Session #5 Turning More Site Visitors Into Business Leads › LGsummit › HowardKaplanSF.pdf ·...

Session #5 Turning More Site Visitors Into Business Leads

Howard KaplanSenior Conversion Analyst

Conversion as a Measure of SuccessConversion as a Measure of Success

Your conversion rate is a measure of your ability to persuade your visitors to take the action you want them to take. It is a reflection of your effectiveness and your customers' satisfaction. And for you to achieve your goals, your visitors must achieve their goals first.

SoSo…… Study The Top Exit PagesStudy The Top Exit Pages

& Study Site Conversion Reports& Study Site Conversion Reports

& Study Single Access Page Reports& Study Single Access Page Reports

& Study 3D Process Scenario Maps& Study 3D Process Scenario Maps

& Study Scenario Analysis Reports& Study Scenario Analysis Reports

Where Do These Reports Tell You AboutWhere Do These Reports Tell You About……

Forrester Research Reports The Problem Forrester Research Reports The Problem

“What's the trick to improving Web site usability? Users. A site can't be judged "good" or "bad" in a vacuum -- its value can only be determined by looking at how well it helps users get things done. That's why Forrester believes that firms should adopt Scenario Design a methodology that focuses on three questions…”

The problem!

TechStrategy™ Research: Web Sites Continue To Fail The Usability Test, July 25, 2003

Conversion Principle #1Conversion Principle #1

Clicks Are People Too

People Lack Persuasive MomentumPeople Lack Persuasive MomentumStudying drop-off data indicates that would be customers visiting your site lose the relevant “scent” of what put them on the trail to your site; without that scent they are unmotivated to go on.

Further evidence was provided onMarch 8, 2004 - a Onestat.com reported that:

1 page view 9.52%1 - 2 page views 54.60%2 - 3 page views 16.56%

Based on a sample of 2 million visitors

Lincoln Study: Information ScentLincoln Study: Information Scent

! If Query is new car, they click on the word "New" or the phrase "Find a New Car".

! If they know they want a sedan or SUV, they click on one of those trigger words.

! If they are specifically looking for pricing of a model, with options, they are likely to choose the "Price with Options" link.

“It turned out that users were far more successful at finding their targets when the description words, which they told us before they saw the site, appeared on the home page. In the tasks where users successfully found their target content, the description words appeared on the home page 72% of the time. When users were unsuccessful, their words only appeared an average of 6% of the time on the home page.”

How Web Analytics Measure PerceptionHow Web Analytics Measure Perception

! A website session is a series of perceptions experienced by your visitors. The evidence of those perceptions are clicks.

! Users navigate and continue clicking, taking action, as long as they perceive that they are on a path of relevant “scent.”

! This series of actions is defined as a click-stream and a scenario is simply a pre-defined click-stream.

Google Explains RelevanceGoogle Explains Relevance

"We provide strong SCENT so users don't lose time," he said. "We take the text from the page that is relevant to the query, and include it in the summary… Advertisers are coming to the realization that ads must have a scent that the user will likely find useful."

- Krishna Bharat, senior research scientist at Google

SpoolSpool’’s Moves Move--ForwardForward--UntilUntil--Found RuleFound Rule

"...a web page can do only one of two things: either it contains the content the user wants or it contains the links to get them to the content they want. If a page doesn't follow this rule, then the users stop clicking..." (from the article The Right Trigger Words).

Uncle Jakob on How UserUncle Jakob on How User’’s Navigates Navigate

Jakob Nielsen: "For almost seven years, my studies have shown the same user behavior: users look straight at the content and ignore the navigation areas when they scan a new page."

"…users are extremely goal-driven and look only for the one thing they have in mind…"

"…if a page does not appear relevant to the user's current goals, then the user will ruthlessly click the Back button…" (from the article Is navigation useful? published in 2000)

Mark on How UserMark on How User’’s Navigates Navigate

Mark Hurst: "In my seven years of working on the Web's user experience, a lot has changed online -but one thing that hasn't changed much is the way that most users use the average website."

"…on any given Web page, users have a particular goal in mind, and this goal drives their use. Either they click on a link that they think will take them toward the goal, or (seeing no appropriate forward clicks) they click the Back button to take another path." (from the article The Page Paradigm published in 2003)

Navigation That Converts Navigation That Converts -- May 2001May 2001……

We’ve discovered that the navigation scheme important to actually closing more sales (conversions) is the embedded-links scheme. And it's very easy to implement. Within the body of your (great) copy, you simply place links to the places you want prospects to go next. …

If embedded links are done well (a topic for another article), they will engage your users effectively as they browse within the "active window" of your site. The active window is the main area of your page, underneath or to the side of your main navigation. It is where you place your body text, display your products, and present your offer. It is also where you want to keep your visitors' eyes focused. If you properly engage them in this area by providing the right choices to click on, you persuade them to follow the path you want them to take. This is also why it is very important to keep a consistent look and feel around the active window.

How to Know if Your Web Site Stinks?When you didn’t plan scent for every click.

Driving The Persuasion ProcessDriving The Persuasion Process

! What is the action? (macro vs. micro)! What person has to be persuaded to take

action?! What do they need in order to take action?

The Universe of BuyersThe Universe of Buyers

Understand Motivations and OutcomesUnderstand Motivations and Outcomes

Motivations

key customer scenarios

offers action

Define Three Dimensional PersonasDefine Three Dimensional Personas

! Topologies – how does the company’s marketplace define their business and how do competitors and clients behave?

! Psychographics – what does the persona do psychologically as part of their buying decision process?

! Demographics – what are the persona’s attributes and behavioral background?

How Many Personas?How Many Personas?

How do you walk a mile in another person’s shoes?

Create archetypical personas based on the buying and selling processes of customer segments. Make sure that you cover the extremes of your customer base. That is how you avoid speaking to the mythical average customer (you know the one with 2.3 kids) and instead focus on being relevant and persuasive to each persona. The most persuasive websites (or individual business sections of large websites) target between 4 and 7 customer segments personas.

ComplexogramsComplexograms™™

! Need! Critical! Necessary! Luxury

! Risk! Physical! Career! Self-esteem

! Knowledge! Breadth ! Depth! Deepens & widens

! Consensus! Anonymous! Personal! Group

WebexWebex –– Persona 1/6Persona 1/6

Brent Foster (Methodical)Director of Sales & Marketing

! Knowledge

! Risk! Need

! Consensus

“How is this NOT a commodity? Here is your chance, show me value, show me ROI. ”

WebexWebex –– Persona 3/6Persona 3/6

Diane Austin (Competitive)Senior Operations Mgr

! Knowledge

! Risk! Need

! Consensus

“I'm always looking for ways to keep this company from falling behind the times, I wish this company would realize how important that is. They probably won't until I am gone. ”

ElanceElance –– Persona 1/5Persona 1/5

Bev Blumenthal (Humanistic)Business Owner – Floral Shop

! Knowledge

! Risk! Need

! Consensus

“I've finally realized my dream of owning my own business. I love flowers and how happy they make people. I'm not much of a risk taker, but I want this business to be a success and know I need to promote it. ”

Personas Need to Be AboutEmpathy and Understanding Motivations.

How To Conduct a Persona Review How To Conduct a Persona Review

1. Based on keywords and phrases what personas do your competitors target that overlap with yours?

2. What actions do they want the personas to take, at each stage of the buying process?

3. What content/ copy/ images do they use to appeal to each of those personas?

4. How well do they, and you currently, meet the expectations of those personas?

5. What could they, and you currently, do better?

Visitors Anticipate The Next ClickVisitors Anticipate The Next Click

For your visitors it must be about:

Relevance

For your company it must be about:

Persuasive Relevance

Persona Scenario NarrativesPersona Scenario Narratives! Establish the persona’s attitudes, life

circumstances, motivations and the goals.! Business people tell us a story of how the

persona buys; including what she does, who she interacts with, when she does it and what she thinks about.

! Starting with one of the persona’s goals we define what we, the business, want the persona to do. Is that goal the Macro or Micro-goal?

! Armed with this narrative it is simpler to design scenarios the web analytics can track.

How To Align Goals With ActionsHow To Align Goals With Actions

! Macro Actions are the end goals! For a business this could be to purchase, subscribe, self-

serve, pay or any other conversion! For customers this could be any of the above but may also

include simply doing research or browsing! Micro-actions (intermediate steps) lead to Macro-

actions (end goals)! For businesses this could be any of the cognitive processes

represented by an action and identified as necessary to purchase, subscribe, self-serve, pay or other conversion

! For customers this is simply what it takes to reach their goal

Why the Traditional Wireframe Fails Why the Traditional Wireframe Fails “If you've ever seen a wireframe, it's not too surprising there is a lot of friction between Information Architects (IA) and designers. Most wireframes are grayscale designed web pages. And then the IA says there is no design.”

Christina Wodtke, author “Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web” and Sr. Design Manager , Yahoo!

Why do most companies want to define HOW to present before they’ve defined WHAT to present?

Architect Participatory MomentumArchitect Participatory Momentum

1. Define the macro-action? 2. Work backwards to define every possible micro-action that a

persona could take on the way to their goal ( i.e. their scenario).

3. Define what is the persona’s motivation for taking each micro-action.

! Every click and/ or search query contains an implicit question that must be answered with relevance and persuasiveness. Web Analytics can ONLY measure these clicks.

4. Review the persuasive scenarios that have been mapped out to insure that every digression based on the persona’s buying process returns them to your selling process.

Persuasion Architecture WireframePersuasion Architecture Wireframe

Interaction wireframe software maps ALL the click-through possibilities for EVERY persona and all likely scenariosfrom one hyperlink (micro-action) to the next and to the business goal.

Contrast Two Types of HyperlinksContrast Two Types of Hyperlinks

! Calls to Action –sales process (verbs)! These links should propel your

visitor forward towards the close.

! Points of Resolution - buying process (nouns).! These links are non-

hierarchical, non-linear and allow the visitor to go through their own resolving door.

Mapping Scenarios PointsMapping Scenarios Points

Defining a FunnelDefining a Funnel! Driving Point

! This is the prospecting point where a scenario technically begins. It might be a search engine result, a pay-per-click, a banner ad or a home page. It is the concretely identifiable place at which we know a visitor has begun a scenario and where the visitor demonstrates a level of interest in entering the scenario.

! Funnel Point! These are pages where visitors have entered into some

sort of conversion funnel. A funnel point can be landing page or main product category page, and essentially functions as a home page would to build persuasion within the scenario itself.

! Conversion Beacon! These are the linear process pages a visitor must pass

through in a predetermined manner to reach the Conversion point. At a conversion beacon, the visitor shows intention to convert. Waypoints and points of resolution build momentum toward the conversion beacon. For example, the sign-up button starting a form process would constitute the first conversion beacon – waypoints and points of resolution have provided the momentum to take this first step. Each successive step in completing the process constitutes another conversion beacon. Checkout processes include lots of conversion beacons.

! Conversion Point! This is the point where we know with absolute certainty

that a visitor has successfully completed a persuasion scenario. The conversion point is the entity that gets delivered so that both we and the visitor know conversion has taken place. This is usually some form of confirmation.

MAP With The Outcome In MindMAP With The Outcome In Mind

! Map your click-through scenarios so visitors get their questions answered in the order they need to feel confident enough to proceed through your sales process. Don’t forget that these scenarios may take place over a long period of time, depending on the length of your sales cycle.

! By mapping your click-streams in advance we have a hypothesis that we can track with web analytics. The goal of optimization becomes to align the expected click-stream with actual click-streams.

Visitors Are Volunteers, Invite Them to Participate With You.

Goals for a Conversion RedesignGoals for a Conversion Redesign

! Improve credibility! Improve click-through relevance! Improve persuasive scenarios! Improve navigation and linking structure! Apply principles of eye tracking to better

help visitors find information and take action

! Improve readability of pages

How to Present Follows What to PresentHow to Present Follows What to Present

Storyboard phase:

Our software captures ALL the assets; first all the copy, then: navigation, meta data, images, page elements etc. then we prioritize them to ensure every page and/ or communication gets every detail exactly right.

How Most People Write Copy OnlineHow Most People Write Copy Online

Persuasive Online CopywritingPersuasive Online Copywriting

Your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person - a real person you know, or an imagined person - andwrite to that one.

- John Steinbeck

Avoid WeAvoid We--inging All Over YourselfAll Over Yourself

Are you talking about all the wonderful ways your visitors can benefit from your products or services, or are you talking about all the great features of your products, services, or company? In other words, are you speaking the language of "you," or are you caught up in the language of "we"?

http://www.futurenowinc.com/wewe.htm

Writing to People FirstWriting to People First

Focus on text and hyperlinks/anchors first because it is what matters most to both the search engines and our visitors. The Persuasion Architecture wireframe defines the internal linking structure that search engines gobble up.

Only once the internal linking structure has been developed should you focus on what needs to be said, then afterwards focus on how it will be communicated (style and imagery).

Visitors are Engaged in Their Buying Process; They Don’t Care About Your

Sales Process.

Understand How Visitors View a PageUnderstand How Visitors View a Page

! Eye Tracking ! Text vs. Images! "The American

Heritage Dictionary" defines the terms as follows:

! Scan: To look over quickly and systematically; to look over or leaf through hastily

! Skim: To give a quick and superficial reading, scrutiny, or consideration; glance

Start With a TemplateStart With a Template

Conversion Design ResearchConversion Design Research

Our research shows that over 80% of the top selling B2B (and B2C) websites had the following design features in common:

! White backgrounds! Black text! Blue hyperlinks! Minimal Design, very few curves

Five Issues We MUST Address!Five Issues We MUST Address!

1. Do they feel you provide relevant information?2. Do they feel they can Trust you?3. Do they feel Secure?4. Do they feel you’ll respect their Privacy?5. Do they feel like they are getting Value?

Do they feel confident enough to proceed?

Howard Kaplanand/or

Bryan EisenbergFuture Now, Inc.1-877-643-7244

bryane@futurenowinc.com

Homepage: www.FutureNowInc.comNewsletter: www.GrokDotCom.comClickZ.com Column: ROI Marketing

Session #5 Turning More Site Visitors Into Business Leads › LGsummit › HowardKaplanSF.pdf ·...

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