en ConversionScientistPodcast Conversion Sciences http://ConversionSciences.com Top Conversion Optimization Consultants Thu, 15 Sep 2022 18:00:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.1 Top Conversion Optimization Consultants Conversion Sciences Top Conversion Optimization Consultants Conversion Sciences https://conversionsciences.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg https://conversionsciences.com Reduce Bounce Rates: Ready to Fix Your Conversion Problem? https://feedpress.me/link/4224/14129958/what-are-some-strategies-for-reducing-bounce-rate Wed, 03 Feb 2021 19:34:01 +0000 http://conversionscientist.com/?p=12531 https://conversionsciences.com/what-are-some-strategies-for-reducing-bounce-rate/#comments https://conversionsciences.com/what-are-some-strategies-for-reducing-bounce-rate/feed/ 16 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: Reduce Bounce Rates: Ready to Fix Your Conversion Problem?

Technically, a “bounce” is a visitor that looks at only one page, or a visitor that spends an embarrassingly short time on the page. Keep reading to find out how to reduce bounce rates. A bounce is any visit for which the visitor only looks at one page and does not interact with it. This […]

The post Reduce Bounce Rates: Ready to Fix Your Conversion Problem? appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> Technically, a “bounce” is a visitor that looks at only one page, or a visitor that spends an embarrassingly short time on the page. Keep reading to find out how to reduce bounce rates. A bounce is any visit for which the visitor only looks at one page... Technically, a “bounce” is a visitor that looks at only one page, or a visitor that spends an embarrassingly short time on the page. Keep reading to find out how to reduce bounce rates. A bounce is any visit for which the visitor only looks at one page and does not interact with it. This sounds truly unfair as someone may spend minutes on your blog post or landing page, and still be counted as a bounce. A visitor bounces when they don’t find anything close to what they were looking for when they visit your site. Either you’re attracting the wrong visitors or you don’t know why they are visiting. Bounce is the most extreme form of conversion problem. High bounce rates are an indication that you are throwing good marketing dollars down the tubes. Whatever you’re spending to get traffic to your site is being wasted. How to Reduce Bounce Rates or the heartbreak of “bounce” Boing! That’s the sound of someone finding your site, but not finding what they wanted ON your site. Boing! That’s the sound of website content that doesn’t match your marketing. Boing! That’s the sound of a website that talks about the company instead of the visitors’ problems. What are some strategies to reduce bounce rate? This is a common question, and requires an understanding of the definitions of bounce rate. The bounce rate is a bit slippery and requires some examination. The intention of measuring the bounce rate is to figure out how many of your visitors are leaving almost immediately after arriving at your site. This metric provides for a lot of error in interpretation. “A high bounce rate means your site is crappy.” This is rarely the case. A more accurate explanation is that your site doesn’t look the way your visitors expect it to look. Understanding what your visitors expect is the way to reduce bounce rates. Instead, there are usually some more valid reasons for your high bounce rate. Here are the things digital marketing and conversion experts examine when confronted with uncomfortably high bounce rates. 1. You’re measuring it wrong How you measure your bounce rate can give you very different insights. For example, blogs often have high bounce rates. Does this mean that visitors don’t like the blog? Many analytics packages measure a bounce as a visit, or session, that includes only one page on your site. Visitors who take the time to read an entire article would be considered a “bounce” if they then left, even though they are clearly engaged. We set a timer for our blog traffic, so that any visitor who sticks around for 15 seconds or more is not considered a bounce. You can set a timer to the amount of time you consider appropriate. 2. How to Reduce Bounce Rates: Diagnose Technical Difficulties We are fond of saying that you don’t have one website, you have ten or twenty or thirty. Each device, each browser, each screen-size delivers a different experience to the visitor. If your website is broken on one of the devices popular with your visitors, you will see a bump in overall bounce rate. If your pages load slowly, especially on mobile devices, you can expect a higher bounce rate. Broken internal links and 404 pages are also cause for bounce. If your page breaks out in a chorus of Also Sprach Zarathustra when the page loads, you may enjoy a higher bounce rate. How to diagnose device-related technical problems Your analytics package will track the kind of device your visitors are coming on. The Google Analytics report Audience > Technology > Browser & OS shows that there may be a technical issue with Safari visitors coming from within an app. This may also reflect visitors coming from mobile ads, and they may simply be lower quality. See below. With Google Analytics Audience > Mobile > Devices report, we see mobile devices specifically.… Conversion Sciences 7:23 no Defending your design: fight opinion with experimentation https://feedpress.me/link/4224/13480858/defending-your-design-fight-opinion-with-experimentation Fri, 24 Apr 2020 20:48:43 +0000 https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35603 https://conversionsciences.com/defending-your-design-fight-opinion-with-experimentation/#respond https://conversionsciences.com/defending-your-design-fight-opinion-with-experimentation/feed/ 0 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: Defending your design: fight opinion with experimentation

Are you tired of arbitrary changes being suggested for your designs — ads, copy, layout — based solely on opinion. We talk about defending your design in part two of my conversation with Tom Niemeyer. Defend your design. Let’s face it. Your design work is going to be evaluated by neophytes. Whether you work as […]

The post Defending your design: fight opinion with experimentation appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> Are you tired of arbitrary changes being suggested for your designs — ads, copy, layout — based solely on opinion. We talk about defending your design in part two of my conversation with Tom Niemeyer. Defend your design. Let’s face it. Defend your design.
Let’s face it. Your design work is going to be evaluated by neophytes. Whether you work as part of an in-house team or in an agency, your best work is going to be judged by company executives who’ve never spent a day studying design, done any UX research, or even own a box of crayons.
The best of them will defer to your judgment. Until they don’t.
But these are the neophytes who write checks. They have not earned their red pen, but they paid for it.
Does it pay to stand as the Captain America for their prospects and customers? Or is it smarter to give them what they want?
Do data-driven designers get fired more often than designers with a good story?
Defending Your Designs
I’ve been in many meetings when our data clearly contradicts the decisions of a designer. I’m going to tell you the truth. We usually lose. That’s right, the whims of a designer override the science-driven, lab-coat wearing data of a Conversion Scientist.
I’ll also say this: most designers welcome the data, so this scenario is rare.
Basically, it boils down to the culture of the business.
“Once an organization becomes comfortable with risk, they almost immediately snap into reducing that risk.”
Can data help you defend your designs?
In part 2 of my conversation with designer Tom Niemeyer, we explore this question. And others.
“Design is really a negotiation,” says Tom. Let’s see what this means for you.
“The process we go through allows them to take more risks while reducing the potential cost, the potential downsides.”
We’d like to hear from you
At the time of this recording, most of us are not working from the office, not commuting. We’d like to hear from you.
What is your situation. How is the coronavirus and its financial fall out impacting your company, your work and your customers?
Shoot us an email at podcast@conversionsciences.com. We’ll discuss it in another episode.
Quick Links: 

* Connect with Tom
* Follow Brian on Twitter

]]> Conversion Sciences 21:03 no Performance-based Web Design Can Be Creative Too https://feedpress.me/link/4224/13433496/performance-based-web-design-can-be-creative Wed, 08 Apr 2020 23:13:11 +0000 https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35601 https://conversionsciences.com/performance-based-web-design-can-be-creative/#comments https://conversionsciences.com/performance-based-web-design-can-be-creative/feed/ 1 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: Performance-based Web Design Can Be Creative Too

How do you do performance-based web design without putting your creatives in a straight jacket? We asked a designer that has been put in that very situation. A group of kids goes to visit a ranch. Behind the ranch house the land stretches uninterrupted to the horizon. The rancher suggests that the kids go out […]

The post Performance-based Web Design Can Be Creative Too appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> How do you do performance-based web design without putting your creatives in a straight jacket? We asked a designer that has been put in that very situation. A group of kids goes to visit a ranch. Behind the ranch house the land stretches uninterrupted... A group of kids goes to visit a ranch. Behind the ranch house the land stretches uninterrupted to the horizon. The rancher suggests that the kids go out and play. If you tracked the paths of these naturally curious children, you’d find that they stayed close to the ranch house, not venturing far out onto the land. They would tend to remain in safe groups as they played.
The next summer, the kids visit the ranch again. This time, the rancher has built a fence to create a large back yard. Again, the rancher sends the children out to play. This time, their paths would be quite different. You would see them venturing out to the very edges of the yard, exploring in this smaller-but-manageable space. They would move more freely and play more independently.
Now, this parable is based on studies of rats. I’ve turned the data into a more relatable story.
Like the wide open land, the web offers an open expanse of design possibilities. If you believe the research and my parable of the ranch kids, you’ll agree that this may be a bad thing. The study of rats indicated that open spaces elevated anxiety in the rats, while the enclosed space reduced anxiety.
If you’re designing for the web, you are in an open space of possibility. This, according to the research, results in an anxiety response. There’s a whole lot more unknown out there, and every place feels dangerous.
Alternatively, if you fence yourself in, you actually increase the area of consideration. Anxiety is reduced, exploration is increased. But you also quickly find the boundaries.
I keep this study in mind, because I see data as a fence. It creates an enclosed space, a space that can encourage exploration, but it can also create the sense of limitation. Designers are a tough bunch. They want guidelines, but they hate the idea of limits.
This makes them seem like divas, difficult to please in any situation. So what is a data-driven marketer to do?
I decided to put a web designer on the spot.
How do you deal with designers who want guidance, but hate limitations? In other words, how do you introduce data into the design process without putting your creatives in a straight jacket?
I asked a designer. In fact, I asked a designer who we’ve been doing this to for over a year now.
Tom Niemeyer has been the designer-among-nerds here at Conversion Sciences. If there is any doubt that conversion optimization can be improved by a good sense of design, Tom has put it to rest for us.
For me the question is this: How close to the ranch house do you put the fence? This topic required two episodes. Listen to what he says in part one..
“Sometimes we’re running from our old Website more than running toward the new Website”
The three D’s of Web Design
The three “D”s that Tom talks about are fences.
Deadlines. Decision-makers. Desire paths. What are the primary limiters of your design process?
This is going to require some honesty on your part.
On a scale of one to five rate your current project.

* One to five: The deadline is King.
* One to five: The decision maker is the Queen.
* One to five: The end-user is the one-eyed Jack.

How did you score? Most likely there are two that dominate. And this pattern shows up in all of your projects.
Would your teammates agree? Maybe you should ask.
In Part 2 of my conversation with Tom we talk about defending your design with data. Subscribe to get that next episode. And, don’t forget to send us your questions – podcast@conversionsciences.com.
Now go science something.
Resources Discussed

* https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35443 https://conversionsciences.com/this-is-the-key-to-a-persuasive-website/#respond https://conversionsciences.com/this-is-the-key-to-a-persuasive-website/feed/ 0 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: This is the Key to a Persuasive Website

What is the key to creating a persuasive website? Calum Coburn takes a page from the negotiator’s handbook. Learn the key to being persuasive both in person and on the Web. “Turn the other cheek.” This well-worn phrase has come to mean many things. Forgive easily. Don’t over-react. Be strong in the face of adversity. […]

The post This is the Key to a Persuasive Website appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> What is the key to creating a persuasive website? Calum Coburn takes a page from the negotiator’s handbook. Learn the key to being persuasive both in person and on the Web. “Turn the other cheek.” This well-worn phrase has come to mean many things. “Turn the other cheek.”
This well-worn phrase has come to mean many things. Forgive easily. Don’t over-react. Be strong in the face of adversity.
All of the focus is on the person doing the cheek turning. But the truth is, there is no righteous turning of cheeks without a slap. The full quote from the Bible is this:
“If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”
— Matthew 5:39
This is the classic hero’s journey in one sentence. The hero is presented with an event that changes his world. People will hit you. He faces a choice, to strike back or to elevate himself and turn the other cheek. If he passes this test, he will be transformed.
But none of this happens without the slap. This is traditionally the role of the villain in our stories and myths.
The hero’s journey also shows up in our marketing. We call them customer journeys. If we want to make our customers heroes, it begs the question:
Who plays the villain?
One choice for persuasive website
When we are writing persuasively, we have a fundamental choice: Do we emphasize the positive aspects of our offering, or do we emphasize the potential loss that comes from inaction.
In the first case, we are selling our visitors. In the second we are playing the villain, presenting a negative consequence and agitating our heroes into action.
Would you like to know which works better according to science?
Calum Coburn has the data, and he comes with a very interesting perspective: the world of negotiation. Calum is a trainer, coach and consultant to businesses who want to be better at negotiating.
What does he know about persuasion and how can we use it in our digital marketing.
We talk about the concept of “prospect theory,” and today’s guest is an expert. Literally.
Calum Coburn is the Director and Vice President of The Negotiation Experts, a training and consulting firm that enables sales teams to drive measurable profit improvements.
On today’s show, Calum and Brian discuss the finer points of “prospect theory,” along with how to start building the foundations of trust as soon as your prospects see your web copy.
Resources Discussed

* Myers Briggs Test http://www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/
* www.personalitytype.com/career_quiz
* Kolbe Index https://kolbe.com 
* Stanford Study: https://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html
* The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
* Waiting for Your Cat to Bark by Brian & Jeffrey Eisenberg
* Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
* https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35362 https://conversionsciences.com/why-marketing-leads-dont-turn-into-sales-what-to-do-about-it/#comments https://conversionsciences.com/why-marketing-leads-dont-turn-into-sales-what-to-do-about-it/feed/ 2 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: Why Marketing Leads Don’t Turn into Sales and What to do About It

What stands in the way of converting marketing leads to sales and revenue? Sammy James has the data and a solution for marketing leads that seem to evaporate when sent to sales. Do you remember how we got movie times before the internet? For a large part of my audience, the answer might be “what […]

The post Why Marketing Leads Don’t Turn into Sales and What to do About It appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> What stands in the way of converting marketing leads to sales and revenue? Sammy James has the data and a solution for marketing leads that seem to evaporate when sent to sales. Do you remember how we got movie times before the internet? .avia-video, .avia-iframe-wrap { margin-bottom: 0px;}
Do you remember how we got movie times before the internet? For a large part of my audience, the answer might be “what do you mean ‘BEFORE’ the internet??”.
It was a service called Moviefone 800-777-FILM. Call and it would read the local movie listings to you.
That’s right. People would actually take the phone from the kitchen wall and dial a number to have movie times read to them. This service didn’t shut down until February of 2014.
The men who created this service weren’t making movies or selling tickets. They were making it easier for people to choose movies, eventually leading to them buying tickets. They still did well. Moviefone was sold to AOL in 1999 for $388 million dollars.
The service answered two questions: “Is there a movie I would like to see?” And, “Is there a showtime that works for me?”
The Truth about Marketing Leads
There’s an assumption that sales is going to just [call], that it’s like throwing a piece of steak across the fence to a junkyard dog. You don’t have to worry. They’re gonna grab it. It’s not going to sit there. That’s the assumption of how sales works.
I’m always fascinated by the kind of people that can apply technology to problems even when it seems unintuitive. Why would someone call when they can just look the movie times up in the news paper? Because someone created a service that made it easy enough, that was focused on exactly what was needed, and got the word out about it.
My guest is one of these people.
Sammy James is one of those people who focuses on a problem and single-mindedly work to solve it completely. He sees filling out an online form as the equivalent of sitting down at a restaurant with no waiters. No matter how hungry you are, you’re not going to wait for too long.
Sammy is the founder of Speak2Leads.com a service that connects salespeople to prospects when they fill out a form. It’s a Moviefone-like problem with a Moviefone solution.
Marketing Leads and Your Website
Your website is the Moviefone of your business. Unless you sell an online service, your website’s only job is making it easier for your prospects to make a choice. It answers two questions: “Is this something that will solve my problem?” and “Should I spend more time investigating this solution?”
All of the content you generate to persuade a visitor to buy your product may be wasted time. Your website doesn’t sell your business, it sells the next step. The quote. The demo. The trial. The sales meeting.
When you get back to the office, navigate your website and identify how much of your content is persuading your visitors to buy, and how much of it is persuading them to take one more step.
How much smaller would your site be if it was focused on selling the next step instead of closing the whole deal?
Now go science something.
Links and Resources

* Connnect with Sammy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammyjames/
* Learn more about Speak2Leads: https://www.speak2leads.com/
* Swingers (movie) Was Jon Favreau ever really that young?

Read and Listen
Click anywhere in the transcript to listen.


var embedVars = {
epId: 48221234,
backgroundColor: 'white',
height: '600px',
showSpeakers: true
};

]]> Conversion Sciences 45:57 no How a Marketing Podcast Gives Brands a Human Voice https://feedpress.me/link/4224/13294935/marketing-podcast-gives-digital-brands-human-voice Wed, 26 Feb 2020 13:05:18 +0000 https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35249 https://conversionsciences.com/marketing-podcast-gives-digital-brands-human-voice/#comments https://conversionsciences.com/marketing-podcast-gives-digital-brands-human-voice/feed/ 1 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: How a Marketing Podcast Gives Brands a Human Voice

Can a podcast lend an important human voice to our otherwise robotic digital brands? Here’s what the data says. A website has some limitations when it comes to growing your brand. A website has to wait until someone comes to visit. It’s like that kid always hoping someone will sleep over. You can’t send it […]

The post How a Marketing Podcast Gives Brands a Human Voice appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> Can a podcast lend an important human voice to our otherwise robotic digital brands? Here’s what the data says. A website has some limitations when it comes to growing your brand. A website has to wait until someone comes to visit. A website has some limitations when it comes to growing your brand. A website has to wait until someone comes to visit. It’s like that kid always hoping someone will sleep over.
You can’t send it out on a tour, like a book author. It won’t fill stadiums with screaming fans. It doesn’t count as a passenger so you can use the HOV lane.
When you think about it, a website is more like the brick and mortar store of the digital world. Actually, if you’ve seen the way websites are designed, they are really more like a booth at a generic convention. In Topeka.
If you saw your website at a party, how long would you want to hang out with it, if at all? Isn’t your website more teller machine and less Teller.
Fear not, for the digital world offers a way to lend your digital brand the humanity your website struggles with.
Podcasting is a Shortcut to our Hearts
We’ve been talking about the Cluetrain Manifesto lately, and thesis number three says that conversations between brands and people “sound human” and are “conducted in a human voice.”
Even today, this sentiment flies in the face of our tightly controlled, highly produced, and frequently foiled image-building campaigns. But we know it’s true.
Because, there is a shortcut to your customers’ hearts, and it’s not through their stomachs. Nor is it through open heart surgery. It’s through the holes we use to drain our airpods sitting on either side of our heads.
It’s podcasting.
So how does podcasting work in a digital marketing context. How do you measure it? And what can you expect from this semi-digital medium.
I went to the source. Rob Walch is VP of Podcaster Relations for LibSyn, the leading podcast host. The guy who said, “If you want to be on the radio, just call in a lot!”
“It’s an opportunity to go long form with potential clients or with your target audience. You don’t have to be in pitch mode all the time. You can be yourself. You can talk about real benefits. That’s it. It’s it’s the opposite of Twitter”
I vented some of my frustrations with Podcasting — hint: it’s not a direct response medium — and got an unexpected answer. He also shared with me the data behind the top shows that Libsyn hosts.
When you get back to the office…
What would the voice of your brand be? Or who? Would it be you? Could it be you?
Have you ever practiced your radio voice. I’m using mine now.
Since you’re probably in your car now, you should give it a try. Drop your voice into the back of your throat and push air out with your diaphragm. Then let your voice drop and rise on random words.
Now, try describing your favorite movie. “In a world before running water…”
If you’re stopped at a light, don’t worry. People in other cars will just think you’re singing along to your favorite Bon Jovi tune. Unless they’re listening to this podcast too.
So, how did that feel, giving yourself a voice, a voice designed to communicate? How would it feel to give your brand a voice like that?
Again, could that voice be yours?
Now go scare someone with your radio voice.
Links and Resources

* Connect with Rob
* Learn more about Libsyn

]]> Conversion Sciences 40:26 no When should you invest in Conversion Rate Optimization? I asked a Competitor https://feedpress.me/link/4224/13246096/when-should-invest-conversion-rate-optimization Wed, 12 Feb 2020 13:00:34 +0000 https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35233 https://conversionsciences.com/when-should-invest-conversion-rate-optimization/#comments https://conversionsciences.com/when-should-invest-conversion-rate-optimization/feed/ 2 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: When should you invest in Conversion Rate Optimization? I asked a Competitor

It’s a big question. “When should I invest in conversion optimization for my website?” Even though I’ve been preaching the benefits of CRO since 2006, I don’t consider it an obvious decision. Instead of telling you what I think, I asked a competitor to tell you, just to keep me honest. We have answered the […]

The post When should you invest in Conversion Rate Optimization? I asked a Competitor appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> It’s a big question. “When should I invest in conversion optimization for my website?” Even though I’ve been preaching the benefits of CRO since 2006, I don’t consider it an obvious decision. Instead of telling you what I think, We have answered the question, “How do I pick a conversion optimization consultant,” before. We’ve also told you where to go and get your CRO budget. Now we answer the question of “when” is the right time for conversion rate optimization.
If I’m going to truly help you improve your online business, I have to help you answer this question. The problem is that I have a conflict. It’s easy for me to say, “Hire my company, Conversion Sciences.”
It’s my fiduciary duty as the Managing Partner. Getting new clients is one of the goals of this podcast and why we spend so much time and money on it.
I am eminently qualified to answer this question because of my years of experience, BUT I’m NOT going to be the best source of information on this because I am biased.
So I did something crazy, something that arguably violates my fiduciary duty to my company.
Don’t tell my partner.
Getting a second opinion on Conversion Rate Optimization
To help make you better at investing in conversion optimization services, I did something I may regret.
I invited a direct competitor onto this podcast. Why would I, after all of my investment in producing and marketing this podcast, offer a platform to a competitor?
Because you need a second opinion. Rather than make you go out and find it, I’m going to provide it to you right here on the podcast.
I believe that if I help you answer this question, you will make a better decision. I also believe that our reputation, our brand value and our track record make our brand strong. Strong brands can take risks, especially those that can benefit their customers and prospects.
There are a LOT of websites that need conversion optimization. There is plenty of business to go around.
To help you make the decision about buying conversion optimization services, I didn’t choose some slouch conversion optimization agency spewing best practices. Jon MacDonald is the founder and President of conversion optimization agency called The Good. He has been doing this almost as long as I have. I have to tell you, I was surprised at how similar our two approaches are.
And Jon’s path is very similar to mine.
“If you’re not getting the traffic and engagement to even prove your product is sustainable, then you really shouldn’t be investing in optimizing.”
When you get back to the office…
I recommend that you get an understanding of how small increases in your conversion rate can affect your income.
Search for “Conversion Sciences Calculator” using your favorite search engine.
There you can enter your average monthly traffic, the number of conversions you get, and the value of a conversion — either the transaction order value or the value you’ve placed on a lead or subscriber.
If you aren’t sure, don’t worry. You can play “what if” with the numbers after entering your name and email.
It’s the first step toward understanding if your business is ready for conversion optimization. If you like what you see there, you can schedule a free conversion consultation on our website.
Now go science something.
]]> Conversion Sciences 48:54 no Positioning Your Product or Service https://feedpress.me/link/4224/13208733/positioning-your-product-or-service-to-appeal-to Thu, 30 Jan 2020 22:31:10 +0000 https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35156 https://conversionsciences.com/positioning-your-product-or-service-to-appeal-to/#comments https://conversionsciences.com/positioning-your-product-or-service-to-appeal-to/feed/ 4 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: Positioning Your Product or Service

Positioning your product or service requires understanding the root desire of your website visitors. This changes from visitor to visitor. Positioning your offering generically to appeal to them all doesn’t work. Find out what does.   Why do people buy robot vacuums? Is it to clean the floor? Maybe. Is it to have more leisure […]

The post Positioning Your Product or Service appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> Positioning your product or service requires understanding the root desire of your website visitors. This changes from visitor to visitor. Positioning your offering generically to appeal to them all doesn’t work. Find out what does.  
Why do people buy robot vacuums?
Is it to clean the floor? Maybe.
Is it to have more leisure time? Maybe.
Is it to be seen as tech-savvy to your friends? Hmmm.
Is it to see how your cat will react? That’s interesting.
These are the kinds of questions that the “Jobs to be Done” framework seeks to tease out. Your website and your marketing should address one or more of these positioning statements — at least the valid ones.
“So, Jobs to be Done is a framework that is used to understand the crux of what your customer or potential customer is looking for, to understand what is driving them in the moment where they are ready to make a purchase.”
How do businesses like Casper and Warby Parker carve out space in competitive markets? By positioning the product to a market desire that isn’t obvious to the market leaders.
“Casper was brilliant in convincing people with perfectly fine mattresses that they needed to receive a mattress by mail.”
This is what me and Tara Hunt, my guest on this episode of Intended Consequences discuss. We also talk about the Flywheel approach.
Positioning your product or service accurately is one step. The next is to get into the minds of your audience. Casper used podcasts as one salient way to reach their audience.
“Casper was on podcasts and people that listen to podcasts tend to think companies that advertise on podcasts are cool.”
How to Manage Positioning Your Product or Service
If you’re like me, the positioning ideas are crowding around in your head right now. Old ideas that you thought were just too risky to try are vying for attention against new ideas from my conversation with Tara.
It’s time to give your intuition a little help.
When you get back to the office, immediately open up a clean spreadsheet. Label the first column “Idea”. Label the second column “Data”.
Start jotting the thoughts in your head in the first column. Just describe them enough so that you can recall them in detail later. If you need to draw something, reference the page in your journal in the Idea column.
The “Data” column is where you will list ways to test the idea. List any and all of these that apply:

* Similar campaigns that have succeeded
* A report in analytics that you should run to get evidence
* A strategy for trying the idea in the marketplace safely
* Surveys, focus groups, or user testing that could vet the idea
* Any allies that may have supporting evidence for the idea

This is the beginning of your hypothesis list, a list that should guide your curiosity as you write, design, plan and create communications.
Get in the habit of opening it when you start a new design, document or project.
Now go science something.
Links and Resources
Connect with Tara on Linkedin
Learn more about Truly.
Cluetrain Manifesto
Donna Pappacosta “Earbud Intimate”
Jim Collins Flywheel
https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35086 https://conversionsciences.com/the-cluetrain-manifesto-twenty-years-later-still-relevant/#respond https://conversionsciences.com/the-cluetrain-manifesto-twenty-years-later-still-relevant/feed/ 0 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: The Cluetrain Manifesto Twenty Years Later: Still relevant

“Markets are Conversations.” This the opening salvo in the Cluetrain Manifesto. It’s 95 theses were written at the dawn of the commercial internet to help businesses understand how things had changed. Twenty years later, did we heed their advice? Is the Cluetrain Manifesto still relevant? Contrarians. They’re trouble. At least they’re trouble in structured organizations. […]

The post The Cluetrain Manifesto Twenty Years Later: Still relevant appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> “Markets are Conversations.” This the opening salvo in the Cluetrain Manifesto. It’s 95 theses were written at the dawn of the commercial internet to help businesses understand how things had changed. Twenty years later, did we heed their advice? Contrarians. They’re trouble. At least they’re trouble in structured organizations.
Contrarians seem to always take the stance in opposition to the status quo.
They are more likely to have an authority complex, not because they don’t like to be told what to do, but because authority figures are more likely to do things the way things have always been done.
They are the “But maybe…” in your “Of course we…”.
They are the exceptions to your rule.
They point out the interesting sites along your commute that you’ve never noticed.
It’s hard for contrarians. They believe that you don’t “get it” every bit as much as you believe they don’t get it. They tend to see things as they are and have an unhealthy disregard for tradition.
It’s hard for businesses to find a place for contrarians. But, when they do find their place, the results can be incredible. Think Steve Jobs. He was kicked out of the company he founded before returning to it at a desperate hour.
And maybe this is when we should listen to contrarians, in those desperate hours.
The Desperate Hour of the Cluetrain Manifesto
Back in 1999 a group of contrarians saw a desperate hour approaching. A new tool had begun to change the fundamentals of communication, commerce and expression. The internet was shifting marketing so fundamentally, these contrarians believed, that it would change the way buyers buy and businesses sell.
“The Clue train was all about that. It was all about disrupting the marketing conversation.”
Confused businesses saw the internet as just another broadcasting channel, a place for their crafted ads and manipulative marketing. The contrarians felt businesses really needed to get a clue, to climb aboard the train that had already left the station, headed for the future.
In the spirit of Martin Luther, who launched the protestant revolution by nailing 95 theses on the door of a Catholic church, they nailed their 95 theses on the door of the church of ideas: the world wide web.
The Cluetrain Manifesto was immensely influential to me when it came out in 1999. Yes. Left to my own devices, I am a contrarian. My contrarian bent cost me more than one job and even a few friendships.
But I found my place during a desperate hour. Be mindful of contrarians in positions of power.
It was during a conversation with a new friend, Tara Hunt, that I found a fellow Cluetrain contrarian. Tara is the CEO of marketing strategy agency Truly and is launching Phlywheel, a resource for DIY marketers.
Honestly, I hadn’t thought about the Cluetrain Manifesto in years. When I read it now, it seems obvious, so ingrained is it in my psyche.
I was so glad to rediscover it, that I recorded it for you on this podcast.
Tara and I reminisced about this amazing document and looked back at its impact. Did we businesses learn the lessons of the Cluetrain Manifesto? This conversation took so many turns that we split it into two parts.
In part one, we start off talking about what the Cluetrain Manifesto was about.
In part two, we look at social media, which was nothing like it is today when the Cluetrain Manifesto was created.
Resources and links
Connect with Tara on Linkedin
Learn more about Truly.
https://conversionsciences.com/?p=35090 https://conversionsciences.com/cluetrain-mainifesto-audio-brian-massey/#respond https://conversionsciences.com/cluetrain-mainifesto-audio-brian-massey/feed/ 0 Having trouble viewing the text? You can always read the original article here: The 95 Theses of the Cluetrain Manifesto Audio read by Brian Massey

The Cluetrain Manifesto was written in 1999 by Rick Levine, Chris Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger. It struck me that the new generations of business owners, marketers and executives may have missed this amazing document. It’s been twenty years, after all. So, as a bonus to our Intended Consequences podcast listeners, I recorded it. […]

The post The 95 Theses of the Cluetrain Manifesto Audio read by Brian Massey appeared first on Conversion Sciences.

]]> The Cluetrain Manifesto was written in 1999 by Rick Levine, Chris Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger. It struck me that the new generations of business owners, marketers and executives may have missed this amazing document. Cluetrain Manifesto was written in 1999 by Rick Levine, Chris Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger.
It struck me that the new generations of business owners, marketers and executives may have missed this amazing document. It’s been twenty years, after all.
So, as a bonus to our Intended Consequences podcast listeners, I recorded it. I hope you enjoy hearing it as much as I enjoyed reading it in 1999.
 
For more Cluetrain Manifesto audio, listen to my conversation with Tara Hunt.
In keeping with the tenets of the authors, the Cluetrain Manifesto audio is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
You are free to share and adapt the Cluetrain Manifesto audio file under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
]]> Conversion Sciences 16:37 no