MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas

Until you are the best choice for your ideal customer, you do not deserve to exist in the marketplace.

That was just one of the interesting suppositions the students of Dr. Flint McGlaughlin heard this morning during the first day of the MarketingExperiments LPO workshop in Ponte Vedra Beach.

The context was the importance of value proposition.

“88% of all landing pages I see have a problem with the value proposition,” said Flint. “What you must answer for your customer is this: ‘If I am your ideal customer, why should I buy from you instead of from any of your competitors?’ … You must figure out why you are best and learn to communicate it effectively.”

The students I spoke with at the lunch break were certainly eager to get started on that effective communication, expressing a range of goals for attending the intensive training. Some hoped to take back “evidence” to a boss to show why a company’s landing pages should be changed, others were expanding their portfolio of professional certifications.

At least two students were shipped here by a marketing-savvy CEO.

Kacy McRae, a marketing communications specialist and graphic designer for Illinois-based B2B Pacific Bearing, and Dominick Doyle, the company webmaster, were sent to the conference by CEO Robert Schroeder, a long-time member of MarketingSherpa. McRae and Doyle confirmed their number one goal is to better manage Schroeder’s marketing dollars.

They certainly got his money’s worth for him today.

From how to design a channel map, through that great overview of the importance of identifying and expressing a value proposition, to the importance of reducing friction (but not completely), balancing it with incentive, and alleviating anxiety, Flint guided students through the “sequence of thought” required to achieve optimal conversion results for their companies, backing it all up with solid test results ranging from the 1,052% cumulative gain we achieved with the New York Times, to impressive lifts for lead generation, retail, and B2B sites.

I’m sure that most students who attended today will agree: The training they got was not only fast-paced, detailed, and useful, it was definitely thought-provoking. Here are a few of my other favorite “Flintisms” from today’s sessions:

• Optimization happens in the mind, not on the page.

• Adequacy is the enemy of excellence.

• Service is a threshold expectation.

• Clarity trumps persuasion.

Day two will encompass a review, then a comprehensive test. Those who manage to be at least 80% correct will come out on the other side with their certificate.

Good luck, you guys.

Pay-per-click metrics can vary a great deal between seasons.

With the economy now slumping, it’s even more important to keep your supply, ad budget, and marketing sides synched with seasonal demand.

Need a surefire way to do that? Put reminders on your marketing calendar to check your cost per sale and profitability, then adjust your seasonal PPC strategies accordingly.

We’re well into the Easter and spring home-and-garden season, but for the rest of the year, you’ll want to map out your paid search strategy ahead of these major seasons:

Mother’s Day; Summer Fun & Vacations―5/1-8/1

Back to School and College―8/1-9/15

Halloween―10/1-10/31

Winter Holidays―11/1-12/25

“Get What You Really Wanted” Week―12/26-12/31

Here’s how to capitalize:

• Update sales and offers on your Landing Pages to match the current season. Ensure your headline, copy and calls-to-action on the page are completely relevant to the offer. You don’t want to create “site flow disruption.”

• Diversify your offers so that you always have a product that’s in season. Stretch. Innovate. Repurpose. For example, flowers and candy for Mother’s Day again? Yawn. What Mom really wants is . . . what you have to offer, of course!

• Study last year’s campaign results. Note the biggest ROI and most profitable keywords. Track these and apply adequate budget.

• Put a reminder on your marketing calendar to check your cost per sale and profitability. Successful paid search means locating the right customers, convincing them to convert, and eliminating costly traffic from tire-kickers.

Here’s a one-question quiz:

You already know the winter holidays are THE major engine for annual income, but how do the other major seasons and holidays stack up in terms of retail sales spikes? According to the National Retail Federation:

#2 Back-to-school

#3 Valentine’s Day

#4 Mother’s Day

#5 Easter

#6 Father’s Day

#7 Super Bowl (not really a season or holiday, but it generated over $9 billion this year)

#8 Halloween

#9 St. Patrick’s Day

Even if you missed #3 and #9 (today), now’s the time to start gearing up for #4-6. Think of it as March Madness for marketers. And if you want a cheat sheet for the rest of the year, download our 2008 MEC Annual Merchandising Calendar (PDF).