Learn how to replicate a 331% lift in your own inbound marketing efforts

Offer Response Optimization

Session Speaker

Jon PowellMarketing and Sales Funnel OptimizationMECLABSA testing and optimization veteran with hands-on experience gained through managing hundreds of A/B and multivariate tests for ecommerce, healthcare, financial, and education Research Partners and clients. Jon studies prospects, products and processes to help organizations 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 education program site applications

129% increase education program browsing lead conversions

@JonPowell31

EXPERIMENTInbound Offer Response

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Background: Migraine Treatment Centers of America offers an innovative long-term migraine treatment solution to people suffering from migraines.

Goal: To increase leads from the website

Primary Research Question: Which value exchange strategy will result in a higher conversion rate?

Approach: A/b multifactor split

Experiment ID: MTCA Microsite TestLocation: MarketingExperiments Research LibraryTest Protocol Number: TP1560

Research Notes:

�Background and Test Design

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The control landing page casts a broad net and attempts to bridge all content to action connection 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-sideVersion 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 action 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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F Key Principles

What we discovered

1. Too often, marketers take a rule based approach to marketing their content

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Rule-based Optimization

Science-basedOptimization

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

Practice

Methodology

Meta-theory

Rules vs. Science

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F Key Principles

What we discovered

1. Too often, marketers take a rule based approach to marketing their content

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

A SHOPPING EXPERIENCEOffer Response Optimization

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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 conversionm = Motivation of userv = Clarity of the value propositioni = Incentive (additional) to take actionf = Friction elements presenta = Anxiety elements present

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Perceived Value Exchange

Perceived Value

Perceived Cost

EXPERIMENTMotivation

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Background: Medical provider specializing in treating chronic back pain. They are the sole providers of a minimally invasive, innovative pain management procedure.

Goal: To plan a content marketing strategy based on the copy focus that generates the most appeal in condition-based searchers.

Primary Research Question: Which content focus (copy) will achieve a higher clickthrough rate?

Approach: A/B Multifactor Split Test

Experiment ID: NAS Content ApproachLocation: MarketingExperiments Research LibraryTest Protocol Number: TP40XX

Research Notes:

�Experiment: Background

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Treatments

[Condition] Sufferer?Learn about the causes & solutions,from the experts in spine health.NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condition]

[Condition] Sufferer?Free access to back pain resourcesfrom the experts in spine health.NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condition]

[Condition] Sufferer?Compare available treatments,from the experts in spine health.NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condition]

[Condition] Sufferer?How to recognize the symptoms,from the experts in spine health.NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condition]

Back Pain Resources Causes & Solutions

Symptoms Treatment Options

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[Condition] Sufferer?Free access to back pain resourcesfrom the experts in spine health.NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condition]

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

T2: Treatment Options

[Condition] Sufferer?Learn about the causes & solutions,from the experts in spine health.NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condition]

T3: Causes and Solutions[Condition] Sufferer?How to recognize the symptoms,from the experts in spine health.NorthAmericanSpine.com/[condition]

T4: Recognize Symptoms

Results

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

99.7% relative increase in click-through rate!

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F Key Principles

What we discovered

1. Prospect motivation cannot be determined…it must be discovered

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

3. Prospect motivation can be based upon1) internal motivations of the prospect and 2) external events surrounding a prospect

Motivation

Internal Relevance

• Personal interests • Demographics• Shopping habits• Personality• Communication styles• Level of engagement

External Relevance

• Seasonality• Special discounts• Limited-time offers• News events• Competitive initiatives

EXPERIMENTClarity of the Value Proposition

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Background: Medical provider specializing in treating chronic back pain. They are the sole providers of a minimally invasive, innovative pain management procedure.

Goal: To determine which presentation of the content focus will result in the greatest measurable interest (click-through)

Primary Research Question: Which presentation will achieve a higher clickthrough rate?

Approach: A/B Multifactor Split Test

Experiment ID: NAS Content ApproachLocation: MarketingExperiments Research LibraryTest Protocol Number: TP4068

Research Notes:

�Experiment #2: Background

ControlAd Template

Bulging Disc TreatmentRead about our 30-minute treatmentfor bulging disc back pain relief.NorthAmericanSpine.com/Bulging_Disc

Herniated Disc TreatmentHerniated Disc? You Have Options.Ask Our Experts About AccuraScope™.NorthAmericanSpine.com

Proven Sciatica TreatmentRelieve Sciatica Nerve Pain withOur Unrivaled 30-Minute Procedure.NorthAmericanSpine.com/Sciatica

Degenerative Disc DiseaseRelieve Degenerative Disc Pain w/Our Unrivaled Revolutionary ProgramNorthAmericanSpine.com/Degenerative

Relief From Back PainRead about our 30-minute treatmentfor total freedom from back pain!NorthAmericanSpine.com

Pinched Nerve TreatmentNew 30-Minute Procedure, ReclaimYour 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 condition searched for

Bulging Disc SymptomsRead about our 30-minute treatmentfor bulging disc back pain relief.NorthAmericanSpine.com/Bulging_Disc

Herniated Disc SymptomsHerniated Disc? You Have Options.Ask Our Experts About AccuraScope™.NorthAmericanSpine.com

Sciatica SymptomsRelieve Sciatica Nerve Pain withOur Unrivaled 30-Minute Procedure.NorthAmericanSpine.com/Sciatica

Pinched Nerve SymptomsNew 30-Minute Procedure, ReclaimYour Life From Pinched Nerve Pain.NorthAmericanSpine.com/PinchedNerve

Lumbar Back Pain SymtpomsRead about our 30-minute treatmentfor total freedom from back pain!NorthAmericanSpine.com

Version B

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

approach in the description only

What has changed• Description uses the symptoms

content approach with the specific condition searched for

Bulging Disc TreatmentRead about Bulging Disc Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com/Bulging_Disc

Herniated Disc TreatmentRead about Herniated Disc Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com

Proven Sciatica TreatmentRead about Pinched Nerve Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com/Sciatica

Degenerative Disc DiseaseRead how our spine experts can helprelieve Degenerative Disc Symptoms!NorthAmericanSpine.com/Degenerative

Pinched Nerve TreatmentRead about Pinched Nerve Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com/PinchedNerve

Relief From Back PainRead about Back Pain Symptomsand 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 + description

What has changed• Both headline and description use

symptoms content approach, while staying specific to the condition searched for

Bulging Disc SymptomsRead about Bulging Disc Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com/Bulging_Disc

Herniated Disc SymptomsRead about Herniated Disc Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com

Sciatica SymptomsRead about Pinched Nerve Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com/Sciatica

Pinched Nerve SymptomsRead about Pinched Nerve Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com/PinchedNerve

Lumbar Back Pain SymptomsRead about Back Pain Symptomsand 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 (description) 0.21% -25%

Version C (headline & description) 0.39% 40.3%

40.3% Increase in click throughVersion 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 description for visitors conducting condition-based searches

[Condition] SymptomsRead about [Condition] Symptomsand see how our experts can help!NorthAmericanSpine.com/[Condition]

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What we discovered

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Value Proposition Question

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

competitors?

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F Key Principles

1. The force of a value proposition can be measured by four essential 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 Proposition

KEY CONCEPTSIncentive

Incentive

Ideal Incentive: Incentives must be tested. There is an “ideal incentive.”

Until you find an incentive that gives you a major ROI increase, you must assume you have not yet found the ideal incentive.

Friction Elements Incentives

ABANDON COMPLETION

KEY CONCEPTSFriction

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F Key Principles

Friction

Two common elements that create Friction:1. Length2. Difficulty

Friction is also generated by pages and processes that do not match a proper thought sequence.

Therefore, the message must be specifically crafted to synchronize to the decision patterns of the recipient

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Friction: Example 1…but thisNot this…

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Friction: Example 1…but thisNot this…

47%IN CONVERSION

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Friction: Example 2

Not this… …but this

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Friction: Example 2

Not this… …but this

93%IN CONVERSION

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Friction: Example 3

Not this…

…but this

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Friction: Example 3

Not this…

…but this

81%IN CONVERSION

EXPERIMENTAnxiety

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Experiment ID: New York TimesLocation: MarketingExperiments Research Library�

Background: The New York Times came to us with a subscription product that they were having difficulty marketing called the “Electronic Edition”

Goal: To increase the number of subscriptions for the “Electronic Edition”

Primary research question: Which page design will generate the most subscriptions?

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 subscription.

Optimized

Experiment: Treatment

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OptimizedOriginal

Experiment: Results

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

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

2. If you think about mitigating anxiety in rational terms, you are likely to fail in your efforts. Though anxiety often is stimulated by a legitimate concern, its degree/impact is often disproportionate to the measure of risk.

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

F Key Principles

Anxiety

REVIEWConcepts

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The MECLABS Conversion Index

C = 4m + 3v + 2(i-f) - 2a ©

Wherein:C = Probability of conversionm = Motivation of userv = Clarity of the value propositioni = Incentive (additional) to take actionf = Friction elements presenta = 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 PowellMarketing and Sales Funnel OptimizationMECLABSA testing and optimization veteran with hands-on experience gained through managing hundreds of A/B and multivariate tests for ecommerce, healthcare, financial, and education Research Partners and clients. Jon studies prospects, products and processes to help organizations 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 education program site applications

129% increase education program browsing lead conversions

@JonPowell31

Learn how to replicate a 331% lift in your own inbound marketing efforts

Offer Response Optimization