To have a great idea, or a 'light-bulb moment' is one thing, but then to actually follow through and guide it to fruition is definitely another thing! The initial frustrating experience in investigating windmills that triggered the idea for this whole adventure then led to 6 long and intense months of nailing out the details and creating the actual website (not to mention a crash course in solar, geothermal, wind power and energy efficiency strategies)! We wanted to make the website so straight-forward and simple to use that even someone with a glimmer of curiosity or a basic desire to take control of their energy bill could benefit and even put some money back into their pockets.
As we worked over the past 6 months, DiscoverPerfectEnergy.com has evolved into a renewable energy and eco-friendly community, but the cornerstone is still the matching feature and service. The Discover Matching system has been built in a way that allows interested or curious members to submit a detailed project or even request a simple consultation to answer some basic questions. The process is simple and flows like this:
- A Discover Member wants to 'chat with an expert', request a consultation or find professionals for a specific project .
- The member completes the simple request form located in their back office and the request then enters the dynamic matching system.
- The member then begins to receive replies from professionals matching their request in their 'Live Reports Center' located in their back office (each post may receive responses from up to a maximum of 10 professionals).
- When a reply is received from a professional in the "Live Report", the member then has the opportunity to view the professional's Marketing Suite (which contains their company overview and details) and then can either request more information from that professional via the matching system or decline further contact.
Our focus is to make the investigation and search process as stream-lined as possible in order to encourage successful communication without all of the headache of searching through phonebooks and search engines - bouncing from contractor to contractor while becoming increasingly confused and frustrated (we have tried it and do not recommend it)!
As we dedicated countless hours developing the matching system, software and site, it only made sense that we also integrate a learning center and other resources to help would-be-consumers. It has been those endeavors that have been the biggest learning curve for me personally, as I immersed myself in an unlimited stream of education to try and understand. I felt that the more I could learn and understand, the more I could pass on the knowledge, tricks and strategies that I had learned in order to help others. As I continue to blog our experiences and journey I will cover the renewable and energy efficient world strategy by strategy, and share the insider tips and tricks that hopefully may help you in your journey towards a more eco-friendly and affordable lifestyle.
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