As we build our roadmap for 2020, our primary focus continues to be getting you more qualified leads and increasing your success in getting booked. Additionally, we want to improve the overall quality of life on GigSalad.
In this product update:
- Member surveys
- Calendar standalone page
- Marking gigs as booked to get verified reviews
- Design tests
- Get to know Megan
Take our surveys!
You may have seen some of these popping up in your control panel over the last few months. Surveys have been a very helpful tool for us as we try to validate and prioritize product ideas.
Member surveys
In the last couple of months, we’ve conducted several surveys. Here are some highlights of what we learned:
- Travel preferences: A majority of members surveyed would like to see both travel time and mileage shown on their leads.
- Quoting preferences: Most members surveyed would like to send multiple pricing options to clients. Almost 75% said they’d like to be notified by email when the client first views their quote.
- Public pricing: The responses were split when it came to whether or not our members would be willing to display an estimated price to clients based on their event details. But more than 65% said they’d be willing to show a minimum starting price to potential clients.
- Product updates: Over 75% of those surveyed expressed some degree of interest in being notified about product updates (you’re probably one of them if you’re reading this!) and 72% prefer those updates be sent via email.
Keep in mind that even if a survey comes out in favor of a specific feature, it does not mean we’ll add it. With limited time and manpower, we can only do so much. But your feedback is extremely helpful and always taken into consideration, whether it’s in a survey, interview, email, or phone call.
If you didn’t get to answer one or all of those surveys and have comments to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. And keep your eye out for more surveys in the future!
Event planner surveys
We also surveyed event planners about their checkout habits and payment preferences. In the first survey, we learned that most prefer to pay by credit/debit card, or have no preference at all. Only a small percentage selected PayPal or eCheck as desirable. We also asked about paying upfront, and over a third said that having to do so did not affect their decision to book, while about 30% said they’d be significantly more likely to book if they could pay just half upfront.
We then ran a second survey to learn more about those pay-later preferences. We discovered that most of those surveyed say that they’d be more likely to book if they could pay the balance later. Over half said they’d be significantly more likely to book if they could pay in monthly installments.
It comes as no surprise that users like having options and flexibility. This can sometimes conflict with our desire for streamlining complicated processes. But it’s a problem we want to solve, so we will continue researching ways to better meet our event planners’ payment needs.
The calendar stands alone!
You may have noticed this already, but the calendar now has its own section in the control panel. It was previously “hidden” within the Edit PromoKit settings, but now you’ll have easy access to it from the main menu.
In the new Calendar section you will find separate pages for managing your calendar options as well as your connections to external calendars.
Get your reviews verified
When you book through the site, any resulting review is automatically verified. But what about the clients that found you on GigSalad and booked you off the site? If they leave you a review, it won’t be verified unless you mark the lead as booked and pay the appropriate service fee.
Previously, reviews were only marked as verified if they were created after the gig was marked as booked. But we just improved that process! Now, even if the client has already left you a review when you mark that gig as booked, it will automatically become a verified review.
Take a few minutes to look through your reviews. If you have any that are labeled as unverified that you know came from a lead on GigSalad, find that lead in your Inbox and mark it as booked. Verified reviews carry a higher weight in your overall rating and often look better to potential clients.
Putting design to the test
A user’s actions can be influenced by the slightest changes. It could be word choice, button placement, color, layout, or something else that’s seemingly minuscule. We are constantly testing various design elements to see where we can increase engagement to get our members more work.
When we make design changes, even small ones, we determine the effectiveness through A/B testing. This means some users see the existing design (the “control”) and others see a variation. Then, we compare to see which had a more positive effect on user activity. Recently, we’ve been playing around with how profiles appear in search results.
Review rating
Last month we ran a test with a couple of variations on how the star rating is displayed in search results and on profiles. The test was to see if showing a specific rating number (e.g. showing 4.96 instead of just five stars) changed user behavior. We got this idea from feedback received directly from event planners who wanted a better way to differentiate between vendors. It’s also common practice across most large sites to show actual review ratings. Our test results supported this so we are now showing five stars along with a precise rating number beside them.
Listings in search results
Search results are the most visited pages of our site. So how we display profile listings there is something we’re always working to improve. Last month we began testing a new design for these. First, we tried a horizontal layout on desktop browsers. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that it resulted in a significant drop in gig leads, so we adjusted back to a vertical layout, but still with an updated design. This test is ongoing and we’ll hopefully have results soon!
Meet Megan!
If you’ve called into GigSalad at some point or even attended a conference and popped by a GigSalad booth, you may have already had the pleasure of meeting Megan. Megan is a senior team member and the head of Customer Happiness. She’s an amazing leader and an even more amazing person. Now’s your chance to get to know her a little better!
Name: Megan Price
Title: Director of Customer Experience
Years at GigSalad: 7
Favorite vacation spot: I’ve been to a lot of places, but so far, my favorite has been Yosemite National Park.
Song you sing on Karaoke night: Once I finally work up the nerve, I usually choose “Gunpowder and Lead” by Miranda Lambert.
Last thing you binged on Netflix: Besides rewatching “The Office” for the 32nd time, I last binge-watched “You” and am anxiously awaiting Season 3.
If you could choose a GigSalad category as your profession, what would you choose and why?
I would love to be a mermaid! Like most little girls, I loved “The Little Mermaid” and it’s so cool to see that people can make a living doing that. Some of the costumes are so authentic and beautiful, too. I think it would be a blast to bring a little bit of fairy-tale fantasy to real life!
What do you wish our users knew about GigSalad?
I wish that our members knew that most clients don’t mind the service fee. I know it seems as if a fee would deter bookings, but our data has shown that it doesn’t. Members can guarantee their payments, simplify the booking process, and provide their clients a more secure payment experience by keeping bookings on GigSalad. If clients are led astray it causes confusion and takes away their sense of security. In short, try sending a quote! You might be surprised at how many clients are ready and willing to book on the site.
Heather is the Content Manager and a GigSalad veteran of 15+ years. She loves helping event planners create unforgettable celebrations and talent make a living doing what they love. When not at work, she enjoys reading romance and fantasy books, bingeing TV shows, playing board games, and spending time with friends.
Being notified when a quote is reviewed is a great feature to add.
Giving the clients the option to pay a deposit and then pay in installments or the balance maybe 30 days before the event would encourage more clients to book through gigsalad. Many have told me that one item keeps them from following up through Gigsalad.
Please send me a survey.
My biggest complaint is I receive a few requests from customers that want singers or entertainers. I am a living historian and only a Professional Abraham Lincoln Presenter. If they want a Civil War period person or a president I’m willing to travel and honor their request. Other than that, I don’t want to waste my time or theirs.
Also, I’d like to know when the party who requested someone viewed my comments or quotes. If my quote is too, I’d like to know why or be able to negotiate a new quote. Finally, I like to talk to a live person. The human touch goes miles but text/typing doesn’t. I am not a robot! 734.680.3708
Hi Ron, thank you for the feedback! Please call our Customer Happiness Team at 417-889-9909 if you’d like to speak to a person. Thank you!
I LOVE using GigSalad to find clients! These updates sound pretty awesome. I would like to see more attention paid to the payment process. As described in the update, people would like to pay 50% upfront and the rest later, but currently GS only allows a 100% payment. This puts stress on our business because the client finds us through GigSalad and wants to book with a deposit, so they reach out to us and ask if we can do business outside of GigSalad. One time I did that, then went back to GigSalad and marked it as “booked” only to see that it costs $10.00 to do that, which is more than what I would have paid GigSalad if the gig stayed in-system. I am 100% in favor of paying for the GigSalad service, I just want it to be clear and convenient for me and my client.
Greetings from Stone County…
Sure appreciate reading & considering your recent survey results. I noticed that you DID address some of my own personal concerns, so that makes for a “happier GigSalad camper”! Now I’ll go & figure out how to implement & tweak some of the new stuff you’ve presented to us, your artists.
Also, we DO hope to drop in sometime & personally meet the GigSalad staff. In the meantime, keep up the great work!
MEMBERSHIP IS TOO MUCH I CANT AFFORD
Nicely done 👍
In the past six months, we’ve sent out 17 quotes, and all have been for less than our normal booking fee. We received a reply from only one of them telling us we probably weren’t a good fit for his child’s birthday party. We have yet to book a job through Gig Salad. It’s a wonderful concept, but it seems to be for folks looking for cheap entertainment. Just my opinion based on experience so far.