Most people prefer NOT to be sold something. They want to be wooed.
The act of sales-by-seduction can be a fun and exciting experience.
Is your landing page up to it?
While it’s true that visitors to your landing page want to be educated and get help to make rational purchasing decisions, they yearn to be charmed, to have an emotional spark that will push them over the edge to buy.
Begin with the understanding that the art of persuasion does not involve deception. Being courted is fun. Being deceived is not. Sadly, unscrupulous advertisers often confuse the two.
The world’s best brands have mastered the art of “honest seduction” and are able to connect with customers on an emotional level as a way to initiate a mutually rewarding relationship.
A prime example is the way Apple has won the hearts of so many consumers. Apple’s website is a treasure trove of educational content, but their home page, their retail stores, their emails, and their advertising aim right for the heart, knowing that the head isn’t too far behind.
And while education, information, and support are all an important part of your communication strategies, it’s essential to convey the spirit of your company, the soul of your brand, always speaking to the heart as well as the mind.
This way to irresistible landing pages
Appealing Design
The internet is a highly visual medium. And while technical aspects such as search engine readable text and page load time are an important part of the function of the site, they should not overshadow the major objective of providing a unique and enjoyable customer experience.
Customers are willing to spend a little extra time waiting for the page to load when there’s something worth waiting for!
The landing page for the Centre for Arts and Technology is full of relevant search engine text. The page is only 244 KB and a decent Internet connection can load it in around 443 milliseconds. Great technical specs — but the average visitor won’t be aware of it.
The target audience for this landing page is passionate about fashion design and is seeking an education and a career in that field. They’re looking for a program that will inspire them.
To get someone to take more than a second look, the page has to be a visual knockout. The graphics, photography, headline and copy must work together. The imagery is an integral part of the concept.
Yet the technical implementation of this page is relatively simple, using a couple of CSS techniques. It’s not much more work than an attractive “hero shot” but when combined with efficient Javascript for overlays and custom fonts, this page is hard to ignore.
Results? The Centre boasts “conversion rates increased from 4% to as much as 19% by moving from single hand-coded page experiences to content-rich landing page.”
Encourage Exploration
This example of a Dell landing page targets a B2B audience — traffic is directed to it from ads in The Wall Street Journal.
This landing page leads to individual microsites: Guests are invited to explore seven different vertical B2B niches Dell is serving.
Employ segmentation for a more personal touch.
Sometimes marketing messaging takes the form of a long article. When the audience is primed for being educated and in right frame of mind this approach will work.
But using a more interactive experience that encourages exploration can be much more engaging. (People want to be free to make their own discoveries!)
The Dell microsite invites you to zoom in on a specific interest. Then, you are to taken to a page that has a number of features to offer more information to visitors.
A subject-specific headline and text on a purple background welcomes the visitor and directs them to three subtopics below.
By hovering or clicking on the subtopics, detailed information slides up and includes a link to additional educational content on that subject elsewhere.
Clicking on “What people are saying” in the lower left brings up a layer in blue with links to articles, webinars, and social content.
Three essential factors facilitate success:
First, the process must be effortless — the page needs to function smoothly and responsively.
Second, the discoveries must not require the user to get bogged down with numerous steps just to read content.
Third, the discovery should reward the visitor.
Now you have no excuse for not having alluring landing pages. Great content and SEO plus a lot of pizzazz can coexist and help you achieve the best response rates ever.
The landing page for the Centre for Arts and Technology is full of relevant search engine text. The page is only 244 KB and a decent Internet connection can load it in around 443 milliseconds. Great technical specs — but the average visitor won’t be aware of it.
