New product selection system

Thomas JackermeierThomas Jackermeier Member
edited April 2014 in Blog
Since last week we are running a new system to simplify product selection.

On the main page we are trying to divide into three type of customers:

Go EASY: You will be see all available bundles for your region
Go ADVANCED: This link sends you directly to our reworked configurator
Go PROFESSIONAL: If you know what you want, you get a direct link to all our main products

We also have a new product menu in the top menu but not on this Community page for now. It will give you a quick overview about all our products with pictures, pricing and compatibility.

And finally we have revised the product pages and are now listing all bundles where the product is included along with the new "Configure" button.

What do you think of it and what further improvements would you like to see?


Comments

  • Maurice BöschenMaurice Böschen Member
    I really like the new system. It looks a lot more professional, more structured and easy to read for the customer. One thing I would add to the new product menu in the top menu is availibility. Some products like the CSP v2 and the CSS are only available for pre-order actually, I think a hint to that availibility would be good for customer. I think there is some space to get that hint in place, dont know if it is possible to code that...

    Really looking forward to see some new products in the shop soon :)
  • LARRY RAYLARRY RAY Member
    new website looks great and works much better as I easily bought my new Clubsport base and wheels easily with it. Like Maurice said I would add the availabilty of the product. When I configured the Clubsport wheel base I added the extra rims, but I was compelled to click on each rim to see if it showed in stock as well. So would be nice if it said next to each product in the configuration section if it was in stock without opening each one up. Great work. Love the new blog!
  • Chris BrosharChris Broshar Member
    I like it a lot. I think it makes it easier on the customer. Especially someone new.
  • Kyle StewartKyle Stewart Member
    edited April 2014
    I like the new layout, well done.  I have some comments but they aren't specifically about the design, but maybe just some "bugs".

    Does the "discontinued products" page show anything for anyone?  It is empty for me and, being that I own a CSR Elite, I was expecting to see my wheel listed on that page.  It seems relevant since the rim is still being sold.

    The shifter table mount is not listed on the "mounts" sub-menu.

    The site is not very friendly to IE Explorer touch browsing (as on a Microsoft Surface RT).  In fact you cannot even get based the country selection screen without unfolding the keyboard and using the trackpad.  This isn't exclusive to your site by any means, and you may find that such users are few enough to not warrant pursuing a fix, but I'm pointing it out anyway. :)

    I like the compatibility check marks for 'Windows PC', 'Xbox 360', and 'Playstation3'.  Would it be worth adding Xbox One and PS4 yet?  New folks may not be in-the-know yet.

    On a tangent...

    I very much wish there was a "parts" section where I could directly purchase motors, belts, bolts, and other tools (like what was included with my merchandise).  Given that I currently own a model that has been discontinued, is out of warranty, and that cost me quite a bit of money, I'd feel extremely confident and reassured if I knew that replacement parts were just a few clicks away.

    I am personally attached to my wheel at this point, and I'd be very sad at the idea of having to send it in for a replacement because something went wrong.  This idea actually makes me nervous sometimes when I use the wheel.  I believe in its quality but every moving piece has a lifespan, right?  It really is only a matter of time.

    I also believe that you could lessen the load on your support team this way, as I would skip the process of submitting a ticket and would instead be paying you for new parts.  Some folks are already resorting to ebay, buying broken Fanatec wheels just for their parts.  This is done blindly and usually costs people around $100+.  This is money they could be giving to you instead.

    Sorry for all the typing.  I like that you asked us for feedback so I took advantage of the opportunity. :)  Keep up the good work.



  • Chris BrosharChris Broshar Member
    edited April 2014
    I like the new layout, well done.  I have some comments but they aren't specifically about the design, but maybe just some "bugs".

    Does the "discontinued products" page show anything for anyone?



    It doesn't show me anything either. I believe it's a glitch in the system as it used to work fine. I'm sure they are working on it. With all this new stuff things are bound to fall between the cracks. I believe this is where you go to get FW updates, templates etc. so I'm sure they are working on it.
  • steven loxtonsteven loxton Member


    On a tangent...

    I very much wish there was a "parts" section where I could directly purchase motors, belts, bolts, and other tools (like what was included with my merchandise).  Given that I currently own a model that has been discontinued, is out of warranty, and that cost me quite a bit of money, I'd feel extremely confident and reassured if I knew that replacement parts were just a few clicks away.

    I am personally attached to my wheel at this point, and I'd be very sad at the idea of having to send it in for a replacement because something went wrong.  This idea actually makes me nervous sometimes when I use the wheel.  I believe in its quality but every moving piece has a lifespan, right?  It really is only a matter of time.

    I also believe that you could lessen the load on your support team this way, as I would skip the process of submitting a ticket and would instead be paying you for new parts.  Some folks are already resorting to ebay, buying broken Fanatec wheels just for their parts.  This is done blindly and usually costs people around $100+.  This is money they could be giving to you instead.

    Sorry for all the typing.  I like that you asked us for feedback so I took advantage of the opportunity. :)  Keep up the good work.



    i agree 100% with this, i also have a csr elite and recently tried to buy an encoder from Fanatec, but i was told they dont have them wich i know is false. would be awesome if they had a spare parts section
  • Kyle StewartKyle Stewart Member
    Also noticed that having the CS Base and CS Rims being accessories to each other makes the configurator a little confusing.

    You choose the base, see the rims pop up as accessories, then choose one of those "accessory" rims.
    Next, you see a dropdown to select a rim.  Wait, didn't I...just...do that?
    If you do choose a rim in the dropdown, the base then pops up as an accessory for that rim.
  • Chris BrosharChris Broshar Member
    Also noticed that having the CS Base and CS Rims being accessories to each other makes the configurator a little confusing.

    You choose the base, see the rims pop up as accessories, then choose one of those "accessory" rims.
    Next, you see a dropdown to select a rim.  Wait, didn't I...just...do that?
    If you do choose a rim in the dropdown, the base then pops up as an accessory for that rim.

    I brought this to Thomas's attention this morning as I agree with you.

  • Bouhy Jean-FrançoisBouhy Jean-François Member
    Hey nice one, Thomas! This is an improvment!

    Any chance to have that bran new french part of the site in wich I was soo deep involved a year ago? :P
  • Mark MedeirosMark Medeiros Member
    On a tangent...

    I very much wish there was a "parts" section where I could directly purchase motors, belts, bolts, and other tools (like what was included with my merchandise).  Given that I currently own a model that has been discontinued, is out of warranty, and that cost me quite a bit of money, I'd feel extremely confident and reassured if I knew that replacement parts were just a few clicks away.

    I am personally attached to my wheel at this point, and I'd be very sad at the idea of having to send it in for a replacement because something went wrong.  This idea actually makes me nervous sometimes when I use the wheel.  I believe in its quality but every moving piece has a lifespan, right?  It really is only a matter of time.

    I also believe that you could lessen the load on your support team this way, as I would skip the process of submitting a ticket and would instead be paying you for new parts.  Some folks are already resorting to ebay, buying broken Fanatec wheels just for their parts.  This is done blindly and usually costs people around $100+.  This is money they could be giving to you instead.

    Sorry for all the typing.  I like that you asked us for feedback so I took advantage of the opportunity. :)  Keep up the good work.



    Great post on the "parts section" Kyle.  This is badly needed ASAP for CSW and CSRE owners.  These are very expensive products and it is not right that we cannot buy replacement parts when they fail.  They are not disposable items that we can just toss.  Motor's are the main issue that I believe needs to be addressed right away.  Belts and bolts can be found elsewhere, but these motor's are proprietary and you cannot get them elsewhere. 

    Thomas, please address this issue.  Many of your customers are saying the same thing.  I think a response is warranted. 

    Thank you, 

  • Calum BensonCalum Benson Member
    edited April 2014
    As somebody who's been designing and testing user interfaces for over 20 years, a word of caution: I've never seen an Easy/Intermediate/Advanced selector work well in practice. The expertise levels of people using any website or application will typically follow a bell curve distribution, so the vast majority of your users will be intermediates. Even the few who are not, will typically self-identify as intermediate or advanced anyway, partly because people don't generally like to think of themselves as being "stupid", and partly because they don't want to risk missing out on any features that might be available to "more advanced" users. UX guru Alan Cooper calls this problem "designing for perpetual intermediates" in his books; Jeff Atwood wrote a good followup article on this topic too.

    Progressive disclosure is typically the best way to deal with differing user expertise levels: everyone sees the same UI, but the more advanced features are only revealed as and when a user asks for them. This way, a user doesn't know or care when they've progressed from being a beginner to intermediate, or intermediate to advanced. Nor do they have to guess which level they are every time they visit your site. They just get the experience they need and no more, every time.
  • Chris BrosharChris Broshar Member
    I like the new layout, well done.  I have some comments but they aren't specifically about the design, but maybe just some "bugs".

    Does the "discontinued products" page show anything for anyone?



    It doesn't show me anything either. I believe it's a glitch in the system as it used to work fine. I'm sure they are working on it. With all this new stuff things are bound to fall between the cracks. I believe this is where you go to get FW updates, templates etc. so I'm sure they are working on it.



    I figured it out. Go to downloads at the top of the page. Click on it. Then look under discontinued products. Should find all the info you need.
  • Robert IrvinRobert Irvin Member
    I agree 100% with Kyle Stewart & others about having parts available for sale. I have the Porsche Turbo-S wheel. So it has a lot of usage over the last 3 or 4 years. I have had to ship out the wheel twice to Steve in Arizona for a new wheel pc board and then for a new base. Thankfully the service has been excellent & to my surprise, no cost to me beyond shipping cost. So A+ to your company for that. But again, adding a "parts for sale" section would be great. Continued success to Fanatec.

    PS - it's a shame that Turn 10/MS changed from Fanatec being the official wheel of Forza 4 to absolutely snubbing Fanatec when XB1 & Forza 5 launched. The 2 wheels by TM & MC look very cheap and still have a +$300 price! I have not moved forward by buying the new items. I still use my Fanatec wheel with PS3/GT5 & 6 and XB360/Forza 4. I really appreciate the PS3 AND Xbox compatibility in one great performing wheel. Great product!!
  • Jan AlshuthJan Alshuth Member
    Great new Design.....
  • Kyle StewartKyle Stewart Member
    edited April 2014

    Apparently I don't know how to quote people on this. :)  Thank you, CHRIS, for finding the discontinued products.  Sigh.
  • LARRY RAYLARRY RAY Member
    new website looks great and works much better as I easily bought my new Clubsport base and wheels easily with it. Like Maurice said I would add the availabilty of the product. When I configured the Clubsport wheel base I added the extra rims, but I was compelled to click on each rim to see if it showed in stock as well. So would be nice if it said next to each product in the configuration section if it was in stock without opening each one up. Great work. Love the new blog!



    Also if you could ad at checkout the options for 1 day 2 day or standard shipping that would be great addition. Sometimes I don't mind paying for 2 day shipping when I have a race coming up and need my product or I'm just excited to get it.

    Thanks

  • Kris LemmonKris Lemmon Member
    Looks like there may be a problem selecting a state from the drop down when placing a order in the US.  I couldn't get it to work.
  • Chris BrosharChris Broshar Member
    Looks like there may be a problem selecting a state from the drop down when placing a order in the US.  I couldn't get it to work.


    Kris, I just went thru all 50 states and had no problems. What state or states are giving you problems?
  • Paul EdwardsPaul Edwards Member
    Can't start a new discussion so thought I'd post a comment here...
    Does anyone know anything about these guys
    http://controllermax.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142407
    They seem to have cracked the backwards compatibility with Xbone controllers, including Fanatec wheels, though not yet with force feedback.
    If they can do it, how about you guys, Fanatec?
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