Category: a slice of STRATEGY

Are your website landing pages for products, services – or even just lead capture – not getting you the results you want? Are people getting to the page but then failing to convert? Then check out these great tips from a TrafficSwarm video. In the video, he walks you through some audits of real landing pages in a straightforward, easy to understand way.

Remember, landing pages are different from your site’s shopping cart or product list. A landing page needs to correspond to a Search ad, directory listing or specific link placed on other sites.

Here are some of his top tips:

1) One landing page, one action requested: The landing page should be unique – don’t try to sell all products on one page, or even have distracting links and sign up forms all over it. While you might think you are giving people options, you just end up confusing them and do not get them to take the action you really want them to take. “One purpose for one landing page” should be your mantra. As stated above, this is different then a site shopping cart or product directory, where you can list multiple items – landing pages correspond to one Search ad, email campaign or listing on another site.
2) Grab attention with a strong headline: Start with a strong, benefit-rich headline, often in large font in a different color from the rest of the page. If you can evoke emotion or visually paint the benefit, even better. Remember, sell benefits, not features!
3) Page format matters: A 3-column page format does not work as well as 1 or 2 column formats for landing pages. Again, this is why your landing page may need to look different from your regular website pages. This helps keep the visitor focused.
4) Use testimonials the right way: Sprinkle testimonials through the page, rather than having a section announcing “Testimonials” – this will automatically make people turn off. Highlight quotes in some way, whether with shaded text, or italics. But not necessarily all in bold (see #5).
5) Go easy on the BOLD: When you try to highlight everything, you end up emphasizing nothing, so ensure you only BOLD key phrases or words that you really want to shine. Bolding everything won’t help you.
6) Use relevant questions and copy: Questions are great ways to headline a landing page, but make sure the question is compelling and relevant to the rest of the copy. Same is true for the ad – make sure the ad copy is relevant to what the visitor will see on the landing page and is not a bait and switch.
7) Ask for the minimum amount of info: The more information you request from a visitor in a form, the less conversions you will get. Try splitting this into a 2-step process: ask them their name and email in one screen, then give them more info on the next one and ask for a bit more.
8) Use a quiz to increase curiosity: If you are using a quiz to get signups or sales, ensure the quiz tests their knowledge in a way where they are absolutely compelled with curiosity to find out the answers – then you can get them to sign up in order to get those answers.
9) Leverage the Submit button to promote benefits: Use the Submit button as a chance to resell them on the benfits – “Yes! I’d like to save money” or something like that. There are subtle ways to entice action.
10) Avoid a color no-no: Green copy tends to look bad on a white background due to minimal contrast – try red or black for emphasis.

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Why so much hate? Starbucks was called out all over the web and media today for plans to open a stealth branded location in Seattle under a different name. Only the WSJ seemed to report just the facts without the hatred.

Basically, Starbucks is testing out how well it fares if it removes it’s perceived corporate brand from a coffee shop and tries for a more neighborhood feel, called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea. I have news for all those doomsayers out there who say this is a sign that SBUX is in trouble: this is not the first time Starbucks has done this. I beleive they had a concept location in 2000 in SF’s SoMa neighborhood.

I am constantly amazed at the level of venom directed at Starbucks. Here is a business that changed the way America drinks and thinks about coffee. Pick up Howard Schultz’s biography, Pour Your Heart into It if you ever get a chance. This book made me love Starbucks and all it represents. Howard had a dream to create a third place in society outside of home and work where people could gather and build community. He wanted to recreate the feel of European coffee bars here in America, by offering good coffee, comfortable settings and a place to gather. And by all accounts, he succeeded in that mission.

People complain about the “real” neighborhood coffee houses not getting their props; that Starbucks is trying to “manufacture” the setting that these more homegrown varietals provide. But I’ve got news for all of you haters out there: Those coffee shops have done extremely well as a result of Starbucks changing the American perception of coffee. None of those smaller guys had that kind of impact. Are they complaining that their profile has increased as a result of Starbuck’s mission and marketing? Some say that Starbucks has put many of those out of business. But I say, not all of them have been put out of business; those who are good have thrived and survived as a result of Starbucks shifting Americans’ attitudes towards coffee and coffee shops. It sort of reminds me of the Sour Grapes tale: just because Starbucks was able to change the culture and profit from it, some of the smaller guys (not all, but some) are bitter. And Starbucks has indeed done a world of good at raising awareness of small coffee farmers and community causes, as well as just educating the public about coffee in general.

What else can Starbucks do but try to test out such concepts? They have such vicious critics of their “big brand” feel so they want to try a new approach. Here’s my thing: if people enjoy the brand experience, the coffee, the ambience of a non-branded Starbucks, what difference does it make who owns it? The experience is still the same to that consumer; their need is still met, the community still gathers there and benefits. When people complain about it just because it is Starbucks behind it, it just seems like a childish tantrum to me.

What do you think? Would love to hear different points of view on this to try to understand all the hatred towards this brand.

This is the kind of perspective and info you get when you ask a member of an audience group what is really going on – and don’t make stereotypes or pre-judgements. Apparently, teens are not using Twitter and FB as much as many people think. Again, this might be just one perspective, but he seems to have done some research with his peer group (I haven’t seen the full report so I can’t say for sure). I love that this 15 year-old intern’s report is taking the investment community by storm. Power to the people. Lesson here? Don’t guess what your customers want, need, or how they want to be communicated to: ask them.

According to today’s WSJ, the luxury wine market is not faring well in this downturn. As many of you can guess, people are cutting back and the spending orgy of the last few decades (of which, I admit, I took part on many a Napa/Sonoma bus trip) is quieting down. We even discovered the joys of cheap wines at the Fremont Wine Warehouse here in Seattle, where they only sell bottles that cost $25 or less from Washington and around the world. You can find some aweseome gems at that price, so why bother plonking down $80 for a bottle of Silver Oak? (on release day at the winery, of course; in a restaurant, it will cost 2 or 3x that).

Some brands are choosing to go with the flow and discount, either through retail outlets or through their distributors. But others are resisting this ploy and hoping to keep their “luxury brand” status intact. As one Napa distributor stated in the article, “If you’re a $90 bottle of wine and all o the sudden you’re on the Internet at $50, how do you ever become a $90 bottle again?”

Even restaurants are offering more bottles at a more moderate pirce range than in the past. And they are trying to offer more wines by the glass as people cut back as well.

I’m not sure what the right answer is for a luxury wine brand. I guess like with everything related to branding, it depends on their unique customer profile. There’s the reality of reduced revenues right now, but you could damage your brand if you sink too low and then try to bounce back in better times – which might have more of a long-term impact. American wines have indeed been a bit overpriced in the last few decades, but a precious few have been worth it. Innovative wineries are even turning to Twitter and Facebook to try to cultivate new customers directly – and some have been showing success with that. Only time will tell, I suppose.

Don’t let the economic downturn fool you: a small investment in brand building strategy now will reap rewards later on. I know budgets are tight, but just paying for someone to make you a pretty logo with no brand strategy behind it will hurt you in the long run. This oldie but goodie article from Business Week reviews why branding matters.

As we emphasize at Red Slice, don’t spend one cent on marketing until you determine your brand strategy. Your brand, as the article steps through, is your personality, its the promise you make to the world and its your “lifestyle.” I promise you that if you don’t think through your brand strategy before developing your logo, website, etc. you will be hurting later on. Brand strategy can be done in a matter of weeks, not months, if you really devote the time to it.

I love this quote by Steve Manning, managing director of Igor, a branding and naming firm based in SF: “If you have not specified your company’s brand, don’t spend another dime on marketing until you do. While everyone’s familiar with megabrands such as Apple (AAPL), Nike (NKE), and Virgin, small companies can also develop potent brands and market them successfully.”

The WSJ reported this morning about companies’ growing fight to stop Twitter imposters opening accounts in their names. One such imposter is using this ploy to try to get free passes and new business as ransom.

So far, Twitter has responded quickly and efficiently to complaints by shutting down false accounts but insists they can’t yet stop people from opening such profiles in the first place. They are planning to put a security check in place for celebs and public figures but the cost to do this for all known companies is a bit prohibitive. Twitter says it also prohibits unauthorized use of trademarks as part of its policy.

When it comes to branding, such a false Twitter account can be deadly. Anyone posing as you, putting messaging out into the ether, could harm your brand. And even if they don’t post anything seemingly harmful, you have someone out there in your name not controlled by your message – and leaving your fans following the wrong guy.

But the award for Biggest Cajones in this respect must go to marketing consultant David Goebel of Goebel Group. He created a Twitter profile in the name of amusement-park operator Cedar Fair in Ohio – for Buckeyes out there, they own Cedar Point. Then, he had the chutzpah to offer to relinquish the name account back to them in exchange for season passes to the park, as well as “suggesting” they hire his firm to oversee its Twitter account. Goebel did relinquish the account and was quoted as saying,that they should have given his proposal “some consideration.”

Yowsa. That’s one business development strategy, I’ll give him that. Folks, I don’t know about him, but I don’t have that kind of time to open up false Twitter accounts and keep them going. And I don’t subscribe to the philosophy that a good client relationship starts with extortion.

Talk about tarnishing your brand.