An Experiment from marketingexperiments.com Video : http://youtu.be/iO9cLNXLprE The most effective calls to action: 5 principles discovered for increasing customer response The call-to-action is one of the most vital elements in your marketing. Consequently, when you think for a moment about the current calls-to-action on your main offer pages, how can you be sure they are generating enough customer response? 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? Watch this Web clinic replay for the results from a recent experiment where calls-to-action were put to the test.

1. The Most Effective Calls-to-Action:
5 principles discovered for increasing customer response

2. We’re sharing on Twitter!
#WebClinic

3. 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: TP1785
Record Location: MarketingExperiments Library
Research Partner: (Protected)
Experiment: Background

4. Background: Side-by-side
Treatment A Treatment B Treatment C
Treatment D Treatment E

5. 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

6. 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?”

7. Experiment: Results
What expectation does this text create??

8. Experiment: Results
How does the expectation change with this text??

9. 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

10. • 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

11. What would you test next??

12. Are there any underlying principles for
creating and identifying a high-performing
call-to-action?
?

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. The Principle of Alignment
Effective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
High-performing calls-to-action

17. 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.

18. 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

19. 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.

20. The Principle of Alignment
Effective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
The Principle of Timing
Effective CTAs are presented at the right time in the conversation with the customer.
High-performing calls-to-action

21. Protocol ID: TP1583The principle of timing
From 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

22. Protocol ID: TP1901The principle of timing
From 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

23. The Principle of Alignment
Effective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
The Principle of Timing
Effective 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. The Principle of Alignment
Effective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
The Principle of Timing
Effective 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 Negation
Effective CTAs appear to be the only meaningful choice for your ideal customer.
High-performing calls-to-action

28. 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

29. 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

30. The Principle of Alignment
Effective CTAs are aligned to the specific customer desires and/or needs.
The Principle of Timing
Effective 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 Negation
Effective CTAs appear to be the only meaningful choice for your ideal customer.
The Principle of Redundancy
Effective CTAs re-emphasize the essential value of taking the action.
High-performing calls-to-action

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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.
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

34. Live Optimization
Calls-to-action

36. Live optimization
Primary Audience: B2B
Primary Objective: Click through to the lead form
CenturyLink Technology Solutions
http://bit.ly/1cHLJPM #WebClinic

37. Live optimization
Primary Audience: Customers looking to store
Primary Objective: Click to form-fill page
Fetch Storage
http://bit.ly/1fQB9IV #WebClinic

38. Live optimization
Primary Audience: NASCAR fans
Primary Objective: Sell event tickets
Daytona International Speedway
http://bit.ly/1c8Wojb #WebClinic

39. Live optimization
Primary Audience: Businesses
Primary Objective: Link professionals to businesses
Comparendo
http://bit.ly/1cK1fgs #WebClinic

40. 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: Pending
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: (Protected)
Next Clinic: Experiment background

41. 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

42. 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

43. Next Clinic: Side-by-side
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.
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

44. Which treatment won?

45. 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

46. See how you can conduct research with us
MECLABS 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 directly
info@MECLABS.com
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