Docklands, VIC -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/02/2014 -- Since its launch in July 2013, ServiceCrowd has been adding new features to grow the website into a vibrant community. "Ask" is a free service for small businesses that need personalised advice about promoting their business online.

According to the founder Daniel Duckworth, "allowing small business owners and entrepreneurs to tap into our community of web experts makes a lot sense. Lots of businesses are not quite ready to hire local services, but they have a lot of questions about promoting their business online. Ask helps them connect with local Australian experts who answer their questions online within 24 hours".

Duckworth had been dreaming of connecting businesses with experts since the start but decided it was time make it happen when he noticed that people were posting questions about websites and online marketing in the Business Victoria Facebook group.

"Business Victoria run an excellent small business group on Facebook. Every day I see someone ask a question about SEO, social media or website marketing in general. I spent a lot of time contributing to discussions and decided that there was clearly a need for a dedicated site that facilitates this kind of communication."

Building and launching Ask is a smart move for ServiceCrowd. Businesses register to submit questions and made aware of the quote comparison marketplace. Registered web experts that submit answers are rewarded with points, higher rankings in the ServiceCrowd business directory and ultimately more customers. It's mutually beneficial for both parties.

"Part of the strategy here is also about scalable content marketing. While we commit some resources to writing in-depth blog posts, having a public forum like Ask means that our community is helping to create meaningful content which search engines like Google love."

"The community has responded well so far and it's even become a place where the experts are discussing the industry together. ServiceCrowd is turning out to be a really great community."

About ServiceCrowd
ServiceCrowd is a marketplace for creative and professional services.

For clients: ServiceCrowd helps businesses find and compare local services. They can compare profiles, portfolios and read reviews from real clients then get multiple quotes in just a few clicks.

ServiceCrowd currently hosts the following Service Hubs:

- Web Hub (for web design, development and marketing services)
- Graphic Hub (for digital media, print design and photography services)
- Dev Hub (for desktop, web and mobile software development services)

To learn more, visit the ServiceCrowd Website.

To browse directory visit the Web Hub Directory.

For service providers: ServiceCrowd helps service providers connect with customers looking for their services. It's a simple way for service providers to promote themselves online without the expensive marketing costs.

To learn more, visit the provider sign up page

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Daniel Duckworth, founder of DesignQuotes, uses capital raising to rebrand and launch ServiceCrowd - a marketplace that finds and compares local Australian services faster than Google.

Docklands, VIC -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/26/2014 -- In July 2013, the founder and CEO of DesignQuotes successfully completed a capital raising mission. Duckworth's objective was to "make major improvements to the marketplace software, and further invest in an already successful content marketing strategy."

The mission is now complete. Duckworth explains the strategy behind rebranding the company, and some of the major improvements to the company's marketplace software.

"When we raised the capital it gave us a lot of confidence. We had been working with the DesignQuotes brand for years. The more we looked at our growth figures and lifetime revenue per customer, it became obvious that we needed to begin offering more service areas for comparison. This is how ServiceCrowd was born."

Support from the board of directors and large capital investment enabled Duckworth to begin commercialising his product.

Duckworth explains how he discovered a weakness in the business model thanks to advice from a successful start-up in the United States.

"One of the most important characteristics of a successful business is repeat customers. Our business model is a subscription service that sells pre-qualified sales leads to service providers. So, we hit that nail on the head.

The problem is, we're not a typical business model - we serve two audiences at the same time."

While DesignQuotes was having success with repeat business from their paying customers, it was becoming increasingly expensive to acquire traffic that was looking for service providers in their marketplace. It's the classic chicken and egg problem.

Duckworth explains how the founder and CEO of Thumbtack helped him connect the dots and commit to something bigger.

"I was watching a YouTube channel called This Week in Startups and they were interviewing Marco Zappacosta, founder and CEO of Thumbtack. One of the points he made was that the goal was to become a destination website - like Amazon is to shopping and Facebook is to social.

Marco explained that for every business they connect with a service, a new opportunity to connect to other services is created. They might initially request quotes from a locksmith. If they have a positive experience, they come back and request quotes from an accountant or web designer. We want ServiceCrowd to be a destination, not just something you stumble upon."

Duckworth explains how their new marketplace software helps businesses find relevant services faster than Google.

"We introduced a directory of all the service providers in our marketplace. Previously, one could only access this information if they submitted a project. Now, the profiles are available for the world to see, which we think adds a lot of credibility to the website.

The directory isn't typical. It's actually really smart because we've collected a lot of data about the service providers.

For example, if you're looking for a combination of skills - like a service that provides product photography shoots, ecommerce web design and SEO copywriting for product descriptions - our directory can serve that up instantly. You can then request quotes from the services you find, instantly.

It sure beats searching on Google and having to read through tons of marketing material."

About ServiceCrowd
ServiceCrowd connects you with local creative and professional services. At ServiceCrowd you can browse profiles, portfolios and reviews from real clients. Simply pick the service providers you like and get quotes in under 24 hours. Use the ServiceCrowd Buyer's Guides to help you through the process of buying professional services.

For more details visit: http://servicecrowd.com.au/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm