Customer Chaos

The PubCon South 2009 Interview with Brian Massey

2009-04-01T09:29:00.001-07:00

Conversion Scientist Brian Massey and Vanessa Zamora

Curious about what a Conversion Scientist does? This may help. Though I've given better interviews in my life, I think Vanessa's poise more than makes up for my blathering.

Slides from my PubCon South 2009 presentation are at What to Test? The Conversion Scientist.

http://budurl.com/PubCon09Vid

Scarcity Breeds Industry in Marketing

2009-02-26T23:17:00.001-08:00

Beating the competition when resources get tight

An article I coauthored just landed in the Bulldog Marketing Watchdog Journal. There is an opportunity out there, an opportunity created by panicked competitors making bad decisions about what to cut in anticipation of slowing sales.

Are you one of those "competitors?"

The second installment is

Scarcity Breeds Industry: Where Should You Be Putting Your Marketing Dollars in 2009?

The first article was:

Five Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage—While Everyone Else Is Panicking

I may be off base, but my colleagues, Joel Granoff and Rose Holston (both appear in the header of The Conversion Scientist blog) are too smart to be dismissed offhand.

Tell us what you think in the comments here.

Brian Massey

Beating the Competition in 2009 and a Behavioral Marketing Riff

2009-02-04T18:55:00.001-08:00

Avoid the mistakes your competition will make to gain customers this year.

While I've decided not to participate in the recession, that doesn't mean that things won't be different for me in 2009. My clients' competitors -- and yours -- are totally bought into the recession and will be making some bad decisions.

This is good news for you and for me.

I detail some of the mistakes your competition is going to make this year in an article I co-wrote for Bulldog Solutions. Check out Five Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage While Everyone Else is Panicking.

The third recommendation we offer in that article is "Concentrate on programs that move prospects through the sales funnel." Behavioral Targeting is just one of the strategies you should consider to snatch customers from your competitors. The second entry in my Behavioral Marketing column for ClickZ includes a riff on what behavioral marketers can learn from the simple action of visiting a Web page. I've recorded a Behavioral Targeting Lullaby inspired by George Carlin.

Is the Internet Shaping Culture or is it Just a Symptom of Change?

2009-01-15T22:07:00.001-08:00

If it's not the cause, then what is?

I did a bit of a rant on my profile over on the Society for Word of Mouth community. I was sitting at the Wizard Academy, a school of communication that has been predicting a change in culture that would transform the way we communicate. Ray Seggern was doing a presentation called "The Pendulum" made famous by Wizard Academy founder Roy H. Williams. It's the kind of presentation that sticks with you for weeks after you see it.

One thing that Roy puts forth very convincingly is that the Internet and it's sibling technologies are a tool of change more than a cause of change.

This is a pretty scary thought.

Why? Because, if it's the Internet that is causing the kids to act so funny, then we can keep an eye on it. If it's just a symptom of the change, then something more nefarious is going on, something that may sneak up on us. Either way, you can't opt out. It'll get you too.

Are you going to be surprised? Visit the Wizard Academy on March 13th a free day of mind bending clarity. It's about communicating fully and so much more.

Entrepreneurs, Business Models and Bootstrappers

2009-01-10T11:58:00.001-08:00

What Business Models are You Exploring for Your Business?

We've begun a conversation over on the Bootstrap Austin blog that I hope you'll join. I tried to come up with examples of businesses leveraging the six "Generatives" that Kevin Kelly discusses in his interesting manifesto "Better Than Free."

This is where you come in. I wasn't really able to tease too many examples out of my head. How does your business takes advantage of one or more of his generatives?

Immediacy
Personalization
Interpretation
Authenticity
Accessibility
Embodiment
Patronage

Let us know by commenting on the Bootstrap Austin blog.

The Christmas ConversionCast

2008-12-24T10:19:00.001-08:00

We've prepared a Christmas Video that only a Conversion Scientist's mom would love. So, if you're thinking about your visitors this Holiday Season and wondering how your Web site will cheer your new year, you may find this gift from us to you inspiring.

You've inspired us this year.

May your holiday's bring you cheer and may that feeling stay with you long into the coming new year.

What is Social Conversion?

2008-12-18T22:44:00.001-08:00

We've started an interesting thread over at The Conversion Scientist on Social Conversion. What is Social Conversion? How is it different than classic Conversion strategies, such as Landing Pages?

The post, Drilling in on Social Conversion Strategies, was inspired by a collaboration between me and Dave Evans, the result of which appears in his most recent ClickZ article, Social Conversion: Taking Step Two.

I'll be starting my own ClickZ column in January focusing on Behavioral Marketing. Needless to say, I am both excited and intimidated by the thought of joining some of the brightest people in marketing over at ClickZ.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Conversion Scientist and/or the Conversion Scientist Podcast.

Free Copywriters to Do What They Do Best

2008-12-03T18:49:00.001-08:00

Does your copywriter suffer from PTSD?

In a rant on what Business Owners can expect when building a Web site, I expressed my sympathy for copywriters, who, I asserted, often suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

The red ink that a business owner pours over (the copywriter's) work looks to them like blood. ... Most are beaten into submission, delivering mind-numbing copy with the flavor of Styrofoam.

You see it every day. Incoherent chains of adverbs and multi-syllabic words designed only to make the business look smarter or bigger than it really is.

Good copywriters are storytellers. Business owners want manifestos to what they've built.

I've upped the ante over on The Conversion Scientist with the post Zero Steps to Copy That Makes Visitors Stick. Copywriters, are you ready to engage a new business model for developing Web copy?

The Three-comp Copy Model

In my experience, copywriters can expect to get paid somewhere between $1500 and $2500 for a typical business-to-business Web site. Some charge by the hour. Some charge by the page. Some charge a project price tied to an estimate of the hours required.

Designers may get $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000 for the same site.

This seems upside-down to me. A unique design generates interest. Compelling copy generates engagement, leads and sales.

Copywriters should offer a three-comp package for about $7,500, in my opinion. They will deliver three different "Copy Bodies" that tell a story from the value proposition down to the features and benefits. Then the business owner can select one of the three. You have to enforce only one rule: they can do little more than correct any inaccuracies in your copy.

You will then pull from the copy body to populate Web pages, adding appropriate headings as you go.

Where would the extra cash for the copy come from? Well, let the designers do one version -- and only when the copy is complete. They should be able to select design elements when they have a compelling copy narrative to design from.

You've gotta be good

Of course, your copy has to be compelling. You have to work extra hard to understand who's coming to the site. You have to understand them better than the business.

You have to be confident using stories, metaphors and analogies that help the reader understand the value that the business provides. Your headlines have to appeal to the four kinds of buyers you're writing for: Competitive, Methodical, Spontaneous and Humanist.

You also have to appreciate the importance of search keywords in your work. Good writing will already be very search engine friendly.

Who will take the three-comps challenge?

I'm looking for that copywriter who is willing to put this business model to the test. You probably won't be working with a design firm; you'll need to go directly to the client.

When you pitch the price, talk about conversion rates, lead generation, visitor engagement, time on site, and lower bounce rates. Designers can't "move the need" much on these, but you can with content.

To sweeten the deal, offer to throw in a white paper or case study that can be used to generate leads. This will underscore you're ability directly influence their online business goals.

I'll personally coach any copywriter who is willing to take on this challenge. No charge. Contact me by phone or email if you think you have a client to whom you can pitch this idea.

Comment here and let us know if you've had any luck with this approach. Let's put a crack in the dam that has held Web copywriters back for so long.

Photo courtesy nookiez via stock.xchng

Are Your E-mail Superstitions Getting in the Way?

2008-11-24T12:40:00.001-08:00

If you’re considering investing in a social marketing campaign, and you haven’t nailed your e-mail strategy, you may be investing in the wrong place.

Over on The Conversion Scientist, I present the five superstitions that keep businesses from making the most of e-mail, and do my best to debunk them.

E-mail is perhaps the most cost-effective way to communicate with qualified prospects for your business. It is far more measurable than almost any social media marketing strategy. And, e-mail is the biggest social network on the planet.

Will you let go of your superstitions?

Help me out. You can vote for this story on Junta42 and on Sphinn.

Photo courtesy zettmedia via stock.xchng

The Three Conversion Strategies You've Got to Get Right

2008-11-12T13:03:00.001-08:00

I've posted my presentation from the Innotech eMarketing Summit over at The Conversion Scientist.

The presentation will take you through a process from which you will learn the Web Marketing Pattern that your Web site matches. This is based on what your visitors are trying to accomplish and what your business needs to accomplish.

I then identify three key strategies for each type of Web site that -- I believe -- you must get right in order to convert traffic to leads and sales.

You'll find the audio and the slides over at The Conversion Scientist. Don't miss a post.

Picture courtesy Brian Combs of Apogee Search

A Social Network Your Business Can't Ignore

2008-11-03T15:24:00.001-08:00

We use a little bit of parody on the new Conversion Scientist blog to drive an important point home.

Do you know which social network is the largest on the planet? It has members numbering in the billions. It is used by people young and old. You're most likely a member, but your business may be ignoring it as a way to connect and convert.

Find out about the social network your business can't ignore over at the new Conversion Scientist blog.

I hope Ray Tomlinson has a sense of humor.

Image copyright BBN Technologies.

Best Buy's Personas Irritate Blogger

2008-10-27T17:13:00.001-07:00

I was recently pointed to a post from March on The Consumerist stating that Best Buy was behaving poorly by developing personas of their most profitable buyers.

Those of us that know the power of Personas won't be surprised that Best Buy does this. In fact, I wondered what took them so long.

Read my take on the "controversy" and view their personas on the NEW Conversion Scientist blog.

Best regards,

P.S. Did you get a chance to check out the ConversionCast? Do you want a ConversionCast done of your home page or landing page? Simply submit your page and we'll let you know.

Our Newest Experiment in Conversion: The ConversionCast

2008-10-23T12:33:00.001-07:00

Technology and opportunity can create an exothermic reaction.

When you're in the science business, things can get quite dull for long periods of time. Much of the time, you're just waiting for an experiment to end, washing test tubes, or inhaling the fumes from the Nitrous Oxide experiment.

And then WHAM. You mix a couple of ingredients just right and you're scrambling for the fire extinguisher. What is left behind is often a ball of melted glass and metal.

But, on rare occasions what is left is something of beauty and usefulness.

Such is the case with the ConversionCast. By carefully combining one part Live Conversion Review and one part screen capture software, and several crayons, I've created an explosive mixture resulting in the passing of knowledge at an alarming rate.

Our first ConversionCast is up. It isn't perfect, but we'll get there. After all, I'm a scientist.

P.S. The ConversionCast is hosted on the New Conversion Scientist blog. What do you think?

Win Customers by Filling in the Blanks

2008-10-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

When we don't anticipate our visitors' needs and only present features and benefits on our site were asking them to fill in the blanks about how our solution solves their problem.

Every visitor is trying to solve a problem. Period.

Tell your visitors how they will will solve their problems with your product, and they will turn into buyers.

Your competitors are afraid to do this. In this post were going to explore some new ways of looking at your visitors so that you can speak to their problems.

You Don't Have To Solve All Problems

Businesses are afraid to talk about specific problems because afraid they might miss some. The thinking is, "we can't anticipate every need so we will let the reader figure out."

So, is it your decision to solve nobody's problems because you can't solve them all?

Be Smart About Who You're Targeting

Since you can't solve everybody's problem you've got to be smart about whose problems you are going to address. Here are some questions that will help you select the right customers to target.

What is the most common problem your visitors are trying to solve?
Who are the most profitable prospects coming to your site?
Who are the easiest to close?
Which customers have the longest lifetime value?

Every business will have their own definition of the right customer. Of course you should only consider prospects that will be coming to your Web site.

If you can solve their problems, tell them

Now you can dive in and tell your visitors exactly how you're going to solve their problem. Don't ask them to fill in the blanks. Draw a clear line of reasoning between their problem and your solution. It's no longer necessary to simply describe your features and benefits. Tell them how your company is going to give them what they want at a price that is more than fair.

Don't Wimp Out

As you create content that is specific, compelling and invites people to act, you'll inevitably feel that you're being too specific. Don't wimp out. If you start to worry about what your less important visitors will think, you'll find yourself creating the mishmash of ineffective, unfocused content that will give you exactly what you don't want: more traffic for your competitors.

Your bravery in the face of specificity will pay off.

As this series progresses we'll talk about the tools you'll need to uncover your key visitors' stories and identify the content they'll need to feel confident taking action on your site. We'll also talk about how to avoid the organizational pitfalls that can lead to ineffective content.

Don't miss a post.

photo courtesy satty4u via sxc.hu

Let Joe the Plumber Give You Control of Your Site

2008-10-17T08:46:00.001-07:00

John McCain gave us a powerful tool for making decisions that you can use to create a Web site that converts traffic to customers.

McCain introduced us to "Joe the Plumber" in the presidential debate this week. McCain used Joe to illustrate his debate points more clearly and effectively. So powerful was this device, that Barack Obama couldn't help himself. He began talking about Joe too.

Now everyone is talking about Joe the Plumber, using him to frame discussions and, ultimately, to help them choose how to vote.

In this post, I'm going to tell you why this tool -- called a Persona -- is so powerful, and show you how you can use your own Joes to pick the online strategies that work for your business.

It's Not About Demographics

When McCain introduced us to Joe the Plumber, he told us very little about him.

Joe is a plumber. His name is Joe Wurzelbacher.
Joe is male.
Joe wants to buy the business he's been in for "all these years."
Joe works ten to twelve hours a day.
Joe had an encounter with Barack Obama.

How can an entire country relate to Joe the Plumber without detailed demographic data on him? We don't know any of the things that marketing consultants tell us we need. We don't know his age, ZIP code, marital status, family size, buying habits, or his boxer/briefs preference. Yet, today he is galvanizing discussions in the media, pundits and voting public.

How could you harness such power in your decision-making process?

Put Joe to Work on Your Web Site

Think about the customers that are most important to your business. Why are they coming to your Web site right now? What problem are they trying to solve?

When you know this, you know what they want from your Web site.

Add some more detail. Are they a man or woman? What do they do for a living? Are they in a hurry or will they take their time on your site?

Suddenly, all of the decisions that your Web site requires become much easier to answer.

Take a moment and picture one of the customers for your business.

What headings and offers would get their attention?

What kind of information would they trade their email address for?

Could your Web site provide a service to help them solve a problem?

Let Joe Give You Control of Your Web Strategy

Joe will help you avoid one of the biggest mistakes businesses make: letting the designer and Web developer create their site. You will be able to make many more decisions when you change the way you ask the questions.

For example, which of the following questions is most likely to result in the right decision?

"Should we do a blog?"

"Would Joe read a blog if we had one? If so, what kind of content would he want to see?"

This puts the power back in your hands and ensures that the people creating your Web site deliver for your customers.

I'll show you how to create and fill out your own personas as this series progresses. Don't miss a post.

Next time we'll talk about why visitors to your Web site don't "get" what you're clearly telling them.

Photo courtesy johnnyberg via stock.xchng.

Is Your Site a Traffic Trampoline?

2008-10-14T16:04:00.001-07:00

Do you hear it? "Boing, boing, boing boing." That is the sound of traffic bouncing off of your site. It's the sound of search advertising dollars jumping off into the ether. It is the sound of a Web site that doesn't convert traffic to leads and sales.

It is the sound of good prospects finding your competitors.

Don't worry. You can fix this, and with this series of posts, I'm going to tell you how. Stay tuned, and I'll show you how to:

Know what kind of site your customers need
Implement strategies that give visitors what they need
Give you the best practices for converting visitors to customers

Your Site is Different

The first thing you need to realize is that your site isn't like every other site. Your customers don't want the same things from you that most Web sites offer. They're trying to solve a different problem.

Fortunately, I can tell you what pattern your Web site matches. From there it's relatively easy to know what you should be doing to keep visitors from bouncing like a bad email.

Finding Your Site Pattern

I'll spell it out for you here: There are five basic kinds of Web site, and I guarantee that your site fits into one of them. They are:

1. The Brochure or Sales Support Site

2. The Portal or Thought-leadership Site

3. The Classic eCommerce Site

4. The Considered Purchase Site

5. The Site is the Product Site

Do you know which of the five your site matches?

You Don't Get a Vote

The truth is, you can't know which type of site you should have because you don't get a vote. Your visitors determine what pattern you should follow. They're the ones trying to solve a problem. They're the ones who know what their looking for.

If you can put aside what you think you understand about your site for just little a while, you'll soon be given new eyes with which to make decisions. You'll soon understand what you need to do to stop that irritating sound.

Boing, Boing, Boing.

The Series Continues

I'll next talk about why your demographic research won't help, but show you what information you do need to understand your visitors.

Subscribe to this series now and you won't miss a post.

photo courtesy samagee85 via sxc.hu

Why Would This Site Have a High Conversion Rate?

2008-10-07T11:11:00.001-07:00

Recently, a group of about 50 us got together and reviewed Web sites, looking for ways to increase their conversion rates. This was part of Laura Alter's regular Austin Internet Marketing Meetup.

It's a good group. Get on the list.

After working through five sites, the Radiosity 3000 site ended up having the best potential, in my opinion.

You wouldn't know it to look at it.

The site was built and is maintained by Mark Chutich, the owner of Radiosity and one of the guys who does installations. He's not well-versed in HTML nor design. He has no budget for the site. But, Mark has an advantage over his competitors: the knows his audience.

Here are some reasons Mark's site kicks ass.

No Lame Stock Photography

If your site relies on stock photography of anonymous, beautiful, happy people, you're just not trying hard enough. Most designers would call the stick house drawing on Radiosity3000.com "unprofessional," but it communicates all the ways that the product can be used at a glance.

As a responsible marketer, you can't really make the case that pretty, smiling strangers support your brand better than images that convey meaning--even if it isn't highly produced.

There is no better way to build your brand than to help people understand how they can solve their problems with your product.

Take a look at the image of this non-model reclining on a hot tin roof. This is probably the bookkeeper at Radiosity, and the picture was most likely taken with a point and shoot camera.

Does this one image leave any doubt in your mind about how well this product works?

Lots of Problem-solving Content

The site is flat as a board, and once you get past the home page, you will find an abundance information to help visitors make a decision.

For the property owner there are examples of how the product is used in roofs, walls and attics complete with pictures.

There is a "Contractor Page" that details what equipment is needed to apply the product. With FAQs, mixing instructions, and a list of retail outlets, visitors have the opportunity to move all the way through the buying process--from Awareness through Consideration, to Purchase.

Isn't this what we all want to happen?

Support for Conversion

For Radiosity, the purchase is made offline. For Radiosity3000.com, conversion occurs when the visitor contacts a contractor, or a contractor contacts a paint store that sells the product.

The site actively supports both.

In addition to a list of retailers that carry the product, the site offers a searchable database of installers indexed by ZIP code. That's right. Mark has a Web 2.0 SaaS (Software as a Service) site.

Be embarrassed if you don't offer something like this to your visitors.

Be glad you don't compete with Mark Chutich.

Focus Your Time and Budget

There are a number of things I would change about Mark's site. I am aware, however, that better copy and a more a professional design may actually reduce conversion. As a scientist, I can only hypothesize and test.

We're instrumenting Mark's site to see how well the site actually converts. Nonetheless, you have to question some of the decisions we make every day across the Web when designing our sites:

Design is the most important aspect of our site and is the place to start when building or revising.
We need a multi-tiered navigation scheme with fly-out menus.
It takes a big budget to create compelling images for our business.
Our Web site is a collection of pages, not an application.

The immediate ROI of knowing (and profiling) your visitors is that you don't spend your marketing budget on stuff that won't move the needle on conversion. I'm happy to introduce you to your visitors and help you decide where to invest.

P.S. Would you like me to review your site for blocks to conversion for free?

Wordle Provides Insight into Your Content

2008-09-30T14:33:00.001-07:00

As a Conversion Scientist, I'm always interested in new ways to gauge the effectiveness of content. That is borne out by an interesting application called Wordle that creates a word cloud for your content from any RSS feed. Here's the Wordle for The Conversion Scientist.

Planned randomness creates some interesting word combinations:

think content

content inside

conversation Marketing

Marketing response

Irrational questions

Now coming. really

Blog company

Right site

got leads?

LIVE experiments

company better

Decision close

truly ever-knowledgeable decisions

Can Generation

...and my favorite:

think

My compadres in the SEO world will have to tell me if this is any help in ensuring that you're using good keywords in your content.

Share your Wordle with us.

Get Your Web Site Reviewed - LIVE

2008-09-19T14:52:00.001-07:00

You can't see your Web site from the inside. I'm sorry, you just can't. You're too close to your company to think objectively, like a visitor.

That's why you have me and the Austin Conversion Meetup.

Submit your home page or landing page to be reviewed LIVE by a real lab-coat wearing Conversion Scientist. I'll bleed on your page, live, on screen, answering questions about what keeps your visitors from turning into leads and sales.

When
October 1 (Wednesday)
6:00pm

NEW Location

Spaghetti Warehouse

117 W 4th St

Austin, TX 78701

512-476-4059

~~Buffalo Billiards~~
201 E 6th St
Austin, TX 78701
512.479.7665

The Case For Personas

2008-09-08T15:40:00.001-07:00

Can you use personas to help you make better decisions about your site, strategy and content even if you're not a Conversion Scientist?

Well, I think so.

This is a short excerpt (13 minutes) from our Webinar Right content. Right response. I think you could use the Decision Mode and the Generation of your most important visitors to craft more engaging content on your site.

It's worth 13 minutes to find out, isn't it?

The slides that accompany the discussion are:

Dan Ariely will Shake Your Assumptions

2008-09-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

You don't want to be trotting out your sacred cows when Dan Ariely is around. He has a natural desire to dispel our belief in our rational, calculating minds. And he's got the experiments to prove it.

I had the privilege to interview Dan, the author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape our Decisions and the Predictably Irrational Blog for the Bootstrap Network. I run the Marketing subgroup, who sponsored the event.

You can hear the interview with Dan Ariely in its entirety on the the Bootstrap Austin Blog.

Content Marketing with Joe Pulizzi and Joel Granoff

2008-08-21T06:46:00.001-07:00

While I'm listed as one of the ever-knowledgeable experts on this upcoming Webinar on Content Marketing, I'm really coming to learn something. I hope you will, too.

Joe Pulizzi is the co-author of the book Get Content. Get Customers. He's also the founder and CCO (Chief Content Officer) for Junta42, a site that is all about content and content marketing. Let's just say, he knows content and he's got the community to prove it.

Joel Granoff is the founder of Be Greeted a company that uses one of the most intimate kinds of content you can use to generate leads: chat. This is the online equivalent of having sales people walking your Web site, ready when someone's really close to making a decision. Now, that's content.

Now, put these guys together with yours truly, tell them that they can't use bulleted slides, and what do you get?

A really interesting conversation about the state of the art on content marketing. We call it "Right Content. Right Response." and it's coming to a computer near you on August 26.

We're unscripted and we're going to dig into the nitty-gritty with examples and case studies; you know, stuff you can use.

Get out your hard questions and join the conversation.

August 26, 2008
11:00am Central
Register to attend

What do you do when the Traffic starts coming?

2008-08-19T08:30:00.001-07:00

Like some bad Verizon commercial dream, you get a big PR success or your search marketing efforts kick in.

People start coming to your site.

Of course, you've been preparing for this day, but are you ready? How do you know?

Start by voting for the SXSW Panel "What do you do when the traffic starts coming?" I'll bring together luminaries from the world of content marketing, persona development and social media strategy to help you decide which content will engage your visitors and how to present it to your particular audience.

With the advent of search marketing, we've developed a "If they come they will buy" philosophy for Web sites. However, most of the traffic we’re buying is bouncing like a bad email address. This panel of experienced professionals will discuss strategies for creating content that engages and converts our visitors.

Can I get your support?

More Panels

I've also create the SXSW Panel Pimper group on Facebook. Other SXSW panel sponsors are highlighting their panel ideas and I encourage you to vote.

In particular, consider my other panel, The Patterns of Web Marketing.

Every Web site fits into a pattern, and each Web site pattern has a known set of strategies that must be implemented to make a site succeed. In this session we will help you will categorize your Web site and identify the strategies that you must employee to succeed.

See you at the show.

Conversion Science Enters the Common Language

2008-08-04T11:02:00.001-07:00

It seems that Conversion Sciences is succeeding in changing the word "conversion" from a metric, e.g. "conversion rate" to a practice and a science.

CreditCards.com has a great domain, but they seem to need a "Web Optimization Specialist."

We're looking for someone who loves the web and loves its measurability to become a Web Optimization Specialist. You'll get to work with web analytics, multivariate testing and conversion science. This is a unique combination of technical, analytical, and marketing expertise.

This comes on the heels of my post about the unfair advantage the Director of Conversion position gave one company.

I'm also pleased that they don't see conversion science as including web analytics and multivariate testing. Conversion science is about understanding your visitors, knowing their stories, and creating content and experience to deliver what they are in need of. Analytics and testing are some of the tools we use.

If you want to join the next wave of demand in your marketing career, apply to CreditCards.com via VentureLoop.

If you're with a company that wants to know what the next key skill set in online marketing will be, call me at Conversion Sciences for a chat.

Ian Clarke Gets It

2008-08-02T08:22:00.001-07:00

Ian Clarke, cofounder of Revver and recently defunct Thoof has launched a new project called SenseArray. I can't speak on SenseArray's merits just yet, but they seem to be building on a solid core principle:

The basic idea behind SenseArray is simple: the success of almost any website or service depends on your ability to figure out what your users want, and then give it to them as expeditiously as possible.

You don't need SenseArray to do this on your Web site. That's the role of Personas and Conversion Profiling.

And you can do much with your own CommonSenseArray application that is hosted in your brain.