Jon Powell - MECLABS - offer response optimization - IMS Boston 2012

Learn  how  to  replicate  a  331%  li2  in  your  own  inbound  marke9ng  efforts  

Offer  Response  Op+miza+on  

Session  Speaker  

Jon  Powell  Marke+ng  and  Sales  Funnel  Op+miza+on  MECLABS    

A  tes.ng  and  op.miza.on  veteran  with  hands-­‐on  experience  gained  through  managing  hundreds  of  A/B  and  mul.variate  tests  for  ecommerce,  healthcare,  financial,  and  educa.on  Research  Partners  and  clients.  Jon  studies  prospects,  products  and  processes  to  help  organiza.ons  strategically  write  themselves  in  the  stories  of  those  that  interact  with  them.      

Recent  test  highlights:      

331%  increase  healthcare  search  traffic  lead  conversion  rate  

672%  increase  educa.on  program  site  applica.ons  

129%  increase  educa.on  program  browsing  lead  conversions  

@JonPowell31  

EXPERIMENT  Inbound  Offer  Response  

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Background:  Migraine  Treatment  Centers  of  America  offers  an  innova.ve  long-­‐term  migraine  treatment  solu.on  to  people  suffering  from  migraines.    Goal:  To  increase  leads  from  the  website    Primary  Research  Ques+on:  Which  value  exchange  strategy  will  result  in  a  higher  conversion  rate?    Approach:  A/b  mul.factor  split  

Experiment  ID:  MTCA  Microsite  Test  Loca+on:  Marke.ngExperiments  Research  Library  Test  Protocol  Number:  TP1560  

Research  Notes:  

Background  and  Test  Design  

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The  control  landing  page  casts  a  broad  net  and  aVempts  to  bridge  all  content  to  ac+on  connec+on  with  a  single  message  and  CTA.  

Experiment:  Version  A  

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The  treatment  accounts  for  three  major  lead  types  with  three  evenly  weighted  columns.  

Experiment:  Version  B  

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Experiment:  Side-­‐by-­‐side  Version  A   Version  B  

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Experiment:  Results  

Version   CR   Rel.  diff  Stat.  Conf  

Version  A   1.6%   -­‐   -­‐  

Version  B   7.0%   330.6%  

             331%  Increase  in  lead  rate                      The  Treatment  generated  330.6%  more  conversions  than  the  Control  

     What  You  Need  to  Understand:  By  matching  the  content  and  calls  to  ac9on  to  the  thought  sequence  of  the  three  primary  prospect  types,  Version  B  generated  a  331%  higher  conversion  rate  than  the  control.  

99%  

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What  made  this  approach  so  successful?  

Version  B  

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 Key  Principles  What  we  discovered  

1. Too  o^en,  marketers  take  a  rule  based  approach  to  marke.ng  their  content  

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Rule-­‐based  Op4miza4on  

Science-­‐based  Op4miza4on  

vs.    

 •  Emphasize  hero  shots  •  Keep  it  above  the  fold  •  Avoid  too  much  copy  •  Emphasize  the  Benefits  •  Don’t  use  reverse  text  •  Don’t  rely  too  much  on  Flash  •  Implement  basket  recovery  emails  •  Avoid  auto-­‐on  audio  

Prac+ce  

Methodology  

Meta-­‐theory  

Rules  vs.  Science  

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 Key  Principles  What  we  discovered  

1. Too  o^en,  marketers  take  a  rule  based  approach  to  marke.ng  their  content  

2. To  find  gains  when  rules  don’t  work,  a  scien.fic  approach  is  needed  

A  SHOPPING  EXPERIENCE  Offer  Response  Op+miza+on  

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A  Shopping  Experience  

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The  Result  

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A  Common  Problem  

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The  MECLABS  Conversion  Index  

C  =  4m  +  3v  +  2(i-­‐f)  -­‐  2a  ©  

Wherein:  C  =  Probability  of  conversion  m  =  Mo.va.on  of  user  v  =  Clarity  of  the  value  proposi.on  i  =  Incen.ve  (addi.onal)  to  take  ac.on  f  =  Fric.on  elements  present  a  =  Anxiety  elements  present  

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Perceived  Value  Exchange  

Perceived  Value  

Perceived  Cost  

EXPERIMENT  Mo+va+on  

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Background:  Medical  provider  specializing  in  trea.ng  chronic  back  pain.  They  are  the  sole  providers  of  a  minimally  invasive,  innova.ve  pain  management  procedure.    Goal:  To  plan  a  content  marke.ng  strategy  based  on  the  copy  focus  that  generates  the  most  appeal  in  condi.on-­‐based  searchers.    Primary  Research  Ques+on:  Which  content  focus  (copy)  will  achieve  a  higher  clickthrough  rate?    Approach:  A/B  Mul.factor  Split  Test    

Experiment  ID:  NAS  Content  Approach  Loca+on:  Marke.ngExperiments  Research  Library  Test  Protocol  Number:  TP40XX  

Research  Notes:  

Experiment:  Background  

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Treatments  

[Condi.on]  Sufferer?  Learn  about  the  causes  &  solu.ons,  from  the  experts  in  spine  health.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condi.on]  

[Condi.on]  Sufferer?  Free  access  to  back  pain  resources  from  the  experts  in  spine  health.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condi.on]  

[Condi.on]  Sufferer?  Compare  available  treatments,  from  the  experts  in  spine  health.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condi.on]  

[Condi.on]  Sufferer?  How  to  recognize  the  symptoms,  from  the  experts  in  spine  health.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condi.on]  

Back  Pain  Resources   Causes  &  Solu.ons  

Symptoms   Treatment  Op.ons  

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[Condi.on]  Sufferer?  Free  access  to  back  pain  resources  from  the  experts  in  spine  health.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condi.on]  

T1:  Back  Pain  Resources  [Condi.on]  Sufferer?  Compare  available  treatments,  from  the  experts  in  spine  health.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condi.on]  

T2:  Treatment  Op.ons  

[Condi.on]  Sufferer?  Learn  about  the  causes  &  solu+ons,  from  the  experts  in  spine  health.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condi.on]  

T3:  Causes  and  Solu.ons  [Condi.on]  Sufferer?  How  to  recognize  the  symptoms,  from  the  experts  in  spine  health.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condi.on]  

T4:  Recognize  Symptoms  

Results  

What  You  Need  to  Understand  We  discovered  that  the  symptom  copy  focus  recorded  a  

99.7%  rela4ve  increase  in  click-­‐through  rate  

"

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 Key  Principles  What  we  discovered  

1.  Prospect  mo.va.on  cannot  be  determined…it  must  be  discovered  

2. Mo.va.on  has  the  highest  coefficient  because  it  is  the  most  important  deciding  factor  in  the  sales  process.  

3.  Prospect  mo.va.on  can  be  based  upon  1)  internal  mo.va.ons  of  the  prospect  and    2)  external  events  surrounding  a  prospect  

Mo.va.on  

Internal  Relevance  

•  Personal  interests    

•  Demographics  •  Shopping  habits  

•  Personality  

•  Communica.on  styles  

•  Level  of  engagement  

External  Relevance  

•  Seasonality  

•  Special  discounts  •  Limited-­‐.me  offers  

•  News  events  

•  Compe..ve  ini.a.ves  

EXPERIMENT  Clarity  of  the  Value  Proposi+on  

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Background:  Medical  provider  specializing  in  trea.ng  chronic  back  pain.  They  are  the  sole  providers  of  a  minimally  invasive,  innova.ve  pain  management  procedure.    Goal:  To  determine  which  presenta.on  of  the  content  focus  will  result  in  the  greatest  measurable  interest  (click-­‐through)    Primary  Research  Ques+on:  Which  presenta.on  will  achieve  a  higher  clickthrough  rate?    Approach:  A/B  Mul.factor  Split  Test    

Experiment  ID:  NAS  Content  Approach  Loca+on:  Marke.ngExperiments  Research  Library  Test  Protocol  Number:  TP4068  

Research  Notes:  

Experiment  #2:  Background  

Control  Ad  Template  

Bulging  Disc  Treatment  Read  about  our  30-­‐minute  treatment  for  bulging  disc  back  pain  relief.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Bulging_Disc  

Herniated  Disc  Treatment  Herniated  Disc?  You  Have  Op.ons.  Ask  Our  Experts  About  AccuraScope™.  NorthAmericanSpine.com  

Proven  Scia.ca  Treatment  Relieve  Scia.ca  Nerve  Pain  with  Our  Unrivaled  30-­‐Minute  Procedure.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Scia.ca  

Degenera.ve  Disc  Disease  Relieve  Degenera.ve  Disc  Pain  w/  Our  Unrivaled  Revolu.onary  Program  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Degenera.ve  

Relief  From  Back  Pain  Read  about  our  30-­‐minute  treatment  for  total  freedom  from  back  pain!  NorthAmericanSpine.com  

Pinched  Nerve  Treatment  New  30-­‐Minute  Procedure,  Reclaim  Your  Life  From  Pinched  Nerve  Pain.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/PinchedNerve  

Version  A  

What  we  will  learn:  •  The  effect  of  the  symptoms  

content  approach  in  the    headline  only  

What  has  changed  

•  ‘Symptoms’  added  to  headline  with  the  specific  condi.on  searched  for  

Bulging  Disc    Symptoms  Read  about  our  30-­‐minute  treatment  for  bulging  disc  back  pain  relief.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Bulging_Disc  

Herniated  Disc    Symptoms  Herniated  Disc?  You  Have  Op.ons.  Ask  Our  Experts  About  AccuraScope™.  NorthAmericanSpine.com  

Scia.ca  Symptoms  Relieve  Scia.ca  Nerve  Pain  with  Our  Unrivaled  30-­‐Minute  Procedure.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Scia.ca  

Pinched  Nerve  Symptoms  New  30-­‐Minute  Procedure,  Reclaim  Your  Life  From  Pinched  Nerve  Pain.  NorthAmericanSpine.com/PinchedNerve  

Lumbar  Back  Pain  Symtpoms  Read  about  our  30-­‐minute  treatment  for  total  freedom  from  back  pain!  NorthAmericanSpine.com  

Version  B  

What  we  will  learn:  •  The  effect  of  the  symptoms  content  

approach  in  the  descrip+on  only  

What  has  changed  

•  Descrip.on  uses  the  symptoms  content  approach  with  the  specific  condi.on  searched  for  

Bulging  Disc  Treatment  Read  about  Bulging  Disc  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Bulging_Disc  

Herniated  Disc  Treatment  Read  about  Herniated  Disc  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com  

Proven  Scia.ca  Treatment  Read  about  Pinched  Nerve  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Scia.ca  

Degenera.ve  Disc  Disease  Read  how  our  spine  experts  can  help  relieve  Degenera.ve  Disc  Symptoms!  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Degenera.ve  

Pinched  Nerve  Treatment  Read  about  Pinched  Nerve  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com/PinchedNerve  

Relief  From  Back  Pain  Read  about  Back  Pain  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com  

Version  C  

What  we  will  learn:  •  The  effect  of  the  symptoms  

content  approach  in  both  the  headline  +  descrip+on  

What  has  changed  

•  Both  headline  and  descrip.on  use  symptoms  content  approach,  while  staying  specific  to  the  condi.on  searched  for    

Bulging  Disc    Symptoms  Read  about  Bulging  Disc  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Bulging_Disc  

Herniated  Disc    Symptoms  Read  about  Herniated  Disc  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com  

Scia.ca  Symptoms  Read  about  Pinched  Nerve  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com/Scia.ca  

Pinched  Nerve  Symptoms  Read  about  Pinched  Nerve  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com/PinchedNerve  

Lumbar  Back  Pain  Symptoms  Read  about  Back  Pain  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com  

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Experiment:  Results  

Version   CTR   Rel.  diff   Stat.  Conf  

Control   0.28%   -­‐   -­‐  

Version  A  (headline)   0.26%   -­‐7%  

Version  B  (descrip.on)   0.21%   -­‐25%  

Version  C  (headline  &  descrip.on)   0.39%   40.3%  

             40.3%  Increase  in  click  through    Version  C  generated  40.3%  more  click  throughs  than  the  Control  

99%  

99%  

99%  

     What  You  Need  to  Understand:  The  symptom  content  approach  has  the  greatest  clarity  when  it  is  used  in  both  the  headline  and  descrip+on  for  visitors  conduc.ng  condi.on-­‐based  searches    

[Condi.on]  Symptoms  Read  about  [Condi.on]  Symptoms  and  see  how  our  experts  can  help!  NorthAmericanSpine.com/[Condi.on]  

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What  we  discovered  

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Value  Proposi.on  Ques.on  

If  I  am  your  ideal  prospect,  why  should  I  buy  from  you  rather  than  your  

compe4tors?  

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 Key  Principles  1.  The  force  of  a  value  proposi.on  can  be  measured  by  

four  essen.al  elements  of  the  offer:  

•  Appeal  –  How  much  do  I  desire  this  offer?  

•  Exclusivity  –  Where  else  can  I  get  this  offer?    •  Credibility  –  Can  I  trust  your  claims?  

•  Clarity  –  What  are  you  actually  offering?  

The  Force  of  a  Value  Proposi.on  

KEY  CONCEPTS  Incen+ve  

Incen.ve  

Ideal  Incen+ve:  Incen.ves  must  be  tested.  There  is  an  “ideal  incen.ve.”      

 Un.l  you  find  an  incen.ve  that  gives  you  a  major  ROI  increase,  you  must  assume  you  have  not  yet  found  the  ideal  incen.ve.  

Fric.on  Elements   Incen.ves  

ABANDON   COMPLETION  

KEY  CONCEPTS  Fric+on  

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 Key  Principles  Fric.on  

Two  common  elements  that  create  Fric.on:  1.  Length  2.  Difficulty    

Fric.on  is  also  generated  by  pages  and  processes  that  do  not  match  a  proper  thought  sequence.      Therefore,  the  message  must  be  specifically  cra^ed  to  synchronize  to  the  decision  paHerns  of  the  recipient    

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Fric.on:  Example  1  …but  this  Not  this…  

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Fric.on:  Example  1  …but  this  Not  this…  

47%  IN  CONVERSION  

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Fric.on:  Example  2  

Not  this…   …but  this  

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Fric.on:  Example  2  

Not  this…   …but  this  

93%  IN  CONVERSION  

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Fric.on:  Example  3  

Not  this…  

…but  this  

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Fric.on:  Example  3  

Not  this…  

…but  this  

81%  IN  CONVERSION  

EXPERIMENT  Anxiety  

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Experiment  ID:  New  York  Times  Loca+on:  Marke.ngExperiments  Research  Library  

Background:  The  New  York  Times  came  to  us  with  a  subscrip.on  product  that  they  were  having  difficulty  marke.ng  called  the  “Electronic  Edi.on”    Goal:  To  increase  the  number  of  subscrip.ons  for  the  “Electronic  Edi.on”    Primary  research  ques+on:  Which  page  design  will  generate  the  most  subscrip.ons?    Approach:  A/B  split  test  (variable  cluster)  

Research  Notes:  

Experiment:  Anxiety  

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The  primary  cause  of  anxiety  for  this  page  is  that  this  is  a  paid  up-­‐front  service  which  prominently  displays  the  price  with  a  de-­‐emphasized  free  trial  offer.  

Original  

Experiment:  Control  

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To  relieve  anxiety  we  changed  all  offers  to  the  lowest  risk  free  trial  offering  and  de-­‐emphasized  the  price  of  the  paid  subscrip.on.  

Op.mized  

Experiment:  Treatment  

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Op.mized  Original  

Experiment:  Results  

             541%  Increase  in  conversions    Treatment  1  generated  541.6%  more  conversions  than  the  Control  

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1.  Anxiety  is  just  as  lethal  (and  growing)  to  conversion  as  fric.on.  

2.  If  you  think  about  mi.ga.ng  anxiety  in  ra.onal  terms,  you  are  likely  to  fail  in  your  efforts.  Though  anxiety  o^en  is  s.mulated  by  a  legi.mate  concern,  its  degree/impact  is  o^en  dispropor.onate  to  the  measure  of  risk.    

3.  Anxiety  is  also  localized  in  the  buy  process.  It  is  closely  associated  with  the  geography  of  the  page.  

 Key  Principles  Anxiety  

REVIEW  Concepts  

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The  MECLABS  Conversion  Index  

C  =  4m  +  3v  +  2(i-­‐f)  -­‐  2a  ©  

Wherein:  C  =  Probability  of  conversion  m  =  Mo.va.on  of  user  v  =  Clarity  of  the  value  proposi.on  i  =  Incen.ve  (addi.onal)  to  take  ac.on  f  =  Fric.on  elements  present  a  =  Anxiety  elements  present  

Methodology  Review  

•  To  get  more    

•  You  need  to  increase  perceived  value  

•  And  decrease  perceived  cost  

Perceived  Value  

Perceived  Cost  

Session  Speaker  

Jon  Powell  Marke+ng  and  Sales  Funnel  Op+miza+on  MECLABS    

A  tes.ng  and  op.miza.on  veteran  with  hands-­‐on  experience  gained  through  managing  hundreds  of  A/B  and  mul.variate  tests  for  ecommerce,  healthcare,  financial,  and  educa.on  Research  Partners  and  clients.  Jon  studies  prospects,  products  and  processes  to  help  organiza.ons  strategically  write  themselves  in  the  stories  of  those  that  interact  with  them.      

Recent  test  highlights:      

331%  increase  healthcare  search  traffic  lead  conversion  rate  

672%  increase  educa.on  program  site  applica.ons  

129%  increase  educa.on  program  browsing  lead  conversions  

@JonPowell31  

Learn  how  to  replicate  a  331%  li2  in  your  own  inbound  marke9ng  efforts  

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