With yet another major product announcement – iSeekplant are back at it again. Not too long ago, the company went live with their Endorsements system, which solves the hassle of finding good operators on the web.
The platform lets quality plant hire businesses be acknowledged for their solid efforts. When a contractor is pleased with the work a plant hire company has performed, contractors are then able to endorse them on the Endorsements system – showing other iSeekplant users that they are quality suppliers.
A key complaint iSeekplant hears about the online plant hire model is that it can be challenging to work out who’s able to take on a complex contract in mining or civil works. In mining and construction, there’s not much wiggle room for error and the efficiency of machines and operators alike is crucial for profitability. It’s pointless to waste time and money on bad operators with aged or unmaintained gear.
There are a lot of grey areas in plant hire, and the ability to perform an earthworks or plant and equipment hire contract includes many different aspects. This is why iSeekplant endorsements are only positive. The system isn’t for ratings or reviews. Endorsements create a way for iSeekplant users to endorse good work and recommend contractors, anonymously (but with various filters applied to make sure endorsements are legitimate), to others in the industry.
The decision to keep things positive was an easy one for the CEO of iSeekplant, Sally McPherson, who commented on the issue:
“Negative reviews are far more common than positive ones on most online review platforms, such as Yelp. That is the inherent flaw in online ratings systems – the attitudes expressed are highly polarised and people are more inclined to unload when they are unhappy. People are really angry, or really happy; rarely in between. We don’t believe it’s possible to create an unbiased and fair ratings system in our industry, given all the factors associated with contract performance. The best execution of this concept is to only allow people to gain recommendations from previous clients. The more endorsements each of our customers have for their work, the more the user can trust them with their job. We’ll also take steps in the near future to prioritise endorsed companies in our search results.”
Since its launch a couple of weeks ago, iSeekplant’s Endorsement feature has seen considerable usage. Plant hire company managers and marketers can see the value in word of mouth – it’s how they get half their work. Endorsements have become an easy way of showing that someone’s trust in you was validated.
The second half of 2016 has been a busy time for iSeekplant – who have sang from their lungs a string of exciting announcements recently. The brand new Apple and iPhone app launched in August. The Real Short Film Series also released about the same time, and has received well over ½ a million views. Their online Customer Portal was also completely overhauled, allowing plant hire companies huge amounts of data and options to attract more work.
To find out more about iSeekplant’s Endorsement feature – click here.