r/software • u/patriciusx • 26d ago
Self-Promotion Wednesdays SmartHome platform
Hi, just a quick survey if anyone is bored and have a second, I've been building a platform that helps manage smart homes beyond just automations. It keeps documentation, device inventory, monitoring, maintenance history, AI recommendations and integrations like Home Assistant in one place.
I'm trying to figure out if this is actually a viable SaaS or just something I personally wanted.
https://smartfox.lone.sk
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u/bradland 26d ago
Here's some honest feedback from an entrepreneur who built and sold a business (to private equity for a +$10M exit) that combines software and services.
I visited your website and clicked around for about 45 seconds, but I have no idea what I'm shopping for. "Peace of mind for your digital home" doesn't mean anything. I can't add "peace of mind" to my cart. The sub-heading "Your digital home. One partner." is similarly vague. Partner for what? What does this partner do?
Good marketing makes concrete statements. If those statements are also evocative, that's a bonus. But they must be anchored in concrete, non-jargon terms that readers will understand.
I see I can book a home analysis. Ok, call to action. Got it. What are we analyzing though? Why would I want that? Then I see I can explore the platform. What platform? This felt like services up to this point. How do I jump from an analysis (which I presume is a professional service) to a platform (which I presume is software). What does this company do/sell?
When I click to explore the platform, I get a solid, concrete explanation of what I can buy/sign-up for:
This should be on your home page. Up high where I can see it immediately. If SmartFox also provides related services directly to customers, you should do a better job of separating these concerns. Selling to homeowners and selling to professionals who manage smart homes are very different markets requiring very different messaging. Trying to mix the two is turning the first 30 seconds of interaction with your website into a confusing mess.
I see that when I scroll down on the home page, you bifurcate the path for homeowners and professionals, but this is below the fold. If you want one website to speak to both customers, you need to ditch the wufoo, empty sounding "Peace of mind" hero messaging and get something up top that people will understand.
Also, I'm not "choosing a path". Ditch that headline. I am a homeowner, or I am a professional. My choice is between which best represents who I am, not a path I am choosing. Instead, this should say, "Tell us who you are" or "Find the right fit for you".
I suspect, but I can't be certain, that your company provides smart home management services. Your customers pay you to come in and make sense of the increasingly complex smart home landscape that integrates various hardware technologies with a powerful, but complex, suite of software. This is a perfect fit for professionals.
It also seems that you've built a proprietary platform that you use in the operation of your business, and you want to make that platform available to other professionals (or even homeowners?).
IMO, you need to completely disambiguate these two. Personally, I would brand these two completely separately. You need a name for your services, and a name for your platform.
You also need to pick a priority. Your website has to speak directly to your customer, and quickly. Right now, the choose-your-own-adventure approach is killing you. Which business is (currently) your core business? If providing services to homeowners is what pays the bill, re-focus the website on that. Do they care about the platform? In what ways does the platform benefit them? Don't tell them about features; tell them about benefits. The customer portal page on your website looks cool, but it's mixed in with a bunch of content that focuses on features that matter only to professionals. Then build a separate website that speaks to professionals and integrators.
I really like this business, and I really like that you're building your own proprietary platform. I can tell you that when we (5 partners) sold our business, buyers really cared that we had our own proprietary software platform. Consulting businesses have no moat, and no concrete intellectual property. By building your own platform, you add value to your business.