Vol.13: How is Landing Page Optimization Related to Persuasion Scenario?

In the previous article “Vol.12: How to Make Web Users Stay in Website and Finally “Buy”? , outline of how to make sure that online buyers/customers stay in the website/web content and take action(s) as expected was discussed. This article will explain effectively architecting persuasion scenario and the positioning of landing page optimization in the scenario.

1. What is architecting a persuasion scenario?

Architecting a persuasion scenario is to design total web/Internet marketing to drive online buyer/customer to the website and navigate them to take series of micro actions so that they would finally take macro action of “buy” as expected and desired (i.e. participate in a conversion action), based on the five steps of basic buying mentioned in the previous article “Vol.12: How to Make Web Users Stay in Website and Finally “Buy”?. A well known funnel theory concept comes in architecting the scenario.

As Eisenberg & Eisenberg (2006, p190) say, a scenario consists of persuasive components that lead a buyer/customer to participate in a conversion action. These components will be linear or non-linear, all of which needs to be buyer/customer-focused, based on how each customer approaches the decision to buy, rather than business/web owner-focused. In addition, a scenario provides a structure for the meaningful measurement of buyer activity so that web/Internet marketer will be able to optimize performance.

2. What are components of the persuasion scenario?

The following 6 are the components of the persuasion scenario, as Eisenberg & Eisenberg (2006, p190-p192) presents.

1) Driving point:

Driving point is the prospecting point, outside the funnel, where a scenario begins. It might be any of persuasion entities including search engine, explained as methodologies in driving web users to the website in "Vol.11: How to Successfully Drive Web Users to Web Contents?" This is where the buyer shows a level of interest in entering the scenario, even if the web owner cannot necessarily measure it, thus this is the A and I of AI(M)DA(S) concept. By establishing a driving point, buyer’s angle of approach can be understood.

2) Funnel points:

Funnel points are entries to the conversion funnel. At this point, web owner is in a position to control and develop the dynamic of the persuasive process. A funnel point might be a landing page or main product category page, which essentially functions as a home page to build persuasive momentum within the scenario itself. Funnel point needs to be identified to make a scenario measureable.

3) Points of resolution:

Points of resolution are opportunities to provide the information that buyers may need to answer questions associated with their individual buying processes. Each point of resolution always needs to be connected to a waypoint or conversion beacon (explained below) to ensure that the buyer never misses an opportunity to convert and continue taking micro actions.

4) Waypoints:

These are “persuasive touch points”, points of interactivity integral to the seller’s conversion goals but critical to the needs of a particular buyer. Waypoints support the sales process and the conversion goal.

Points of resolution and waypoints are persuasive components that support the non-linear qualities of the online experience. It is important that the buyer is allowed to interact with the web/Internet marketer in a way that he/she feels comfortable. At the same time, it is important to always try to move the buyer forward to his/her goal.

5) Conversion beacon:

A conversion beacon signals the first (or next) step in a linear process through which a buyer must pass to reach the conversion point. Points of resolution and waypoints lead a buyer to the conversion beacon, the place where the buyer demonstrates the intention to convert. Each step in completing the buying process constitutes another conversion beacon, and the buyer needs to complete each step in order.

6) Conversion point:

This is the point where web/Internet marketer knows with absolute certainty that a buyer has successfully completed a persuasion scenario. The conversion point is the entity that gets delivered so that both the buyer and the web/Internet marketer know conversion has taken place. The entity is usually some form of confirmation.

3. How persuasion scenarios go in action, and how is the action linked to landing page optimization?

Each components of a persuasion scenario is designed with a buyer-focus that acknowledges the different needs of each customer segment, depending on where each is in the buying decision process, and provides persuasive momentum (Eisenberg & Eisenberg, 2006, p192). For effective planning and measuring the goal of persuasion scenario structure, linear aspects and non-linear aspects are taken into account, as explained by Eisenberg & Eisenberg (2006, p192-p194).

1) Linear aspects:

This typically occurs at the beginning or at the end of a conversion process.

Examples of at the beginning:
Search engine result (driving point) to landing page (funnel point)
Banner ad (driving point) to landing page (funnel point)

Examples of at the end:
Shopping cart (conversion beacon) to complete checkout (conversion point)
Form completion (conversion beacon) to confirmation (conversion point)

Linear aspects of a scenario come in play when buyers need to start conversion process or complete a registration process or checkout process. Measurement for these aspects is relatively straightforward.

2) Non-linear aspects:

Buyers do not always interact in such a linear fashion, but often they have questions that need to be resolved before they finally buy. Answering these questions to make buyers take series of micro actions requires building non-linear qualities into the scenario, which is difficult but not impossible to measure.

Buyers define the non-linear aspects of a scenario as they navigate persuasion entities, which can be explicitly or implicitly planned, usually between the beginning and the end of linear aspects mentioned above. The point at which the buyer starts the scenario (driving point) to the point at which they complete the intended scenario (conversion point) can be measured although difficult. This can be done by identifying or not the buyer hits the key value waypoints, using web analytics, identifying the click-through path within the non-linear points of resolution. In this way, web/Internet marketers can determine whether they are providing the appropriate content to maintain persuasive momentum. .


Landing page optimization comes in the beginning of linear aspects, and non-linear aspects usually come in with linear aspects. Thus it goes without saying that landing page optimization plays a vital role in architecting an effective persuasion scenario, and this will be the topic for the next article.


References:-

Eisenberg, Bryan & Jeffrey with Davis, Lisa T. (2006), Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? Nelson Business