@jasonhobbsllc We really appreciate your continued support of our products and we are grateful for your feedback. (1/2) -M
— Rainmaker Digital (@RainmakerHQ) April 28, 2017
@jasonhobbsllc We’re happy to hear from you further if you’d like to send us an email at [email protected] (2/2) -M
— Rainmaker Digital (@RainmakerHQ) April 28, 2017
My Further Feedback Follows
Open communication.
This is my core concern with Rainmaker Digital’s strategy for Rainmaker Platform.
The turn to secretive started shortly following the launch of the first publicly accessible version of Rainmaker Platform.
I know.
Because I was there and paying attention as an outsider (of the company as I was a customer/affiliate/value-added reseller) of Rainmaker Digital, aka the team behind Rainmaker Platform.
There is a palpable lack of inclusion within the Rainmaker Platform strategy.
Feedback is “appreciated” but seems to be rarely used for anything more than proving or disproving already completed strategic planning.
I say this because I have seen repeated requests for Zapier integration.
For simplified tagging.
For an update to the landing page builder.
For more designs other than the six designs included when the landing page builder was initially added to the platform.
For an update to the LMS system.
For an update to the Marketing Automation triggers and actions.
For an eCommerce solution.
For a customer relationship management component.
The company focus seems, in hindsight, to have shifted to StudioPress Sites sometime last year.
With nothing mentioned about the strategic shift until after StudioPress Sites had launched and subsequently been followed by multiple monthly release dates producing internal system improvements, boisterously promoted “moral victories,” and little else.
There has been no public conversation concerning the road map for Rainmaker Platform.
I understand the proven genius in not following “conventional wisdom” but this is another matter entirely.
What we have here is a failure to communicate.
With an invested part of the team. The users of Rainmaker Platform.
This failure to communicate is especially hurtful to users because it’s coming from a company long KNOWN for superior communication.
And the failure to communicate flows from a team littered with amazing communicators.
Disconcerting.
And this comes from one of your biggest fans.
My suggestion/request?
Open communication.
Wide TF open lines of communication between Rainmaker Platform and all it’s stakeholders.
When you launched Rainmaker Platform you spoke in soaring terms of changing the world, one person at a time.
Now you seem to be most concerned with the platform not sucking too terribly.
I believe that to be a fair assertion based not upon your marketing materials but your observed actions over the life of Rainmaker Platform.
I really hope you decide to commit to open communication between Rainmaker Platform and it’s stakeholders but I’m not comfortable holding my breath while waiting.
To be clear
My reservations are NOT with the people behind the product personally.
They are with the decision to not communicate regularly and, most importantly, openly with the Rainmaker Platform stakeholders.
This is easily remedied however.
And, I believe, offers a strategic advantage for Rainmaker Platform going forward.
Good article. I am on the platform, and I understand the frustration when you look at how much we are paying a month. I just remind myself that there are not many comparative solutions on the market. Also, I am reminded that building a solution similar to Rainmaker is HARD which is why only a few have done it. (i.e., Hubspot, Infusionsoft, etc.)
I am have decided to be patient.
Thanks for stopping by and for commenting Lawrence.
I like your style, patience is a virtue.
But I believe I’m being patient.
This endeavor ain’t easy, I’ll grant you that, but its not an impossible mission either.
The point of my post was that communication is a decision.
And not communicating, not making their users an active part of an open roadmapping process was a bad decision imo.
Jason, I’m still waiting for my copy of Premise to get updated as promised. 🙁
Join the club my man. I bought lifetime Premise waaaay back too. Thanks for stopping by. It’s always great to hear from you, Mr. Warren!