Marketing Guru's abound in the B2C sector. Their Insider Secrets of Explosive Marketing Techniques! approach may work in that sector, but I agree with Debbie Weil - it doesn't feel right for the B2B market. There are, however, valuable lessons to be learned - especially benefit laden headlines that engage the reader. If your web site isn't selling, start by reading Brad Fallon's article on the subject. His tip is that most B2B sites don't sell because they don't use direct response marketing techniques. Instead, they use brand marketing techniques - we've all heard Where do you want to go today ? or Vorsprung Durch Technic but what do they really mean, what benefits do they offer ? These may work as the tag to a multi-million dollar brand marketing campaign but they probably won't work for you. WebCredible have some very useful tips on writing effective B2B sales copy, as does Shelley Lowery Nick Usborne's site has some excellent web marketing tips. I think his paper "Writing for the Web" is a must. The archive at Conversion Chronicles is well worth a look as is this PDF from Wordtracker.com How to identify Benefits A good example of B2B web marketing is Volvo's Construction Equipment site - notice that their copy is loaded with benefits and "power" words. • Define the problems that buyers have - the problems that your service will solve. This is the primary reason you developed your product. • Define the unique features of your solution. This your unique selling proposition (USP). • Convert problems and solutions into questions. Use the right question as the page headline and you self-select your target market. And get their full attention. For example, the headline of this page is... Struggling with Web Marketing ? May I ask why you are reading this page ? Is it because the headline got your attention and you silently answered "Yes, I am" ? Your unspoken answer prompted you to read on. The question headline shows that I identify with the problem and can solve it - in effect I am saying "I am the same as you" which helps establish rapport. Sean D'Souza says, "...the question-based headline...beats the living daylights out of a straightforward statement-based headline." Marketing headlines should do several things:
• they
relate to your problem, Start with the "If you <have this problem> and want <main benefit>, then..." angle but only ask questions that will get a “Yes, that’s me" answer. Question headline examples:
Tired of Switching Mortgages ? Try naming the target audience Over 50 ?
You could save 35% on your home insurance Other "classic" marketing headlines include... Have You Ever..? Can't think of a "Yes" question? Then use your problem-solution as a marketing headline. Sell the benefits of your features with a How To <Solve This Problem> approach. Notice that some of my sub-headings start with How To. This is because I couldn't come up with a suitable question headline that would get a "Yes" response. "How To..." headlines are almost as powerful as question headlines - they promise solid information and solutions to problems. If you're stuck for a headline, start by thinking about How To <Solve This Problem> and you can quickly write a decent, workmanlike headline. You're not going to hit the best possible headline on your first try and you can't tell in advance what will work. Don't be afraid to experiment and measure the response. How to Test Headlines Put a tracking system in place. For example, Webalizer freeware provides basic web traffic stats. And Google are now accepting sign-ups for their free Analytics service. Review the top search strings that visitors use to get to your web-site and correlate those with the top entry pages and most visited pages. Develop several free, high quality White Papers that visitors can request. Place freebie request prompts on those pages with each freebie introduced by a different experimental headline. Track conversion rates and find what works. I find about 25% of visitors go to my About Us page. Therefore, it's a good place to offer a freebie. The worst headline I ever used was Simplicity in a complex world... your key to success - it got zero response. Why? Because it says nothing - no obvious benefits; just hyperbole. March 2006: Headline Test Results I've recently done some split-testing and found that: Headlines starting <Do You> Want To <solve this problem?> pulls 400% better than <Do You> Need To <solve this problem?>. It seems that people respond to Wants rather than Needs And How To <solve this problem> pulls 200% better than Want To <solve this problem> How To headlines promise solid information
Quickly & Easily <solve this problem> pulls
50% better than Inherited
<this problem ?>
Setting Up X in a Small Business? pulls
300% compared to Get More Done With <my products
features>
Setting Up X in a Small Business? pulls
200% compared to Are You Responsible For X? CONCLUSION The ideal B2B marketing headline should
April 2006 - Stress Security Stressing the security of online payments has doubled our number of instant downloads. How to Improve Web Page Layout I like the clean simplicity of MintDigitial's site. They say focus your message - and their Portfolio is worth a look too. PowerHomeBiz have a useful article on design and DigitalWebDesign show a Before and After marketing make-over. Learn How Not To Do It at WebPagesThatSuck There is some very interesting Eyetrack "heat maps" (which demonstrate how people "see" various page elements) in the Detailed Results at http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/. Google have a heatmap relating to the placement of Adwords on a page. While neither of these relate directly to direct response marketing, they have some interesting ideas. MarketingSherpa and Eyetools have done a joint study and their Landing Page Handbook : How to Raise Conversions -- Data & Design Guidelines" is available at $247 (remember that price for later). Eyetrack say "... people do typically look beyond the first screen. What happens, however, is that their eyes typically scan lower portions of the page seeking something to grab their attention. Their eyes may fixate on an interesting headline or a stand-out word, but not on other content. Again, this points to the necessity of sharp headline writing". See the full article for yourself. Web usability 'guru' Jakob Nielsen observes that not placing the price in an obvious location is rife in B2B web-sites. He also says "Price is the most specific piece of info customers use to understand the nature of an offering, and not providing it makes people feel lost and reduces their understanding of a product line. We have miles of videotape of users asking "Where's the price?" while tearing their hair out." So - try putting your price, "call to action" and freebies above the fold. May 2006 - F-Shaped Page Scans Nielsen's Eyetrack study shows that people typically scan web pages in an F-shaped pattern, therefore your page layout should take advantage of this behaviour. Picture This If you are selling something boring (like software) don't show a picture of the packaging on the sales page - the packaging of one web browser or anti-virus software is much like another and conveys no obvious benefit. Instead, support your message with pictures of the users enjoying the benefits of your product (eg less stress, more productivity, etc.), interspersed with product screen shots. Take a look at SmartDraw and WebCEO as examples. Observe the position of their "calls to action" and freebies - they are above the fold. Develop Trust with "About Us" Use the About Us page develop your web site's "personality" and support your marketing message - I think CD Baby and James Byrne are good examples - they demonstrate industry expertise and "personality" that's right for their markets. Back-up your sales pitch with facts and figures from industry reports and surveys - especially if they highlight customers problems or perceptions. Then discuss your unique solution to these problems. This helps establish trust, expertise and credibility. Also use these surveys, etc to develop your headlines and sales copy. Your web site is trying to convince visitors to buy from you. People buy from people so put your photo on the page. Ensure you are looking straight at the viewer and are making eye contact. This immediately let’s your potential customer know that they are dealing with “real” people. Support the photo with your scanned signature in blue ink, and type your name after your signature. Try this in your sales guarantee and freebie pages too - it helps with conversion. And so does this: after the Call to Action on the sales page, try adding a line like "If you have any questions before you order please e-mail me" Who else wants Double the Average Conversion ? In marketing, "Conversion" is defined as the percentage of visits resulting in a sale or sales lead. Conversion rates are the key evaluation tool in web marketing Steve Jackson's case study of this online pharmacy is worth signing up for. Notice that it uses question-based headlines (as part of a wider make-over) and "improved online sales by 1300%" - from 0.01% to 1.3%. These conversion rates indicate that the average is about 1.8%. Bryan Eisenberg says conversion is around 2.3%. I find pages which have a strong headline + photo + signature + an image of happy customers generate around 5% conversion. Also, the Who Else Wants...? headline seems to work best when supported by facts and figures. Tips on Price and Value The B2B market seems to buy on value not price - don't aim to be the cheapest. The perceived value is based on the amount of pain your product will save me - ie the benefits that the product will deliver. Price your product competitively and consider what you need to make on 2% sales to get a reasonable return on your investment. Marketing guru Ted Nicholas says, "...the price of my books and tapes ends in 7. There is a good reason for this. Remarkably, with the same copy and offer for any given product, I have proven time and again through testing that you can increase sales simply by changing the price to one ending in the number 7." We've all seen $ 99.95, but somehow $ 99.97 seems more real. Notice that MarketingSherpa, Shelley Lowery and Tesco price most products to end with a "7" - eg web marketing tips in action |
