I’m starting a series of articles with gems I find in the marketing books I’m reading. Yes, it is true, you really can find wisdom in dead-tree books!
Today’s gem is from “Call to Action: Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results”. I’m really enjoying this book and learning a lot from it. The gem I’m going to share is one that I felt compelled to walk around at work and read to coworkers.
For Heaven Sakes, Let them Pee
Imagine you are sitting in a car in the middle of a long road trip. You really have to pee. It is all you can think about. Your eyes are peeled for the nearest rest stop. [...] Meanwhile, your beloved is sitting next to you, chattering about how lovely the scenery is. Needles to say, you’re not that interested nor are you being even remotely attentive.
[...]
I think that many visitors to online retail stores are on a long road trip and they have to pee. They have a goal and they want to be successful in that goal, they aren’t looking to be distracted until that goal is satisfied. [...] And what is their experience at your store? My guess it’s almost exactly like our poor driver’s experience: they’re trying to ignore information that’s distracting, annoying, and as far as they’re concerned, completely irrelevant to their goal. They’re wading through banners and sale stickers. They’re searching through a sea of chattering navigation links.
[...]
Ask yourself: when she arrives at my store, does my customer have to pee and, if she does, am I letting her? [...] Respect the fact that many customers have something in mind when they arrive and that they’re not looking to be distracted. When they arrive, let them pee. You’ll be amazed how interested they get in the scenery when they’re done.
I think that is an absolutely brilliant observation and metaphor. Why do I need to register at your frickin’ site? Just let me put things in the cart! Quit upselling so hard (you listening, GoDaddy?).
Technorati Tags: Marketing, bryan eisenberg, jeffrey eisenberg, call to action, conversion
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Waiting for Your Cat to Bark Review…
In ‘Waiting for Your Cat to Bark’, Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg with Lisa Davis have delivered the manifesto for the next 10 or 20 years of online marketing. In this brief yet sweeping book they convincingly argue that marketing……
Nice selection. Most stores/sites are like someone who wants to tell you their story before they’ll answer your question. I’m taking a chapter-by-chapter walk through the book (one a day) so please stop by and participate.
A look into the first chapter is here:
http://blogs.commerce360.com/archives/persuasion/waiting_for_your_cat_to_bark_c_1.html
Oops. Just noticed that your selection was from ‘Call to Action’ not the newer ‘Waiting for Your Cat to Bark’. This is the Eisenberg book I’m writing about, but as a fan you’ll very much enjoy this one too.