I get really nervous when I don't know where my order is. Especially if it's a long-term order as a custom item. Many big shops expose order tracking on their sites, though, but not everyone, especially not the small, custom workshops.
Sharing that information really eases a lot of nervousness and avoids lots of calls/messages like, "What's the current status of my order?" If you see it's cut, being assembled, or ready for pickup, it's easier to wait.
I saw Rory Sutherland say that showing where the taxi is on a map reduces anxiety while waiting, and that showing the time on a subway does the same. Extra information gives you an illusion of control.
I think the tracking link for long-term orders is a very useful service. It reduces clients' anxiety and may even make them more forgiving of delays.
With this idea in mind, I decided to create a service, CraftWay, that lets SMBs create and share order-tracking links without hassle. The service must integrate with their tools to create links, update statuses, and update order details.
I understand that SMBs don't have time to integrate different services, or even heavy-duty CRMs, and often use a simple spreadsheet to track orders. That's why my main goal was to make the setup as smooth as possible. Ideally, set it up in 5 minutes and keep working in your spreadsheet. For clients, the key things are an order's current status and an estimated completion date. For owners, the key things are ease of integration and use.
After jumping through hoops for Google and Microsoft, I built a one-click integration for Excel and Google Sheets; along the way, I added Trello integration.
The service is live at CraftWay — live tracking links from your order spreadsheet
The client view looks like this.
So now the hard part for my technical brain: I need to find clients for my service. Any feedback on the idea or execution is more than welcome.
I'll keep you posted on my progress.
P.s. I wanted to start this thread to track my progress each week, but got so excited building the service that I forgot to write the initial post.
Sharing that information really eases a lot of nervousness and avoids lots of calls/messages like, "What's the current status of my order?" If you see it's cut, being assembled, or ready for pickup, it's easier to wait.
I saw Rory Sutherland say that showing where the taxi is on a map reduces anxiety while waiting, and that showing the time on a subway does the same. Extra information gives you an illusion of control.
I think the tracking link for long-term orders is a very useful service. It reduces clients' anxiety and may even make them more forgiving of delays.
With this idea in mind, I decided to create a service, CraftWay, that lets SMBs create and share order-tracking links without hassle. The service must integrate with their tools to create links, update statuses, and update order details.
I understand that SMBs don't have time to integrate different services, or even heavy-duty CRMs, and often use a simple spreadsheet to track orders. That's why my main goal was to make the setup as smooth as possible. Ideally, set it up in 5 minutes and keep working in your spreadsheet. For clients, the key things are an order's current status and an estimated completion date. For owners, the key things are ease of integration and use.
After jumping through hoops for Google and Microsoft, I built a one-click integration for Excel and Google Sheets; along the way, I added Trello integration.
The service is live at CraftWay — live tracking links from your order spreadsheet
The client view looks like this.
So now the hard part for my technical brain: I need to find clients for my service. Any feedback on the idea or execution is more than welcome.
I'll keep you posted on my progress.
P.s. I wanted to start this thread to track my progress each week, but got so excited building the service that I forgot to write the initial post.
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