the most effective calls-to-action: 5 principles discovered for increasing customer response
DESCRIPTION
Think for a moment about your current calls-to-action on your main offer pages. Are they in the right place on the page? Are they generating enough customer response? Is your CTA copy optimized? What if there were some slight modifications you could make to your CTA copy, placement, size and color to experience a significant increase in response? In this 35-minute Web clinic, the MECLABS research team will cover the essentials to swiftly modify your CTAs for a performance lift. In addition, we will be reviewing your CTAs live, so you can apply everything you learn in the clinic to your own optimization efforts.TRANSCRIPT
The Most Effective Calls-to-Action:5 principles discovered for increasing customer response
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Background: A large global media company seeking to sell premium software to businesses.
Goal: To move visitors to the next step in the funnel.
Research Question: Which button text will result in a significant increase in clicks and leads captured?
Test Design: Single factorial A/B split
Experiment ID: TP1785Record Location: MarketingExperiments LibraryResearch Partner: (Protected)
Experiment: Background
Background: Side-by-side
Treatment A Treatment B Treatment C
Treatment D Treatment E
Button Text Click Rate % Rel. Change
Start Free Trial 19.66% --
Try Now 14.45% -26.5%
Start Here 17.69% -10.0%
Get Started 18.22% -7.3%
Get Started Now 21.98% 11.8%
Relative increase in clickthrough12%“Get Started Now” significantly outperformed every other button text treatment.
Experiment: Results
Experiment: Results
In order of performance
14.45%
17.69%
18.22%
19.66%
21.98%• Why didn’t “Start Free Trial”
win? Doesn’t that offer the most value for the customer?
• Why did “Start Free Trial” outperform “Get Started?”
Experiment: Results
What expectation does this text create??
Experiment: Results
How does the expectation change with this text??
FKey Principles
1. The call-to-action cannot be viewed in a vacuum; it must be viewed in context of the entire conversation that is occurring in the customer’s mind.
What you need to understand
• The call-to-action is not limited to just a button; it encompasses every element on a page that transfers customer conversation into customer action.
The customer conversation
Moment of Orientation Conversation Value
Exchange
First 7 Seconds Subsequent minutes
Customer Experience Timeline
What would you test next??
Are there any underlying principles for creating and identifying a high-performing call-to-action?
?
High-performing calls-to-action
First, we started by collecting and analyzing all case studies from our library that isolated the call-to-action as it relates to the customer conversation.
100+ statistically conclusive experiments
500+ printed pages of test data
250+ creative samples
Meta-analysis
High-performing calls-to-action
While conducting our examination, we identified five principles common to case studies that produced a significant increase in response (either step clicks or end conversions).
Meta-analysis
In today’s clinic, we will quickly review each of the five principles discovered and illustrate how they connect to creative elements on your webpages.
Today’s focus
The Principle of AlignmentEffective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
High-performing calls-to-action
Protocol ID: TP1501The principle of alignment
To this
From this
7%In Clicks
125%In Conversions
The original call-to-action assumes customers will find value in understanding their problem.
This call-to-action tests to discover if customers find more value in a proposed solution.
Protocol ID: TP1499The principle of alignment
From this
To this
This call-to-action set assumes most arriving customers are interested in quickly finding the right information.
This call-to-action tests to discover if arriving customers are interested in various degrees of first steps.
35%In Clicks
Protocol ID: TP1637The principle of alignment
From this
To this
229%In Sales Qualified Leads
This call-to-action assumes all customers will connect their specific needs to this catchall next step.
This call-to-action combination tests to discover if there is an additional group of customers seeking very specific information.
The Principle of AlignmentEffective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
The Principle of TimingEffective CTAs are presented at the right time in the conversation with the customer.
High-performing calls-to-action
Protocol ID: TP1583The principle of timingFrom this
To this
This page presents arriving customers with a call-to-action almost immediately.
This page moves that entire call-to-action to a tab, encouraging visitors to focus on the content prior to considering action.
120%In Conversion
Protocol ID: TP1901The principle of timingFrom this
This page also presents arriving customers with a call-to-action almost immediately.
This page moves that call-to-action to a time-delayed pop-under, and for these customers, misses the opportunity to convert interest into action.
29%In Conversion
To this
The Principle of AlignmentEffective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
The Principle of TimingEffective CTAs are presented at the right time in the conversation with the customer.
The Principle of Absorption Effective CTAs are easy to absorb for the customer as they are scanning the page.
High-performing calls-to-action
Protocol ID: TP1073The principle of absorption
X Y
Y X
From this
To this
The primary, desired call-to-action is difficult to clearly see in this design.
This design is adjusted to ensure customers will see the opportunity to create a free alert.
2,793%In Alerts Created
Protocol ID: TP1746The principle of absorption
From this
The design of each call-to-action section creates difficulty for customers wanting to understand what they can expect from a click.
This design is adjusted to ensure that customers will clearly understand where they will go and what they should expect.
177%In Clickthrough
To this
Protocol ID: TP1169The principle of absorption
The specific design of this call-to-action makes it difficult for customers to process the options proposed.
This design presents the very same information in a way that helps the reader process options with significantly less friction.
36%In Paid Subscriptions
From this To this
The Principle of AlignmentEffective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
The Principle of TimingEffective CTAs are presented at the right time in the conversation with the customer.
The Principle of Absorption Effective CTAs are easy to absorb for the customer as they are scanning the page.
The Principle of NegationEffective CTAs appear to be the only meaningful choice for your ideal customer.
High-performing calls-to-action
Protocol ID: TP1560The principle of negation
To this
From this
To the customer, these three calls-to-action are difficult to separate in their mind.
These three calls-to-action, however, are written to help the customer immediately identify their ideal path.
331%In Conversions
Protocol ID: TP1640The principle of negation
From this
To this
To the customer, the only immediate, discernable difference between the three options is the name and price.
In this treatment, copy is re-written and presented to provide an immediate distinction between products, helping customers identify their ideal path.
63%In Revenue/Visit
41%In Revenue/Conversion
The Principle of AlignmentEffective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
The Principle of TimingEffective CTAs are presented at the right time in the conversation with the customer.
The Principle of Absorption Effective CTAs are easy to absorb for the customer as they are scanning the page.
The Principle of NegationEffective CTAs appear to be the only meaningful choice for your ideal customer.
The Principle of RedundancyEffective CTAs re-emphasize the essential value of taking the action.
High-performing calls-to-action
Product Name
Protocol ID: TP1552The principle of redundancy
From this
To this
This “add to cart” pop-up summarizes their action with essential product information.
This pop-up, however, re-emphasizes a money-back guarantee presented earlier in the process.
37%In Conversion
Product Name
Protocol ID: TP1305The principle of redundancy
From this To this
This call-to-action form isolates all content before the information exchange begins.
This form, however, adds a single testimonial to support the moment of action.
35%In Conversion
FKey Principles1. The call-to-action cannot be viewed in a vacuum; it must be viewed in context
of the entire conversation that is occurring in the customer’s mind.
2. A meta-analysis of more than 100 statistically conclusive tests identified five principles common to case studies that produced a significant increase in response:
1. The principle of alignment
2. The principle of timing
3. The principle of absorption
4. The principle of negation
5. The principle of redundancy
Summary of discoveries
Live OptimizationCalls-to-action
Live optimization
Primary Audience: B2BPrimary Objective: Click through to the lead form
CenturyLink Technology Solutions
http://bit.ly/1cHLJPM #WebClinic
Live optimization
Primary Audience: Customers looking to storePrimary Objective: Click to form-fill page
Fetch Storage
http://bit.ly/1fQB9IV #WebClinic
Live optimization
Primary Audience: NASCAR fansPrimary Objective: Sell event tickets
Daytona International Speedway
http://bit.ly/1c8Wojb #WebClinic
Live optimization
Primary Audience: BusinessesPrimary Objective: Link professionals to businesses
Comparendo
http://bit.ly/1cK1fgs #WebClinic
Background: A large well-known insurance carrier.
Goal: To increase the number of lead responses to a scripted voicemail.
Research Question: Which voicemail script will generate the most lead responses?
Test Design: A/B single factor split test
Experiment ID: PendingRecord Location: MECLABS Research LibraryResearch Partner: (Protected)
Next Clinic: Experiment background
Next Clinic: Treatment A
Hello, ___, my name is Lisa and I am calling
with [Insurance Company]. We are currently
the fifth largest life insurance carrier in the
nation offering competitive rates and solutions
to help ease administration burdens. When we
last spoke, you told me that you work with a
broker for your price quotes for the group life
benefits. I would like to get your broker contact
information in order to be in consideration
when they next do their evaluations for you.
Treatment A
Next Clinic: Treatment B
Hello, ___, my name is Lisa and I am calling with
[Insurance Company]. When we last spoke, you
told me that you work with a broker for your price
quotes for the group life benefits. Since we do not
nationally advertise and may not have had the
opportunity to work with your consultant; we
would like to share our information with them. I
would like to get your broker contact information
in order to be in consideration when they next do
their evaluations for you.
Treatment B
Next Clinic: Side-by-sideTreatment A
Hello, ___, my name is Lisa and I am calling
with [Insurance Company]. We are currently
the fifth largest life insurance carrier in the
nation offering competitive rates and solutions
to help ease administration burdens. When we
last spoke, you told me that you work with a
broker for your price quotes for the group life
benefits. I would like to get your broker contact
information in order to be in consideration
when they next do their evaluations for you.
Hello, ___, my name is Lisa and I am calling with
[Insurance Company]. When we last spoke, you
told me that you work with a broker for your price
quotes for the group life benefits. Since we do not
nationally advertise and may not have had the
opportunity to work with your consultant; we
would like to share our information with them. I
would like to get your broker contact information
in order to be in consideration when they next do
their evaluations for you.
Treatment B
Which treatment won?
Live March 26 at 4:00 pm EDT
• The exact changes in the script that achieved the 31% increase• Why each of those changes improved performance• How you can apply the same principles to your call scripts• Key strategies from the underlying theory of lead nurturing
Join the live 35-minute Web clinic
To see the results
To join live, register at the link below:
MarketingExperiments.com/LeadNurturingTested
See how you can conduct research with us
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