What I learned at Conversion Conference 2011 in New York. A summary of the presentations I attended, all of which were excellent.

1. Conversion Conference 2011
Summary and Takeaway Points
Jimmy Smith
NowMediaMarketing.com

2. Conversion in a Social World
By Tim Ash, CEO SiteTuners.com
• People value consistency
– Inconsistent people/process are labeled as confused or
two-faced
• Consistency comes with commitment
– “Once we make a choice or take a stand, we will encounter
personal and interpersonal pressures to behave
consistently with that commitment.” - Dr. Robert Cialdini
• Commitment simplifies day to day operations.
– E.g. We drive the same way to work each day. Habits are
very difficult to reverse.
• Small commitments lead to larger commitments
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3. Five Strategies for Improving Social
Media Conversion
• 1. Make sharing easy.
– Put hot triggers (calls to action) in front of motivated people.
– “Three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to
occur: Motivation, Ability, and Trigger.” – Dr. B.J. Fogg – Stanford.
• 2. Humanize the computer experience.
– Video spokespersons work better than you think.
• 3. Demonstrate social proof.
– People care what peers think but it’s just a foot in the door.
• 4. Measure everything.
– Analytics is free, no reason not to be doing it.
– Balanced score card.
• 5. Fight massive filtering with content domination.
– Facebook displays only 0.8% of wall events to users.
– Re-cycle content.
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4. Shopping Cart Abandon/Recovery
by Charles Nicholls of SeeWhy
• Single track view of conversion is problematic.
– Studies show that less than 1% of visitors go straight to buy.
• Abandonment = bad. Conversion = good. Right?
– Not so simple. There are multiple paths to conversion.
– Do you nurture those that fall out of the conversion funnel?
• 71% of shoppers abandon due to timing and pricing.
– Design remarketing campaigns to address those objections.
• Most people don’t convert on the first time
– The question is how well you do at recovery.
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5. Shopping Cart Abandon/Recovery
by Charles Nicholls of SeeWhy
• Abandonment is an indication of intent.
– It’s part of the buying cycle.
– The average person abandons twice before buying.
• Start remarketing as soon as they abandon.
– With no remarketing, about 8% will return to buy
– With remarketing, 26% will return to buy.
• Reach out and give value, but don’t hound them.
– Remind immediately. “Was there a problem with your
order?”
– Reassure the next day. “Returns are easy.”
– Promote the next week. “Save 25%”
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6. Free Tools to Analyze Abandonment
by Ben Jesson of Conversion-rate-experts.com
• Process: techniques more important than the tools
– Shakespeare wasn’t successful from the quality of his quill
pen.
• Start with goals and KPIs.
– How do we measure success?
• Three things killing conversion rate?
1. Visitor intention doesn’t match.
2. Usability problems: User can’t figure out how to order.
3. Persuasion issues: The visitor isn’t persuaded to take the
action.
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7. Free Tools to Analyze Abandonment
by Ben Jesson of Conversion-rate-experts.com
1. Google Analytics. 9. Usability testing. No one
2. CrazyEgg. Clicking heat map uses your website the way
and scroll graph. you intend them to.
3. ClickTale. Conversion and Encourage criticism.
funnel reports. 10. Ethnio.
4. Google talk for live chat. 11. Usertesting.com
5. SurveyMonkey. 12. Google custom site search.
6. 4Q. opt in feedback tool. 13. Create a Robot sales person.
7. Kampyle. feedback tool with Listen to customer calls
charts and graphs. (email and live chat).
8. KISSinsights. Will tell you why 14. Social Media: Twitter. Blogs.
they didn’t convert. Google Alert. Facebook.
Yahoo Answers.
15. Google website optimizer.
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8. Optimizing the Purchase Process
By Raquel Hirsch of Wider Funnel
• Knowing what to test is most important.
– Problem. Hypothesis. Test. Fix.
• LIFT Model for landing page conversion.
– Two variable give lift: Relevance. Clarity.
– Two variables give drag: Anxiety. Distraction.
• What matters is what customers think.
– A/B testing—knowing what you believe may be wrong.
• You have got to measure. Case study:
– audience asked to pick between Page A and Page B
– 100% of audience thought test page B would win
– But it turned out that Page A was the winner.
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9. Persona-Driven Conversions
By Howard Kaplan of FutureNow
• Persona = “A clear understanding of the target customer(s)
that exists in the mind of your team.”
• Myth 1: conversion is a linear process
– not everyone behaves the same or even like themselves on
repeat visits
• It’s not about us
– Visitors have to achieve their goals for us to achieve our goals
• Model for buying: Buying modes are…
– methodical (logical & deliberate)
– competitive (logical & quick)
– spontaneous (emotional & quick)
– humanistic (emotional & deliberate)
• “Clicks are people. Links are decisions.”
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10. Persona-Driven Conversions
By Brian Lewis of SiteTuners
• Myth: Good aesthetic design leads to improved conversion.
• Factors of conversion:
– Psychology.
– Sociology.
– Economics.
– Marketing Design.
• Home pages get so cluttered because we lose our objectivity.
– Politics and department infighting.
• psychology + sociology + economics = Winning landing page
• VIEW of your prospects:
– Value: what do they value.
– Information about them-demographics.
– Emotions: likes, dislikes, emotions.
– Why are they visiting your site.
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11. Persona-Driven Conversions
By Brian Lewis
• Design for MORE conversions.
– Marketing essentials
• Contact info in the upper right hand corner
• Unique selling proposition: Benefits first, then features.
– Offer clarity
• Top reason for abandonment: insufficient information
– Readability
• The more concise the writing, the more difficult to write.
• If everything is screaming for attention, nothing will get noticed.
– Engagement.
• Simplify and demystify.
• Beware of distractions.
– Rotating hero banners are a crutch for marketers, but killing visitors
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12. Tactics to Boost Conversion Rates
By Tom Funk and Reid Greenberg
• Not all changes have to be big
• Small, time-tested changes that have
immediate impact
– Bigger buttons
– Different colors for Buy buttons
– Eliminating required registration
– Placing calls to action above the fold
– Eliminating self-defeating calls to action
• such as Cancel buttons as prominent as the Buy button
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13. Persuading Thru Empathy and Emotion
By Ben Jesson
• Biggest mistake people make when split testing…not to do it.
• Technique 1: Method Marketing
– like method acting, i.e. immerse yourself in the role
• Technique 2: Go to where the customers are
– Interact with them. Learn from them.
• Technique 3: Objection/Counter-Objection
– Talk to people offline to gather Objection/Counter-Objection
• Technique 4: Let the customers speak.
– Ask users what is the objection.
• Technique 5: split test to verify.
• Example: Site that doesn’t want phone calls.
– Explain why phone number isn’t there
– Led to increased sales rather than user frustration.
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14. Persuading Thru Empathy and Emotion
By Kate O'Neill of [meta] marketer
• Analytics can help distinguish the delighted and disappointed
• Segmentation necessary
– Not going to convert everyone. Who are you going to focus on?
• Step 1: use empathy to hypothesize about what visitors want
– Analytics are people. Tease out the details where they lurk.
• Step 2. Identify tests to validate or dispute your hypothesis.
– Start with something that intrigues you. Dig into the data.
• Step 3: Empathize with the people behind the numbers.
• Step 4: Develop relevant messaging.
– Target meaningful segments
• Step 5: Repeat from the top
– use data, instinct, and experience to refine the marketing strategies
• Small gains grow into big wins.
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15. Triggers and Targeted Emails to
Increase Conversion By Carolyn Nye
• Abandoned cart emails work very well.
– 25% conversion and 1/3rd of yearly email sales.
– Program is on auto pilot and has great ROI.
• Optimize order confirmation emails.
– People keep them, re-open them, and click thru.
• Product review emails work.
– They review your product, you send them a coupon.
• Reiterating standing offers can be effective
– A company had free shipping on orders over $50, but
90% of users didn’t realize it.
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16. Triggers and Targeted Emails to
Increase Conversion By Phillip Klien
• Six weapons of influence:
– Scarcity
– Social proof
– Authority
• We tend to obey authority figures
– Reciprocity
• we try to repay in kind what another person has provided us
– Commitment (consistency)
• When we comply with a request, we tend to act more consistently
in future
– Liking
• we prefer to say yes to the requests of people we know and like
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17. Online Selling to the Reptilian Brain
By Amy Africa
• “Homeless. Please help.”
– Marketing guy changed his sign, and he got $60 in two hours.
– He changed it to: “What would you do if you were hungry?”
• We can’t predict our own behavior.
– What we say we do is out of phase with how we actually behave
– People order fruit in advance, but cookies go first in buffet line
• There are three areas of the brain:
1. thinking brain
2. unconscious brain (emotions)
3. the reptilian brain (triggers decisions)-important for survival
• The reptilian brain is the buying brain.
– You are selling to crocodiles.
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18. Online Selling to the Reptilian Brain
By Amy Africa
1. You are self-centered 13. You connect cause with effect
2. You are an inspector 14. You like what’s first
3. You like contrast 15. You have present bias
4. You are visual 16. You are predictable
5. You look for patterns 17. You are impacted more by the
6. You like things you can touch fear of loss than the possibility
7. You like beginning and ends of gain
8. You like to a lot of shortcuts 18. You do not like the unknown
9. You respond to emotion 19. You respond to status
10. Your memory stinks 20. You react to reciprocity
11. You have flawed judgment 21. You respond to scarcity
12. You are easily distracted 22. You respond to size, often
inaccurately
23. You like anticipation
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19. Using Facebook and Converting in the
Social Eco-system by Justin Rondeau
• 17% of people’s time spent online is on Facebook
– Be aware of all the social media, not just Facebook
• Don’t start on Facebook unless you have goals
– Clear, measurable goals
• Facebook landing page is for first time visitors
– 90% of fans never return to a Facebook fan page
• Custom Facebook page instead of the wall increases likes
• 58% of people go to Facebook pages to find deals/coupons
• Using automated tools for engaging reduces engagement
by 80%.
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20. Converting in the Social Eco-system
by Ric Dragon, Author Social Marketology
• Understand Social Conversions and Business Objectives
• Try mapping the two to one another
– Social conversions don’t map cleanly to business goals
– Not everything of value maps to dollars
• Don’t just measure easy things.
• Use Balanced Scorecard
– Financial
– Customer
– Learning and Growth
– Internal Business Process
• Educate stakeholders for increased internal adoption
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21. Content Domination Through Thought
Leadership by Byron White
• Step 1 The Content Plan
– How much content? How frequently? Distribution?
• Step 2 Content Creation
– Understand Customer Wants and Needs
– Learn the Power of Stories
– Videos, Blogs, Customer Resource Center
• Step 3 Content Optimization (SEO)
– Competitive and Keyword Research
• Step 4 Understand the sales funnel
• Step 5 Content Distribution Channels
– On-Site and Off-Site Distribution
• Step 6 Measure Performance All-the-Time
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22. Content Domination Through Thought
Leadership by Byron White
• 5 Tips to Win the War on the Web
– Tip # 1 Conversion Formula
• Conversion = (Content + Usability + Motivation) -
(Friction + Anxiety)
– Tip # 2 Likes are the New Links
– Tip # 3 Sell WITHOUT selling
• Great Information Sells, Not the Products or Services
– Tip # 4 Develop YOUR Personal Style Guide
– Tip # 5 Free SEO Tools Help Your Content Get
Found
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23. Usability & Design Mistakes that Kill
Conversion by Lance Loveday
1. Dysfunctional websites.
– Site crashed or downloads that take forever.
– It’s not always the big strategic stuff that makes the difference.
2. Being unclear.
– Users should never ask this question: What do I do next?
3. Being irrelevant.
– Be consistent with headline, image, copy, and call to action.
– A custom landing page for each campaign “does my heart good.”
4. Testing bad ideas poorly.
– RARE change. Remove, Add, Replace, or Enlarge (buttons/headlines).
5. Quitting too soon.
– Testing is a long term initiative. The improvement should never end.
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24. Usability & Design Mistakes that Kill
Conversion by Larry Marine
1. “Selling” the customer on the landing page
– Guide the users down the garden path. Four states:
• Aware: Resonate with the users point of pain.
• Attention: What’s in it for me
• Desire: A desire to believe
• Intention
2. Wearing underwear on the outside
– Most sites are a reflection of how the company sees
themselves, not how the users see them. This is backwards.
– Don’t expect users to solve their own problems. You do it.
3. Fear of commitment.
– Every action is a type of commitment.
– Incrementally engage your visitors.
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25. NOT doing usability testing?
Are you nuts? By Steve Krug
• Sites will be more successful by giving people a reason
• Shortcuts help users deal with complexity
• Usability testing = watching people use the site while
thinking out loud
– A focus group (people’s opinions) is NOT usability testing
• Usability tests prevent design based on personal biases
• Most sites don’t get tested because of time and money
– “If we test, we’ll find problems, and then we’ll have to fix
them, and we wouldn’t want to do that.”
• Don't ask for opinions, just ask the user to do the task
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26. Conversion Conference 2011
Summary and Takeaway Points
Jimmy Smith
NowMediaMarketing.com