Re: [libreoffice-marketing] The LibO developers need input from former users. A proposal.

Hi Riemer,

Thanks for posting, but pls, have a look at how it shows up in my mail.
Would you pls be so kind to post again and try to get a decent formatting?
That really will help to read and understand what you offer.

Thanks a lot,
Cor

Riemer Thalen wrote (19-04-11 15:40)
> Hi all,My name is Riemer Thalen and I am not a programmer. I'm a
>        marketing guy. For the last couple of years I have been wondering:
>        how come so many people pay hundreds of dollars for MS Office when
>        they can have OOo/LibO for free?Apparently, many people feel LibO does not match MS Office. 
> Maybe
>        they are missing functions MS Office has, maybe they think LibO
>        behaves oddly, or maybe... we don't know.And that's a real problem. Because if we really 
> want LibO to
>        become the number one office suite in the world, we need to find
>        out what keeps people form switching to OOo/LibO permanently.I am not an old hand in the OOo 
> community. Maybe some market
>        reseach into former users has been done in the past. I searched
>        the Internet and I could not find any reports.At present, the LibO developers are guided by 
> community feedback.
>        But for our purpose, that will not do. It is like asking iPhone
>        users if they need a keyboard. No, of course they don't. If they
>        thought a keyboard was neccessary they would not have bought an
>        iPhone in the first place.The same applies to the OOo / LibO community. The members are
>        dedicated LibO users and by definition they are not representative
>        for former users.As it happens, my daughter who is business student needs to do a
>        marketing survey. That's no big deal nowadays. All you have to do
>        is open an account at a survey site. Then you compose a three
>        question questionnaire.The questionnaire is posted and tagged on Facebook and LinkedIn.
>        "Did you use OpenOffice in the past? Please, help us improve it.
>        Answer just three questions." If only half of the subscribers to
>        this mailing list would post the link, we probably will have more
>        than enough respondents.The questionnaire could read like this:Yes, I used or
>          tried OpenOffice.org in the past and I do not use it anymore.1) The main reason I dropped 
> OOo concerned (tick as many boxes
>          as are applicable): O Writer,O Calc,O Impress
>          (presentation)O the whole suite2) What made me drop OOo was the following. (Just the one 
> big
>          problem. What was the show stopper for you?)3) What else needs to be fixed in OOo in your 
> opinion? (Name as
>          many issues as you like.)Thank you for your feedback!Indeed, this is a qualitative survey. 
> We need to know how former
>        users feel about OOo/LibO. In what terms do they describe their
>        problem? How strongly do they feel about it? That is more
>        important than the exact percentage thatencountered the issue.
>        (Of course, the responses will later be categorized and counted,
>        but this will result in quantative indications only.)Once the results are in and processed, 
> two importants things can
>        be done:1. the developers can prioritize issues, fixes, modifications and
>        new functions2. the marketing group can create a "switchers guide" based on
>        real-life feedback. Not all functions in LibO will be and can be
>        the same as in MS Office. Knowing the differences and how to deal
>        with them will greatly improve user satisfaction.OK, this is as far as my proposal goes. I 
> would like to hear from
>        you guys what you think of it. Personally, I feel it is very
>        important to get feedback from outside the community. Moreover,
>        IMHO it is crucial not only for the success of LibO, but also for
>        the Linux desktop. Without an office suite that is considered
>        state-of-the-art, Ubuntu, LinuxMint, Fedora and the likes are
>        fighting an uphill battle...Hope to hear from you soon.Riemer Thalen


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