Kamuthi in Tamil Nadu, India is now home to the world's largest solar plant that adds 648 MW to the country's generating capacity.
Previously, the Topaz Solar Farm in California, which was completed two years ago and has a capacity of 550 MW, held the title. Aljazeera reports:
Tesla has announced their solar panels are nearly entirely powering the island of Ta'u in American Samoa.
SolarCity developed a microgrid with 1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity - enough to power nearly 100% of the island, according to a SolarCity blog posted on Tuesday. The microgrid is enabled by 60 Tesla Powerpacks, the company's large commercial battery, which can store solar energy at night.
The food industry is a $5.32 trillion dollar business. The alluring profitability of the food business along with increasing competition has inspired a new discipline: menu engineering. As the name suggests, it is a deliberate construction of menus to generate greater profits per customer.
When asked about the rise of menu engineering, value perception expert and author of Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value William Poundstone explains that it is driven by our mental instinct to look for shortcuts: “Almost anyone in the marketplace today has too much information and not enough time to decide.”
And menu engineers – masters of misdirection, as Poundstone calls them – offer just the right kind of shortcuts our brains crave for. For SaaS marketers who rack their brains trying to figure out a way to increase customer lifetime value (LTV), there is a lot to be borrowed from menu engineering to increase SaaS profitability.
And the best part? You don't need to tweak your product to achieve a breakthrough in your revenue. Treat your pricing page like a menu, and optimize for profitability like a pro.
Before you roll up your sleeves to revamp your pricing page, do the homework and segment your products by sales volume and profitability first.
Is your most pricey product the one you should sell the most? Not necessarily. According prominent menu engineer Gregg Rapp, two criteria decide the importance of a dish: profit and popularity. Profit is calculated by subtracting cost from price, while popularity is indicated by numbers of the items sold.
Once you've mapped out the profit and popularity of all your products, categorize them into what the menu engineering industry calls the matrix of “plow horses, stars, dogs and puzzles”.
Stars are the most popular and profitable, while dogs are the least popular and least profitable ones. Plow-horses are popular but low in profit (salad and soups, for instance), and puzzles are highly profitable items that need investigation on why they aren't more popular.
Obviously, we should first of all shoot for the stars: highlight the star items on your menu, at the same time unleash the star power in your “puzzles” and “plow-horses”.
When it comes down the designing the menu that brings in roaring sales, below are some strategies menu engineers have used that SaaS marketers can learn from.
Research done at Cornell University (Dr. Kimes et al.) found that customers spent significantly more when prices were displayed in numerals without dollar signs. The sight of dollar sign reminds consumers that they're spending money, says restaurant consultant Aaron Allen, so they started getting rid of it and using numbers only.
In addition to using dollar signs and even spelling out the word “dollar”, other common mistakes by restaurateurs include putting dotted leader lines between the food item and price, and grouping prices in a column.
These practices draw diners' attention away from the food and focus on the price, according to Rapp. One solution is “nested pricing”, where the price (in numerals without dollar sign of course) comes right after the description.
What SaaS marketers can learn from this is to reduce the pain of paying by making the dollar sign less noticeable. Considering the international distribution of most SaaS companies nowadays, it's probably a good practice to use currency code (such as USD) instead of dollar sign symbol.
In the example above, Contentful did a great job at highlighting values for user by minimizing the perception of cost – the grey color and small font size made the dollar sign almost imperceptible. While it's not yet a common practice for SaaS products to remove dollar signs, as the competition gets tougher, we can expect to see more and more SaaS companies start doing this as a way to win over consumer preference.
Using price ending in numeral 9 is a common practice in retail. Poundstone dissected 8 studies between 1987 to 2004 and concluded that number 9 is the “magic number” that trumps rounded numbers: an average of 24% sales increase was reported by using charm prices ($49, $79, $1.49 etc).
In this study by MIT and University of Chicago, researchers examined the impact of prices ending in 9 on retail sales. The same standard women's clothing was displayed at price $34, $39 and $44. As you could have guessed, the $39 sold the most, even though $34 is cheaper.
There are many investigations among academics and marketers why these “just under” prices work better yet no conclusion has been drawn. It is speculated that large numbers like 9 communicate value for consumer and better quality. That explains why the MIT study found that prices ending in 9 are less effective when there is a “SALE” sign next to it.
While using 9 in prices still works, Rapp recommends ending with .95 instead of .99, as price ending in 95 may seem “friendlier” to customers.
Colorful texts, highlighted boxes, fancy fonts and designs are all gimmicks menu engineers use to direct diners' attention to the most desirable items. Research has shown that users tend not to recall more than one or two highlighted items. Choose what you want to highlight carefully, or your users won't remember anything at all.
White space is also critically important when it comes to building visual cues. A clustered web page with dense information makes it very hard to read. White space, otherwise known as “negative space”, is the empty space between elements. Research has shown that use of white space can increase comprehension by almost 20%. Space your content generously, and users will find your page easier to read.
Use of color is another effective tactic. According to Eiseman's research in 2000, color “accelerates learning, retention and recall by 55% to 78%”. Use of color also “moves people to action up to 80%”.
Does color influence purchase decisions? Absolutely. ChartMogul analyzed 40 SaaS pricing pages of companies who have done a LOT of conversion rate optimization, and found out that most used CTA button color is green, followed by blue.
There is no hard and fast rule about which color converts the best. It depends on various factors: the color scheme of your sales page, your product branding, etc. The best practice is to narrow down the colors you want to test for CRO, and run A/B tests to decide on the best one.
In this example Wistia is using individual colors for each pricing tier to help distinguish between the three options.
According to Rapp, a mouth-watering description is another effective strategy to make the food item instantly more desirable. A controlled study done by University of Illinois compared using basic labels such as “chocolate pudding” with descriptive ones such as “Grandma's homemade chocolate pudding”.
The association of flavorful (Grandma) and sweet (chocolate) and smooth (pudding) not only influenced research subjects' purchase (27% increase in sales), but also their post-purchase satisfaction.
For SaaS marketers, being technically competent is not enough to stand out from competition. Tell a story in your product description – emotional benefits, product origins, customer successes – anything that takes your target buyers on an emotional journey.
Zendesk does a great job on their product page: they make it all about what the product can support – you, the customer – to be the hero that you needed to be. The feeling of empowerment comes with a compelling statement like “Everything is possible”.
SaaS marketing thought leader Lincoln Murphy has said, “every pricing plan you offer should have a story behind it.”
It's never about features and technologies; what you are selling is a desired outcome and pricing should match the value that comes with achieving said outcome.
Scan path by William Doefler in the 1970s is one of the earliest and most cited studies about eye movement patterns. It suggests that menu readers' eyes zigzag across the page like below.
What Doerfler concluded was that the upper-right corner is the “sweet spot” of a two-panel menu where most profitable dish should be displayed.
However, recently studies done by SF State University (with a more advanced retinal eye scanner) challenged the validity of menu sweet spot. Their research suggests that readers scan a two-panel menu like a book: from left to right and then down the pages.
Although no “sweet spot” was found in this study, they did discover that readers gave least attention to restaurant information section and salad lists, which they dubbed as “sour spot”.
Rapp still looks to the upper right hand side as the prime real estate of the menu. What today's data-driven SaaS marketers should take away from these studies is not the conclusion, but rather the mindset: study where the “sweet spot” and “sour spot” of your sales page is, and place items strategically.
Heat map and click tracking tools (Crazy Egg and Hotjar are good options) can provide you with insights such as which areas of your page is most clicked on, how much do they scroll, mouse movement etc. This data will empower you to make optimization decisions.
According to industry experts, the most expensive item on the menu is mostly used as decoy. It works when you place it next to a less costly item you actually want to sell. The effect of it is that customers will perceive the less expensive one as higher value.
“You probably won't buy it,” says Gregg Rapp in an NBC Today Show interview: “what will happen is that you will find something else a little bit cheaper, and it will look reasonable.”
In the interview, he used a menu that displayed a $20 asparagus right beneath a shockingly pricey $1,000 Lobster Frittata. The $20 asparagus dish became a very good deal compared to the lobster, even though it's overpriced for its own sake.
The common practice in SaaS pricing is the 3-tiered high/low/middle pricing table, with the intent to prompting buyers to choose the middle one. But what could be a more intelligent strategy is to insert a fourth “decoy” plan, such as what Crazy Egg did below. By using a expensive “Pro” plan that costs almost twice as much as the most desired “Plus” plan – highlighted in blue box – it makes the “Plus” plan appear as much better value for your bucks.
Another success in decoy pricing is Shopify. Back in 2013, their pricing had 4 tiers: Lite, Basic, Pro and Unlimited. Earlier this year, they made a drastic move to their pricing plans: got rid of starter plan (Lite) and dramatically increase highest tier price (from $179 to $299).
Now the price difference between their 2nd and 3rd tier is 67%, which makes the value add in the 3rd tier very attractive, and at the same time retaining a robust mid tier user base (small businesses).
When consumers open a menu, they are immediately overloaded with information. This can trigger analysis paralysis. A well-designed menu takes the guestimation work off of the customer: the less time a consumer has to spend on understanding the choices and deciding to buy, the better the outcome.
Our subconscious brain habitually searches for shortcuts. It's a survival instinct. So instead of reading word for word, most people end up scanning menus. Gallup organization has reported that most consumers spend less than two minutes scanning a menu, and studies by Panitz have shown that 60-70% of sales come from fewer than 18-24 menu items.
Similarly, limit the number of items on your product page. It helps your target buyers when there is less to choose from. Also, rather than listing out every bit of information about your product, only highlight the important bits that will help your customers differentiate value.
Mailchimp does a great job at eliminating unnecessary information. They got rid of long lists of product feature descriptions like most SaaS companies do, and simply used a one-paragraph description in each plan. It is simple, straightforward, and takes seconds to digest.
Use visual hierarchy in your pricing page to let the most critical information stand out. Research tells us that visual clutter delayed information processing. Group information into different levels. Arrange design elements in clear visual order. This will help your target buyers organize information and make a purchase decision faster.
Cutthroat competition in the food industry has inspired innovative ways to optimize revenue. When we look at the novel ways menu engineers are using consumer psychology insights to reshape the dining experience, SaaS companies pale in comparison.
As consumer SaaS market gets more and more competitive, we hope to see an uptake in adopting innovative pricing strategies such as the ones discussed here.
Is your company struggling with finding the right pricing strategy? Have any of the techniques here worked for your product? Share your thoughts and comments below.
About the Author: Lucia Wang is currently leading Growth Marketing at Visme, a drag-and-drop design tool for everyone. Previously she led growth marketing at Call Levels, an Appster award-winning FinTech app. Prior to her career in tech, she has worked in marketing and communications role at big corporations and media agencies. As a marketer, she is fascinated by persuasion science and consumer behavior.
It appears as though everybody, including television, papers and magazines, is well-aware of the requirement for women to look after their skin. In even more recent years, however, there is a growing interest in tips on mens skin care.
Your skin is the biggest organ in your body, which is why it is extremely crucial to take outstanding care of it, in any way possible. The good news is, the proven skin care ideas and techniques in this short article, are sure to offer you insight into ways that you can enhance the feel and look of your skin.
If you are a man then you perhaps dislike the part of the morning where you have to use some white sort of foam to your face as well as to after that take a sharp blade to your skin in order to shave and look a little bit more human than you made with that stubble on your face. Be sure to learn more about mens top electric shaver guide here.
Many men actually feel the need to shave frequently, and almost everybody who does that, dislike it. With the innovation these days electrical razors, shaving does not have to be such a pain in the butt (relatively essentially). Be sure to read the top electric shaver reviews here.
Flat roofs are a terrific method to keep a structure safe from water. Understanding exactly what to do with a flat roofing will ensure you have a working roof system that will last a very long time. To learn more, be sure the check out the best roofing contractor in Bellevue Wa.
They may look great, and are very common, flat roofs do need routine upkeep and comprehensive repair work in order to successfully prevent water infiltration. If this is done properly, you'll be happy with your flat roofing for a long time.
Flat roofings aren't as popular and/or glamorous as its more recent equivalents, such as copper, tile, or slate roofings. Nevertheless, they are simply as vital and require much more interest. In order to avoid discarding cash on short-term repair works, you ought to understand precisely how flat roofing systems are designed, the numerous kinds of flat roofs that are offered, and the significance of routine evaluation and upkeep.
A flat roofing system works by offering a water resistant membrane over a structure. It consists of several layers of hydrophobic products that is positioned over a structural deck with a vapor barrier that is generally put between the roofing system and the deck membrane.
Flashing, or thin strips of product such as copper, converge with the membrane and the other building components to prevent water infiltration. The water is then directed to drains pipes, downspouts, and gutters by the roofing's minor pitch.
There are four most common types of flat roofing system systems. Noted in order of increasing durability and cost, they are: roll asphalt, single-ply membrane, multiple-ply or built-up, and flat-seamed metal. They can vary anywhere from as low as $2 per square foot for roll asphalt or single-ply roofing that is applied over and existing roofing system, to $20 per square foot or more for new metal roofings.
Utilized because the 1890s, asphalt roll roofing generally includes one layer of asphalt-saturated natural or fiberglass base felts that are used over roofing felt with nails and cold asphalt cement and usually covered with a granular mineral surface area. The joints are generally covered over with a roof substance. It can last about 10 years.
Single-ply membrane roof is the most recent type of roof product. It is frequently used to change multiple-ply roofings. 10 to 12 year guarantees are normal, however correct installation is crucial and upkeep is still needed.
Built-up or multiple-ply roofing, likewise called BUR, is made of overlapping rolls of saturated or layered felts or mats that are interspersed with layers of bitumen and appeared with a granular roof sheet, tile, or ballast pavers that are utilized to safeguard the underlying products from the weather condition. BURs are created to last 10 to 30 years, which depends on the products utilized.
Ballast, or aggregate, of crushed stone or water-worn gravel is embedded in a covering of asphalt or coal tar. Given that the ballast or tile pavers cover the membrane, it makes examining and preserving the seams of the roof hard.
Flat-seamed roofings have been used given that the 19 th century. Made from little pieces of sheet metal soldered flush at the joints, it can last many decades depending upon the quality of the product, direct exposure, and maintenance to the components.
Galvanized metal does require regular painting in order to prevent rust and split joints need to be resoldered. Other metal surfaces, such as copper, can become pitted and pinholed from acid raid and normally needs replacing. Today copper, lead-coated copper, and terne-coated stainless-steel are preferred as long-lasting flat roofing systems.
Flat roofing systems aren't as glamorous and/or popular as its newer counterparts, such as copper, tile, or slate roofings. In order to prevent tossing away cash on short-term repair works, you must understand precisely how flat roof systems are designed, the various types of flat roofings that are readily available, and the value of routine examination and maintenance.
There are 4 most common types of flat roofing system systems. They can vary anywhere from as low as $2 per square foot for roll asphalt or single-ply roofing that is applied over and existing roofing system, to $20 per square foot or more for brand-new metal roofing systems.
Today copper, lead-coated copper, and terne-coated stainless steel are favored as long-lasting flat roofing systems.
Many people are used to power external lights, but technological advances have allowed people to go to the outdoor solar lights. Units have many advantages, including:
They have an output
Instead of the cables used to power electric lights, these units have small solar panels that use natural light to charge a battery. The lights have the ability to store enough electricity to power lights up to 10 hours at night energy. Since the units do not require a power source, you can be installed anywhere without having to worry about its proximity to power.
They are cost effective
Electric lights require you to pay a monthly bill so you can continue your connection. Such is the case with the solar units. Installed not incur any other expenses. The only thing that may have to do regularly is to replace burned-out bulbs. Since you do not have to worry about the electric bill, you can install as many lights as you want.
They are environmentally friendly
As mentioned, the charging lights during the day and then use the stored energy to brighten your home and in the streets at night. Since more energy is used to preserve the environment. When using lights with the use of combined finishes other solar devices play an important role in environmental conservation.
The lights are safe
Millions of people are electrocuted and subjected to a series of many other electrical reason related to the presence of son in lights electrical damage. Since sunlamps are not cable, you do not have to worry about you or your family have any injuries during handling. In fact, you can ask your kids to handle. The absence of son also makes it ideal for use in barbecues and grills units.
They come in many styles to choose
When you choose solar way there are many options to choose from. You can go with reflectors, safety lamps, lamp lights, solar walkway lights and a host of many others. All you need to do is make sure that you buy the right people for the right positions units. When shopping, always make sure you buy from a reputable and well known. Since the units are not cable, you need to protect against theft.
The term influencer is being tossed around a lot these days.
I would even classify it as one of the top 10 buzzwords of 2016.
Influencer marketing is quickly becoming one of the hottest and most effective strategies in existence.
In fact, “59 percent of marketers use influencer engagement campaigns for product launches and content creation.”
This technique gets results because businesses make $6.50 for every dollar invested in influencer marketing, according to a poll of marketing professionals conducted by Tomoson.
But what about when YOU'RE the influencer? You're the one calling the shots.
Becoming an influencer in your industry can have immense benefits.
You can use your experience and credibility to sway the opinion of others, build trust, develop your brand, and so on.
But how exactly does one become an influencer?
While there's no magic recipe and a lot of variables involved, I've found there is a distinct process you can follow.
It definitely takes time to achieve this status, but following the right steps should eventually elevate you to influencer status.
First things first. What do I mean when I say influencer?
Influencer Analysis is dead on with their definition:
“An influencer is an individual who has above-average impact on a specific niche process. Influencers are normal people, who are often connected to key roles of media outlets, consumers groups, industry associations or community tribes.”
In other words, people recognize that you're an expert (or at least highly knowledgeable) in your industry and that you've got a sizable following.
This might include a loyal legion of blog subscribers, social media followers, etc.
Keep in mind you don't need to do it on the macro scale to be an influencer. You don't have to be Taylor Swift or Jay Z.
In fact, there are countless micro-influencers who may not be recognized on the large scale but hold a lot of sway nonetheless.
Some people who come to mind include Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income and Tim Ferriss.
At the core of it all, influencers have authority, and their word is as good as gold.
People recognize the value they bring to the table and are genuinely interested in what they have to say.
I've found that the process of becoming an influencer has five key steps.
The first and most important step to becoming an influencer is to focus on what you're passionate about.
You can't be everything to everyone. To gain traction and be recognized as an authority figure, people need to link your name to a particular niche.
Take Darren Rowse of ProBlogger, for example.
He's a blogger, podcaster, speaker, and author who specializes in one specific area: blogging.
His name is synonymous with blogging, and his website is one of the top resources for learning about blogging and how to become a better blogger.
Notice that he doesn't talk about fashion, ice skating, or cooking. His core focus is on blogging. That's it.
While you don't have to completely pigeonhole yourself, it's important that you pick a particular niche and focus wholeheartedly on it.
You need to eat, sleep, and breathe your niche. This allows you to establish authority in a particular area.
Ideally, in time, people will recognize your expertise and take notice.
They'll want to follow you on whatever outlets you use (e.g., a blog, Twitter, and/or industry publications) and be interested in what you have to say.
To make a name for yourself and establish a presence, you need to create plenty of industry-centric content.
This is vital because it's a surefire way to prove that you know your stuff and demonstrate the value you bring.
Fortunately, this has never been easier to do than today.
With a ton of media outlets available, there's no shortage of mediums to choose from.
A good old-fashioned blog is one of the best places to get started, and it provides you with a platform to develop your unique voice.
In fact, “86 percent of influencers also operate at least one blog.” And I feel that launching my own personal blog has been a contributing factor to getting to where I'm at today.
You'll definitely want to be active on social media as well.
Ideally, you'll create and maintain profiles on at least three different networks because this increases your reach and gives you the opportunity to establish a strong brand identity.
It's also great because you can connect with other like-minded people in your industry.
Notice that Darren Rowse has a solid presence on multiple social networks:
However, a blog and social media are just the tip of the iceberg.
There are countless other mediums you can use to demonstrate your knowledge and boost your “street cred.”
Some options include:
I'm also a huge proponent of writing a book.
There's something about authorship that can really skyrocket your credibility and make people take notice.
An e-book is nice, but a legitimate printed book is even better.
Just think about it.
If someone lands on your website and sees that you've published a book, they'll probably take you a lot more seriously than they would have otherwise.
Your perceived value can quickly go through the roof this way.
Legitness!
Finally, there's guest-blogging.
While this strategy got some heat for awhile because of its association with potential Google penalties, it's still incredibly effective, especially for establishing yourself as an influencer.
I attribute a lot of my success to the fact that I made it a point to be featured on publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Inc.
Guest-blogging is awesome because it kills two birds with one stone. Or six birds. Or more.
First, you can reach a huge audience basically overnight.
Say the blog or publication you post on has 100,000 readers. You can get your content in front of a large-scale audience and tangibly demonstrate the industry knowledge and expertise you bring to the table.
Second, you can increase your perceived value dramatically. Being associated with other leaders and influencers in your industry elevates your brand equity significantly.
This way, you can piggyback on their success and use it to establish yourself as a viable influencer.
If you're looking for some guidance on the guest-blogging process, I recommend checking out this post from Kissmetrics. It has some super helpful tips.
The bottom line here is that you'll need to put forth plenty of effort, creating a lot of quality content and distributing it across a variety of mediums.
This is key for getting your name out there and getting the ball rolling.
What's one thing that all influencers have in common?
They have their own take on things. They have a voice. They have an opinion.
This is what makes them distinguishable from the masses and what gives them their swagger.
What they aren't is vanilla or lukewarm on topics.
With 1,400 blog posts, 2,460,000 pieces of Facebook content, and 277,000 tweets posted each minute, there's an immense amount of noise on the Internet.
In order to rise above it, you need to be an independent thinker.
Quite frankly, I think it's better to be occasionally offensive or to go against the grain than to be 100% agreeable all the time.
Not that you should go out of your way to stir the pot, but it's okay for your thoughts to deviate from the norm.
People are attracted to those who can think for themselves and have their own views on things.
Whatever industry you're in, hold true to your values, and be sure to have your own opinion.
This is essential for eventually becoming an influencer.
Once you've established yourself to some extent, you need to make an effort to connect with others.
I've found that one of the best ways to create leverage is to network with other influencers.
Or as Marketing Land puts it,
“To establish yourself as an influencer, you need to interact with influencers.”
But when you're an up-and-comer and still working to establish yourself, you're usually the one who will need to put in the legwork.
Seldom will the heavy hitters reach out to you (at least at first). That's why you'll need to be the one to reach out.
There are two main ways to do this.
One is to connect digitally, and the other is to connect in person.
The first option is usually done via interacting with prominent people on social media and commenting on their blog posts and other content they post.
The goal here is to start a conversation and gradually build rapport. This takes time and can't be done overnight, so you need to be persistent about it.
For example, you might get in the habit of providing insightful comments at the end of an influencer's blog posts that further the conversation.
After three or four times, it's likely they'll take notice of you, and this can open doors for the future.
But how do you know with whom to interact?
If you need some help deciding whom to target, I recommend using Buzzsumo.
The site has a section devoted to tracking down top influencers.
Just click on “Influencers,” and type in the topic you're interested in.
I'll use “content marketing” as an example.
After entering this as a search term, I got a list of content that received a ridiculously high number of shares. Also listed are the people who wrote these pieces.
This can be an effective way to find the people you should try to connect with.
The second option is to network in person.
Some ways to do this include:
Public speaking in particular can be a potent way to make connections because all eyes are on you, and you never know who could be in attendance-it could be a huge influencer who holds a lot of sway.
Last but not least, you need to keep the conversation going.
Seldom do people want to follow someone who tries to be all high and mighty and acts as if they're too good to interact with their followers.
They want to follow someone who's real, accessible, and approachable.
That's why you need to put in the effort to religiously respond to blog comments, reply to messages on social media, thank people for reading your content, etc.
Here's an example of me responding to a comment on my blog:
I would also recommend occasionally sharing outstanding content that members of your audience post on social media or commenting on their blogs as well.
That, right there, can be huge for boosting your brand equity and for forming super tight relationships.
The trick is to capitalize on the momentum you generate and to keep the ball rolling.
I'll be honest. Becoming an influencer isn't something that's going to happen overnight.
It takes a lot of hard work, consistent effort, and persistence. Even after you become an influencer, you need to keep your foot on the gas pedal to maintain your status.
Although it's not easy, it's definitely worthwhile.
The great thing about it is that building influence has a snowball effect. While you may only have a minimal amount of influence when first starting out, this grows and grows over time.
After awhile, your influence can become immense without you having to put a lot of extra effort into it.
In other words, the first stages are the most difficult and time-consuming.
But after you establish yourself, you simply need to maintain your status, and the world becomes your proverbial oyster.
What specific things do you hope to achieve by becoming an influencer in your industry?
For marketers, the quest for branding that matters to consumers has always been about how to achieve deeper relevance. The more relevant a brand is in a customer's life, the more they'll begin to look for ways to integrate it into their lifestyle.
Of course, many point to segmentation as the easiest and fastest way to achieve that kind of relevance.
But what if you could go even further?
According to a cross-site study by Optimove, going beyond simple segmentation – down to pure granularity, causes a distinctive and measurable campaign uplift. Optimove measured this by presenting different offers to smaller groups of consumers who had similar attributes. They found by going more and more granular, they were able to generate greater and greater lift within their respective campaigns.
LuckyFish, a developer of casino games powered by social networking, created over 100 player personas as part of their relevance campaign
In one such campaign for a set of casino games built on the power of social networking, they were able to segment to over 100 individual player personas. Imagine having that kind of deep detail about your customers or players. As a result, they were able to send the right messages to the right players at the right time, through the customers' preferred channels.
So what were the results? A 65% increase in conversion rates, a 15% increase in the number of paying players and a 40% increase in the volume of player payments to name a few. As part of the larger study, they looked at this kind of granularity with over 30 million customers across 2,000 campaigns – measuring the uplift of the average campaign in groups of all sizes.
The smaller the segment, the higher the value per customer
The results speak for themselves. The smaller the group, the higher the lift. In this case, the smallest-sized group saw an average increase of $3.2 per customer. When you start sending segmented campaigns to targeted groups of 100,000 customer or more, the monetary uplift drops to a measly $0.1.
Another note of the study is that, overall, many small campaigns targeted to a group of customers has a much greater effect on revenues than the all-too-common strategy of throwing an ad at the wall and hoping some of it sticks.
Hyper-focused segmentation yields even greater results
Now the question then becomes, “why don't more campaigns do this?” and that's because there's some risk involved. As with every strategy, there are exceptions to the rules and things to watch out for – namely, volatility.
Because these groups are so small and hyper-focused, there can be a lot of different outcomes for one message no matter what you're testing. You can account for much of these differences by chalking it up to a small sample size. The revenues and customer relationship building obtained as a result are far too lucrative to not test granularity in your own campaigns.
In his famous TED talk on the powers of segmentation, Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the customer preference of coffee. If you asked most people what kind of coffee they like, they'll tell you “a dark, rich, hearty roast”. But if you give them that type of coffee, they'd likely rate it as a 60 on a scale from 0-100.
Now, break down that population into their precise coffee preferences and make coffee for them according to their actual tastes – the score would go up to 78/100. Gladwell notes, “the difference between coffee at 60 and coffee at 78 is the difference between coffee that makes you wince and coffee that makes you deliriously happy.”
Is the end result here implying that we shouldn't trust our customers? Not at all! But it does mean that we shouldn't hesitate to find out what they really want from our product – and not just rely on what we think they want.
So now that you know the potential of granular segmentation, how do you do it?
The first step is to look at your existing campaign channels – are you running PPC ads? Doing social media marketing? Blog posts? Landing pages? All of the above? Good. Make a note of where your best traffic is coming from right now - and even if it's all of those places, that's perfectly fine.
Next, imagine your prospect has just saw your campaign ad. Map out all the possible ways your prospects can interact with it. For instance, they could:
Now, sort these according to the type of campaign channel. For example, people using social media are more likely to share, view and click, while people on a landing page are more likely to download, click, add to favorites, or even call for more information.
Once you're sorted, it's time to organize these labels so that your analytics (and the people behind them) can make sense of it all. UTM identifiers are great for this purpose. Here's how to set those up in Kissmetrics. You can use event tracking to see who clicked on buttons on your landing pages or social media campaigns, for instance. Some of these steps, like calling or adding to bookmarks, need to be handled manually (some stats programs will tell you if someone accessed your page via a bookmark), but the goal here is to see who's interacting with your pages and how.
If you want to segment your ad campaign, you can build custom audiences in Google Adwords in a few simple steps, including segmenting them by conversions, transactions, time of day, device used and more. Although these are all technical “granularizations” and the ones I mentioned above are more qualitative, having this kind of precision in defining and better understanding your audience is vital to giving them what they truly want, and making them deliriously happy.
Our goal as marketers is to get customers on the deliriously happy end of the spectrum. Granularity may seem like an awful lot of segmentation just to reach a handful of people. But being able to chunk the process down again and again means you're reaching those people with the kind of relevance that broader campaigns simply can't match – and that's where you'll come out ahead. If you've ever hoped a customer might think “it's like they KNOW me!” – granular segmentation is your answer.
Remember that by segmenting campaigns with this kind of laser-focused attention, you're not only increasing conversions but building relationships with your customers using the kind of personalization they crave. It's a win-win for everyone.
Do you micro-segment your customers and your offers to them? What have your results been like so far? Do you find that customers are more receptive to offers, or is it just too much effort for lackluster and volatile results? We want to know what you think, so share your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author: Sherice Jacob helps business owners improve website design and increase conversion rates through compelling copywriting, user-friendly design and smart analytics analysis. Learn more at iElectrify.com and download your free web copy tune-up and conversion checklist today!
