Features vs. Solutions
When describing a piece of software to potential users, it is imperative that you speak in terms of “solutions” as opposed to features. All too often, software companies provide laundry lists of product features sprinkled throughout their marketing materials. People don’t buy features, they buy solutions.
I’m going to describe how Presio solves specific user problems thereby creating true value for its users.
One assumption I am making is that potential users have already decided that utilizing rich media web communications will benefit their business or organization. With that said, here are some of the problems I set out to solve with Presio:
1. User Problem: I’d like to create multimedia content for the web, but the process of creating and editing multimedia is too complex and/or time consuming
Presio’s Solution: Ease of use - The interface of Presio is very compact. There are only a handful of screens and functions, yet it is a very powerful program. I did not bloat the software with lots of configuration options, settings and menu options. In fact, the main interface does not even have a menu. I built the interface for users that simply want to record a rich media presentation for the web and don’t want to be fiddling around with timelines, markers, script commands, and trying to figure out how the software works.
Intuitive workflow – there are basically 2 simple workflows within Presio 1) Create New Presentation Wizard, 2) Edit Existing presentation. When creating a new presentation the user steps through 3 screens, where they 1-upload files, 2-capture audio/video, and 3-publish. In edit mode, there are only 2 screens; 1-Edit and 2-Publish.
Bottom-line: Presio is truly a rapid web presentation authoring tool.
2. User Problem: I have a wide variety of users I’d like to have view my presentations, but I’m not sure which format to provide
Presio’s Solution: Multi-format support – At the end of the day, a viewer just wants a presentation or video clip to just work. They want to hear and see what it is you are presenting, period. With all the different web media formats this has become a challenge. Most sites standardize on one format or another, be it Flash, Windows Media or Quicktime. Presio provides the ability to publish audio or video presentations in one or multiple formats. This allows you to start off with one format and move to others as you better understand your viewer’s needs. You are not locked in to a single format. Additionally, Presio also allows for publishing single file presentations (MOV, SWF, or WMV/WMA) OR embedded HTML presentations, allowing for even greater flexibility for your viewers.
3. User Problem: I’ve created some great content, now how to I distribute it to my viewers. I don’t have a web or streaming server OR trying to get my IT department to help me set this up would take forever.
Presio’s Solution: iPresent Online. Presio comes with a fully integrated content distribution system built right in. With a single click, presentations can be published to our Tier1 hosted service, iPresent Online. Presentations can be tracked and managed via an equally intuitive web interface. Each presentation is stored on our highly reliable network and is accessible via a simple URL. You can distribute this URL however you’d like, via a link in an email, posted to your company’s intranet or on your website.
There you have it. iPresent Presio and iPresent Online were designed to solve these 3 problems. These 3 issues were my guiding principles during development as I added “features” to come up with an end “solution”.
