Conversions by Design

I read the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing and learned a ton.  It’s a great handbook for what to do and what not to do, in general - but sometimes some of these rules need to be broken.

One of the rules that is good to know is the Law of Leadership.  In it, the authors state that the first one to dominate a category will remain the leader. I think this is true, but you have to truly understand what a category is.  Automobiles are an industry or a complete market, while certain types of cars are the individual categories: Luxury sedans (Mercedes, Lexus, Acura); Minivans (Chrysler), Hybrid cars (Toyota), Pickup trucks.

When a new entrant to the market wants to appear different, they must appear different enough to be placed in their own category and separate from everyone else (unless they are just playing catch-up).  Examples of trying to carve out a new market include Scion (customizable cars), large green vehicles (Suburban hybrid), dog friendly vehicles, mountain biker friendly vehicles, etc.  This is a very smart idea, but make sure the category (or subcategory) is big enough to be worthwhile!

By the way, I found this website that does a decent job describing each of the 22 laws (so you don’t have to read the book).

Let’s say you have a car.   Let’s say it was missing a couple things like:

• a steering wheel
• a speedometer
• a fuel gauge
• a windshield

It wouldn’t be so useful, would it?

Driving a car without these visual feedback mechanisms would be extremely difficult - almost impossible.

Having a website and expecting it to get more traffic without Google Analytics (or another low-cost analysis package) is like driving blind.

Working with BBQ Sauce companies, I’ve given out some advice for these folks who are selling a relatively low-cost consumer product.

• Good Site Design is key - lends credibility to your brand.
• Search Optimization (SEO) - make sure you site is seen by Google.
• Offering extras (fun stuff, discounts) - this encourages interactivity on the site.
• Have online ordering - if people want to buy and you cannot accept payment, you are losing business.
• Invest in Web Analytics - it’s smart to understand where you traffic comes in, and what people do on your site.
• Have an Email newsletter - let people sign up for discounts, specials, and contests to build your list
• Get interactive – Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube
• Offer Recipes, Let Your Customers Share Them
• Comment on other people’s blogs to become part of the community
• Go After and Display Testimonials/awards - this lends huge credibility to your sauce

This video gives you an idea of what we’re all about. Designing systems that ensure your website converts visitors to customers.