDispensary]

Personally, I think clocks and calendars etc. have been done to death and I believe that a number of those who design the free ones also offer branded versions to companies.

It's worth thinking about the end user. Suppose I ordered a clock from you with my company logo on and sent it out to my clients. How many would use it? Is it like the obligatory mouse mat, pen, coffee cup, USB stick ...? Would my takers would be very limited because they know they can also get a clock or calendar for free, without the advertising?

Widgets that are relevant to my business (i.e. the businesses of anyone you sell to) might be more attractive, though, if they somehow enhance the customer's experience of my business. If my customers can see the point of the widget, maybe I'd get a better take-up? Can you create social media widgets which achieve this? If so, I miught be one of your first customers

HTH

Rob

 

[gentech5]

thanks for all your suggestions.

Firstly, the widgets are all part of the sidebar, which include a clock, calendar, and social media feeds (facebook and myspace). I am also working on a radio/mp3 player which streams music from the net (legally).

And as Key Marketing and .Charlie suggested, each widget do have their somewhat basic functionalities. E.g the clock has an alarm and countdown timer. The calendar has a todo list and planner which synchronizes with Outlook.

The Social media feeds gives updates for facebook and myspace accounts( new mail, posts etc). I can create others, if only I get an idea of what to do.

And Rob, I agree there are many similar products on the market, that’s why I plan to offer for cheap (£20-30). That’s for the whole package, sidebar and all the widgets included.

One reason why I am keeping the functionalities basic, is because I want my software to be fast and use very little recourses. The more complex it will be, the more memory it will consume.

Also I went through a lot of pain to give it a vista-style appearance (translucent background, glass effect). I am guessing the visual element alone is appealing enough especially to those still using xp.