Optimizing for Multiple PersonasHow a recent test “broke the rules” of optimization and drove a 331% conversion lift
#WebClinic
Today’s Team
@jonpowell31
Jon PowellSenior Manager Research and StrategyMECLABS
Market research practitioner with 6+ years of hands-on discovery gained through managing hundreds of A/B and multivariate tests for e-commerce, healthcare, financial, and education Research Partners.
An Experiment
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Background
Background: An organization that offers a minimally invasive medical treatment for people suffering from chronic pain.
Goal: To increase leads from the website.
Research Question: Which site will generate the highest lead conversion rate?
Test Design: A/B multifactorial test.
Experiment ID: TP1560Record Location: MECLABS Research LibraryResearch Partner: [Protected]
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Version A
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Version A
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Version B
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Version B
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Side-by-SideVersion A Version B
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Conv. Rate % Rel. Change Stat. Conf.
Version A 1.6% --Version B 7.0% 330.6%
Relative Increase in ConversionsThe new page template B increased lead capture rate by 330.6%
331%
99%
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Familiar Behavior PatternsTo thisFrom this
LOGO LOGO
Protocol ID: TP1306
266%Increase in clicks
78%Increase in conversions
Protocol ID: TP1213
46%Increase in purchases
Protocol ID: TP2026
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Why did the treatment win?
So what was different in this
situation?
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Optimizing for Multiple Personas
1. Messaging is naturally ordered into four stages: (1) To Listen, (2) To Attract, (3) To Converse, (4) To Nurture. The order is as important as the activity. One cannot converse before one attracts; one should not attract before one listens.
FKey Principles
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Why did the treatment win?
The team’s preliminary research question:
What is the effect of providing multiple paths (CTAs) for visitors to choose based on where they are in the process?
• Feedback from service reps and Sales• A data/metrics analysis of incoming
channels and keywords• Existing customer research
After examination of:
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Optimizing for Multiple Personas
1. Messaging is naturally ordered into four stages: (1) To Listen, (2) To Attract, (3) To Converse, (4) To Nurture. The order is as important as the activity. One cannot converse before one attracts; one should not attract before one listens.
2. To enable conversation with different customers arriving at the same intersection, one must alter the geography of the page in a way that attracts each group into its own conversation.
FKey Principles
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Why did the treatment win?
Though equally weighted on the page, the content is not equal in the mind.
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Optimizing for Multiple Personas
How do I write and design for a page that serves multiple visitor types with varying interests?
#WebClinic
Optimizing for Multiple Personas
1. Messaging is naturally ordered into four stages: (1) To Listen, (2) To Attract, (3) To Converse, (4) To Nurture. The order is as important as the activity. One cannot converse before one attracts; one should not attract before one listens.
2. To enable conversation with different customers arriving at the same intersection, one must alter the geography of the page in a way that attracts each group into its own conversation.
3. A meta-analysis of these page types has uncovered how copywriting and design can be adjusted to maximize response from pages serving multiple customer personas.
FKey Principles
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Optimizing for Multiple Personas
Today, we are going to walk through tactical design and copy changes extracted from patterns
of customer response.
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Design Changes
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Design Changes
1. The marketer’s goal is not simplicity; the marketer’s goal is clarity. The former is the means to the latter.
2. Simplicity which obscures clarity is lethal to the close. This is true as it relates to the prospect’s understanding of the marketer’s offer.
FKey Principles
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Example: Simplicity vs. ClarityProtocol ID: TP1315
How would you increase the search volume on this page?
Control
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Example: Simplicity vs. Clarity
By giving the page a more Google-like search experience, our researchers hypothesized an increase in search volume …
The result proved that simplicity does not always guarantee clarity.
Treatment
5.6%Decrease in search volume
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Design Changes
1. To enable clarity of the offer for multiple personas, focus on these three types of page template adjustments:
• The number of conversion paths
• The availability of subheadlines and headers for instructional guidance
• The sequence of the content
FKey Actions
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From This, To This …Protocol ID: TP1499
From This
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From This, To This …To This
Utilized the header to be instructional
Optimal # of paths
25%Increase in clicks
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From This, To This …Protocol ID: TP1315
From This
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From This, To This…To This Added a
subheadline for explanation
Optimized the number of paths
32.4%Increase in conversions
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From This, To This …Protocol ID: TP1460
From This
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From This, To This …
Reduced paths via consolidation
Utilized headers for explanation
63%Increase in conversions
To This
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From This, To This …Protocol ID: TP17XX
Increase in clickthrough
From This
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From This, To This …
181%Increase in clickthrough
To This
Adjusted content position
Adjusted color
Added a headline and explanation subheadline
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Copy Changes
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Copy Changes
1. “Mind is the great lever of all things; human thought is the process by which human ends are ultimately answered.” -Daniel Webster
FKey Principles
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The Great Lever in Action
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The Great Lever in Action
The Top 5 Reasons for Bungee Jumping
1. Overcome a fear2. If you go naked, it could
be free!3. Cross an item off the
bucket list4. Bragging rights5. It’s safe
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Copy Changes
1. “Mind is the great lever of all things; human thought is the process by which human ends are ultimately answered.” -Daniel Webster
2. We must realize that even as the lever moves in degrees, the sale moves in stages. The marketer must match the message to the stage. We achieve this by synchronizing geography with chronology.
FKey Principles
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Customer Buying Cycle
Considerationor Research
Intent + Shop
Awareness
Purchase
Search VolumeSample Keyword
Insurance
Car Insurance
Car Insurance Quote
Florida Car Insurance Quote
Low
Medium
High
Very High
Buying Process
The wide variety of search terms brings light to what customers are trying to achieve online.
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Copy Changes
1. To enable a type of synchronization that serves multiple personas, align your copy within each competing section closely with:
• Different stages in the buying cycle
• Relevant, distinguishable categories of interest
FKey Actions
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From This, To This …Protocol ID: TP1560
From This
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From This, To This … To This
331%Increase in conversions
New copy focuses on relevant topics aligned with buying cycle stage
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From This, To This … Then This
A single section was rewritten to attract more of a given prospect type 49.5%
Increase in clickthrough
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From This, To This …Protocol ID: TP1503 & TP1507
From This
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20.6%Increase in conversions
All Traffic
To This
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198%Increase in conversions
32.4%Increase in conversions
As a result of this discovery, the team installed dynamic response pages
Partner Sites
20.6%Increase in conversions
Then This
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From This, To This …
From This
Protocol ID: TP1315
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From This, To This …Protocol ID: TP1315
Copy written for browsers and deal seekers
5.8%Increase in search volume
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A Final Experiment
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Background
Background: A subscriber-only social media site designed to provide fast, easy access expert advice for IT.
Goal: To increase subscriptions, subscription revenue.
Research Question: Which sign-up process will produce the greatest subscription rate?
Test Design: A/B multifactorial test.
Experiment ID: TP1203Record Location: MECLABS Research LibraryResearch Partner: [Protected]
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Background
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Background
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Control
Pop-over
Order Page
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Treatment
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Side-by-SideControl
Treatment
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Conv. Rate % Rel. Change $$$ / Visit % Rel. Change
Control .095% -- $1.89 --
Treatment .098% 1.12% $1.68 -10.93%
Relative Decrease in Revenue Per VisitThe treatment order process received 10.9% less revenue per visit than the control.
10.9%
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Review
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Summary: Putting it all together
1. The marketer’s goal is not simplicity; the marketer’s goal is clarity. To enable clarity as it relates to the prospect’s understanding of the marketer’s offer, focus on three types of page template adjustments:
• The number of conversion paths
• The availability of subheadlines and headers for instructional guidance
• The sequence of content
2. As the sale moves in stages, the marketer must match the message to the stage. Achieve this by aligning copy of each competing section with:
• Different stages in the buying cycle
• Relevant, distinguishable categories of interest
FKey Points
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Templates for Multiple Customers
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/site-optimization/page-templates-that-work.html
Page Templates that WorkPublished July 5, 2013
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See how you can conduct research with us…MECLABS conducts rigorous experiments in the new science of optimization. We apply our discoveries to help leaders optimize the financial performance of their sales and marketing programs.
Learn more about how you may be a fit for a MECLABS research partnership:
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Live Optimization
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EMAIL AWARDS
MECLABS.com/EmailAwards
Winners Announced
Live Optimization
Primary Audience: Individuals and HR managersPrimary Objective: Sell background checks
CVCheck
http://bit.ly/1h0hl4n #WebClinic
Live Optimization
Primary Audience: Sherman College students and alumniPrimary Objective: Send visitors to proper area
Sherman College
http://bit.ly/16n2Wgl #WebClinic