4.1 KiB
Product Ideas & Future Work
Second Directory: Padel Venue Finder (player-facing)
Current directory = B2B supplier directory (for project owners finding vendors). Future directory = consumer-facing venue finder (for players finding courts near them).
Inspiration: thepadeldirectory.co.uk runs BOTH:
/padel-court-construction→ B2B supplier directory (like our current one)/find-padel-courts→ consumer venue finder with map + filters (court type, facilities: parking, changing rooms, bar, equipment shop, online booking; distance radius 5/10/25/50/100 miles; sort by name/court count)
Our B2B directory (suppliers) is already built. The venue finder would be a separate
section — venues/ — targeting players. Monetisation: venue operators pay a listing
fee (similar to Basic tier for suppliers). Could cross-sell: padel court builders list
in B2B directory, their completed venues list in the venue finder.
Schema additions needed: venues table (name, address, lat/lng, court_count,
indoor/outdoor, facilities_json, booking_url, claimed_by), geocoding, map embed.
Supplier Reviews
- Gate review submission behind verified lead completion (avoid gaming)
- After lead forwarded + 60 days → send entrepreneur an email with 1–5 star + short text form
- Store aggregate on
lead_forwardsor a newsupplier_reviewstable - Display on directory card; only visible for paid-tier suppliers (Growth/Pro)
Getting Actual Quotes (closing the loop post-match)
Three options in ascending build effort:
- Email only (current) — supplier emails entrepreneur directly, platform never sees the quote
- Quote upload (low effort, high signal) — prompt supplier to upload PDF quote in dashboard; entrepreneur confirms receipt; platform shows "X quotes received" on their dashboard
- In-platform messaging thread — full messaging between entrepreneur + supplier through padelnomics; data-rich but complex
→ Start with option 2 (upload prompt in dashboard, confirmation from entrepreneur side)
Claim Verification (currently open to anyone)
Options by friction/reliability:
| Method | Friction | Reliability |
|---|---|---|
| Email domain must match company website | Low | Medium |
| DNS TXT record | Medium | High |
| Document upload (trade reg, VAT cert) | High | High — manual review |
| Subscription (credit card) alone | Very low | Low |
Recommended path:
- Email domain check as a soft gate (warn but don't block)
- Manual review queue in admin panel for first-time claims (add "mark verified" button to admin user/supplier detail)
- Pro-tier upgrade requires document upload
Pricing Tier Restructure
| Tier | Name | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | — | — | Auto-imported unclaimed listing, no contact info |
| New | Listed | ~€299/yr (annual) | Verified badge, logo, full description, website link; no leads |
| Current Growth | Growth | €149/mo | Everything + 30 lead credits/mo |
| Current Pro | Pro | €399/mo | Everything + 100 lead credits/mo; direct quote from listing page |
Annual "Listed" tier = low-friction entry for suppliers who want visibility without monthly credit commitment. Mirrors competitor €600/yr Basic tier.
Direct Quote from Listing Page (premium feature)
- Currently: "Request Quote" button on supplier detail goes to general wizard (country pre-filled)
- For free/unclaimed suppliers: button is greyed out + popover (implemented 2026-02-19)
- Future premium feature: route quote directly and exclusively to that specific supplier
- Make it Pro-only as a built-in perk (headline differentiator for Pro upgrade)
- Possibly also available as a paid add-on boost for Growth tier
Supplier Reviews (implementation sketch)
- New table:
supplier_reviews (id, lead_forward_id, supplier_id, rating INT 1-5, body TEXT, created_at) - Email trigger: worker job checks
lead_forwardscreated 60+ days ago with no review → enqueue review request email - Submit endpoint:
POST /suppliers/<id>/review(tokenised link in email, no login required) - Display: aggregate on directory card (star rating + count), full list on supplier detail page (Pro only)