Ending Search to build business - an article from Web Marketing Resources LLC

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Ending Search to build Business! By Todd Follansbee

A case study of how we used persuasive psychology to provide comparative information which helped prospective buyers decide between products. By providing data with links, searchers came back to our research instead of leaving and possibly forgetting us. We became far more credible, improved our SEO rankings significantly and increased sales. We couldn't "stop" their searching but, by understanding the search behavior, we could use it to our advantage.

In over 10 years in face to face research on how people search we have learned a lot but simply put, people search until they feel they have found something suitable and have done due diligence. They do this by going to their search engine of choice and keywording until satisfied with the results. They then click on a link, gather information, come back to the search results and click on another link etc. until they are satisfied. We decided to build an information resource would deliver objective research, keep them on our site and hopefully close more sales! We knew that it was far more complex then providing a simple comparison chart.

The Situation:

We were a small company launching a software product which was designed to compete with Lotus, IBM, and several other nationally known brands.

We knew that during this search, our pages could easily get lost in the many page views, many links and sophisticated pitches of our competitors.
We knew that the research phase was complex but essential for our prospective clients. The researchers needed to be able to tell their management team that they had looked at 5 - 10 options.

Our Solution:
We believed in our product, its benefits and its competitive position so we built a comparison guide showing: important product features, contact information, reviews, price information and links to competitors sites. It was scary but if we did it properly we could use our understanding about web search behaviors to our advantage.

We knew the search would take place.
We knew we had to be seen as "equals" to our competitors.

If we could get searchers to the comparison guide and if it was credible and complete, it could become the home base for the research. If the tool was objective and complete, they had no need to go back to Google to find information and they could honestly tell their managers (or co-decision makers) that they had thoroughly researched the products, (an essential element in B2B decisions).

We needed demonstrate thoroughness, integrity and objectivity. If we did, every time they returned to the guide, we would look better. To appear scrupulously fair and we even included a field for the sales manager of each competitor to provide unedited comments. If they declined to comment we noted that they "declined to comment" which probably weakened their position in the eyes of the searcher. We made it clear that we would be happy to modify their statements at any time.

Why did we provide offsite links? We knew they would need to visit the sites but we now controlled the landing pages of our searchers. Instead of sending them to high quality and compelling landing pages (like Google might), we sent them directly to the more relevant, but less interesting product page. They had no back button capabilities to look at other pages in the site and if the company failed to offer product information or had a mediocre information architecture and navigation (and many did), it was not our fault.

Additionally, any benefits of the competitors "sales funnel" or persuasive architecture was reduced because we controlled the entry points.

Why did we compare features? We had to be fair and open or we risked losing the essential credibility BUT there was room to make ourselves look good with product features we could emphasize. We needed to answer all the key questions to reduce search but a complete list also demonstrated that we understood their product needs. Where possible we tried to paste "feature" text from competitor sites to reinforce our objectivity. We encouraged visitors to dig deeper though few did after the first few companies.

By choosing feature categories, we able to subtly emphasize features we felt were important so we could demonstrate our competitive benefits. We did include pricing, which was an advantage of ours. If your pricing is high, consider focusing on "Total Cost of Ownership" as well as price.

How did we organize the information? Most people search sequentially starting near the top listing, so choose your order carefully. You can order the list by: price, alpha by product or company, size, and years in the business, etc. Be sure to mention the order criteria to maintain objectivity. We felt it was reasonable to put ourselves at the top of the list on the guide. We also felt that using equal font size and graphic presence we were able to appear as both fair arbiters and as players on an equal footing despite our small size.

So what happened?

Our traffic logs showed that a great many came back again and again and referred us to others within their companies. It was a huge win for a small player (or anyone for that matter).

We became the "research home page" and the frequent recipient of back button clicks.

The further visitors got down the list, the quicker they came back to our site after viewing competitor product information. This was important behavior to note because it seemed to indicate that they trusted our information more and more and didn't need to spend time on other sites to get info. Another big win for us.

We generated a great deal of interest and were convinced by phone calls and results that we had been able to stop their search, deliver the information they needed and advance our position dramatically.

People are more likely to buy from companies they like and respect. By offering this information we improved the likelihood that they would feel good about us. We demonstrated that we looked good in a comparison and were confident about the product. We demonstrated that we understood client needs about what was important in the product feature set.

Consider taking over your client's product search and use what we have learned from studying search behaviors to build your sales. The web is all about information, be sure you provide it in a persuasive way to improve your business.

To watch a short video of a usability test please visit the download page.