product pages tested: how carefully pinpointing customer anxiety led to a 78% increase in conversion
DESCRIPTION
All over the Web, our product pages are underperforming. It isn’t that we’re losing customers who would never buy the product in the first place, we are simply failing to communicate our products in a way that highlights the most important value and alleviates implicit customer concerns. According to the recently released MarketingSherpa E-commerce Benchmark Study, the majority of marketers reported their overall e-commerce conversion rate was below 5%. That means for every 100 people, 95 of them don’t convert. Until we can improve our product pages to help the customers understand the product better, those conversion rates won’t change. In this clinic, we revealed a real experiment where changes to the product page produced a 78% increase in conversion. You learned: • Exactly what changes were made to the product page • Why the changes made the difference • How you can apply the principles from this clinic to your own pagesTRANSCRIPT
Product Pages TestedHow carefully pinpointing customer anxiety led to a 78% increase in conversion
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Today’s speakers
Austin McCrawDirector, Content ProductionMECLABS
Taylor KennedySenior Research ManagerMECLABS
Ben HuppertzSenior Research ManagerMECLABS
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What do these pages have in common?Logo
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Anxiety definition
C = 4m + 3v + 2(i-f) - 2a ©
C m v ifa
= Probability of conversion= Motivation of user (when)= Clarity of the value proposition (why)= Incentive to take action= Friction elements of process= Anxiety about entering information
Wherein:
Anxiety: Psychological concern stimulated by a given element in the conversion process.
There are two reasons marketers should care about customer anxiety
on their product pages.
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Why should marketers care?Reason #1. Because when we correct for anxiety, we see performance gains.
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Why should marketers care?Reason #1. Because when we correct for anxiety, we see performance gains.
LogoLogo
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129%Increase in
clickthrough
87%Increase in conversion
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262%Increase in conversion
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Why should marketers care?Reason #2. Because the needed correction often calls for simple and small changes.
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Why should marketers care?Reason #2. Because the needed correction often calls for simple and small changes.
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Why should marketers care?Reason #2. Because the needed correction often calls for simple and small changes.
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Which small changes have the most impact on our product pages?
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What is the true impact of anxiety?
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What is the true impact of anxiety?
We tested four of these elements to determine their true impact on a
specific product page.
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What is the true impact of anxiety?
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Experiment: Background
Background: A large e-book retailer.
Goal: To increase the overall number of e-book sales.
Research Question: Which attempt to reduce anxiety will result in the highest conversion rate?
Test Design: A/B variable cluster split test
Experiment ID: TP1713Record Location: MECLABS Research LibraryResearch Partner: (Protected)
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Experiment: Version A – site security
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Experiment: Version A – site security
Concern:• Is the checkout
secure?
Corrective:• Version A
attempts to reduce anxiety with a security seal.
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Experiment: Version B – [product] specifications
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Experiment: Version B – [product] specifications
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Concern:• Is my device
compatible?
Corrective:• Version B
illustrates compatibility with all devices.
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Experiment: Version C – description
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Experiment: Version C – description
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Concern:• Is this a book I
want to read?
Corrective:• Version C brings
the synopsis to the top of the page.
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Experiment: Version D – shipping [access] time
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Experiment: Version D – shipping [access] time
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Concern:• Can I read this
immediately?
Corrective:• Version D
highlights the short time it takes to begin reading.
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Experiment : Side by side
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Version A: Site security Version B: [Product] specifications
Version D: Shipping [access] timeVersion C: Description
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Experiment: Results
Relative increase in conversion78%Moving the product description up on the page increased conversion by 78%.
Design Conversion Rate % Relative Change
Control 1.92% –
Version A: Site Security 2.56% 33.4%
Version B: [Product] Specification 2.29% 19.1%
Version C: Description 3.42% 78.0%
Version D: Shipping [Access] Time 2.35% 22.5%
What can this experiment teach us about anxiety that we can apply to
our product pages?
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What we discovered
A
BD
C
10%
30%
50%
70%
Co
nve
rsio
n R
ate
1. Every element we tested on the page overcorrected some type of customer anxiety, with some elements performing more effectively than others.
Key Principles
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What we discovered
10%
30%
50%
70%
Co
nve
rsio
n R
ate
DB
A
C
2. The effectiveness of each corrective directly related to how it matched the specific concern in the mind of the customer.
Key Principles
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1. Quality
2. Reliability
3. Security
4. Price
Specific Corrections1. Satisfaction Guarantee
2. Testimonials
3. Third-Party Seals
4. Low-Price Guarantee
Specific Sources
What we discovered
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Ease of use
Product quality
Customer satisfaction
Cost justification
What we discovered
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What we discovered
3. Location plays an important role. You can more effectively correct anxiety by moving a corrective element in closer proximity to where the concern is experienced.
Key Principles
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Summary
1. Anxiety is lethal to conversion, and it can often be corrected with a simple, yet strategic, change to a product page element.
2. The effectiveness of an anxiety corrective is dependent on two essential factors:
• Specificity – How specific is the corrective to the source of anxiety?
• Proximity – How close is the corrective to the moment of concern?
Live optimization
Company: JPro
Primary Audience: Commercial fleet managers
Page Purpose: Product page
http://bit.ly/1pIbbMz
Company: Sunway College
Primary Audience: Prospective students7
Page Purpose: Course information page
http://bit.ly/1lyJpjI
Company: Ceresnie and Offen Furs
Primary Audience: High-end coat wearers
Page Purpose: Product information page (no online sales)
http://bit.ly/1uCNoeA
Company: Precious Moments
Primary Audience: Figurine collectors
Page Purpose: Product purchase page
http://bit.ly/1lCTBGv
Company: Bellacor
Primary Audience: Interior decorators
Page Purpose: Product category page
http://www.bellacor.com/
Company: Electric Fireplaces Direct
Primary Audience: Home decorators
Page Purpose: Product page
http://bit.ly/STnuae
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Next Clinic: Background
Background: A large audio technology and engineering company offering professional and personal audio products
Goal: To increase email clickthrough
Research Question: Which email approach will result in the highest clickthrough rate?
Test Design: A/B split test
Experiment ID: TP20173Record Location: MECLABS Research LibraryResearch Partner: (Protected)
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Next Clinic: Version A
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Next Clinic: Version B
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Next Clinic: Version C
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Next Clinic: Side by sideVersion A Version B Version C
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Live July 9 at 4:00 p.m. EDT
• What changes were implemented in the copy • How to identify the right call-to-action for an email send • How you can apply the principles from this clinic to your own email
marketing efforts
Join the next live 35-minute Web clinic to discover:
Next Clinic: Email Copy Refined
To join live, register at the link below:
MarketingExperiments.com/EmailCopy
Email Copy RefinedHow a change in copy approach led to a 25% relative increase in clickthrough rate
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See how you can conduct research with usMECLABS 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:
• Select Research Partnership Opportunities on the post-webinar survey
• Contact us [email protected]
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