We’re Bored

We’re bored. Not all of us, and certainly not all the time, but it does happen a lot. Look into the eyes of the person at the checkout counter next time you purchase something. Observe the expressions on faces of drivers in rush hour traffic. Boredom is everywhere, and probably more so in our online experiences, and I believe it’s a by-product of poorly structured experiences.

What consumer behavior are you trying to drive?

Think beyond your bottom line online marketing objectives (i.e. more sales, grow subscriber base, or greater brand exposure) when considering ways in which you’d like to effect the behavior of prospects visiting your site. Instead focus on five activities that will have an overall impact on your bottom line:

1. Leverage games and contests to build awareness and loyalty. This will not only excite and engage your audience but provide a means for exchanging value. In exchange for contact information and when they intend to purchase a home, car, or product,s you will provide them with an opportunity to win something.
2. Eliminate the noise and focus on valuable content. Your landing pages should be clear and concise with a primary call to action. Somehow we think if we have enough calls to action, something will stick. This is the recipe for disaster. Think like the customer, what is the first step they should take? Once you have that answer, be creative in how you can help them take the first step (call to action). Don’t try selling them, help them find the answers that you can provide.
3. Provide a free prize. Remember as a kid why you wanted a certain cereal? Was it really the cereal? No. It was the free prize inside. A free prize is not a gimmick. It’s a cool twist that doesn’t cost a fortune but transforms the way people think about your product or service. Get creative here and champion a soft innovation. This is one area we spend many team hours contemplating and creating for our customers.
4. Automate. Don’t make your customer have to wait on you to receive something. Create systems and sales processes that work 24/7. It is annoying today to have to wait to get information, don’t annoy your customer or prospect.
5. Develop a process and roadmap that get to the goal. Put the hours into knowing and understanding the steps to the goal. This is one of the first steps we take with our customers. We develop a visual roadmap and a step-by-step process that usually is around 200 to 400 steps to get to our goal. It is the hard work, but without it you miss the goal or get sidetracked.

If you don’t carefully architect the experience, the behavior you likely will elicit from your customer is —- a yawn, and you will be ignored.