3 Case Studies on Generating More

Leads from Your Website(Including Key Takeaways)

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Table of Contents

Introduction

CASE STUDY #1

Replacing Landing Page Video with Image Increases Conversions by 3.92%

CASE STUDY #2

Masthead Changes Increased Lead Generation Rate by 232%

CASE STUDY #2

Adding Real Images Instead of Stock Photos Increased Conversions by 45.45%

Introduction

According to a study conducted by Marketing Sherpa on the average conversion rates fordifferent industries, website conversions range somewhere 2% in for non-profit enterprisesto a maximum of 10% for professional or financial services firms.

Replacing Landing Page Video with Image Increases

Conversions by 3.92%

CASE STUDY #1

Background

BrookdaleLiving.com offers various community living solutions for senior citizens. It offersservices to those planning on living independently to those needing caregivers or nursinghelp.

BrookdaleLiving’s ‘Find a Community’ page was incredibly underutilized with just a bare-bone structure. It was very stark with no graphics, testimonials or content to encourage thevisitor to convert.

The Problem & Hypothesis

This is how the page looked like:

Brookdale hired digital marketing andanalytics firm Fathom to optimize its ‘Finda Community’ page.

The hypothesis for this test was thatredesigning the page by adding content,testimonials, credibility logos, USPs andother elements will increase conversions

The Test

Two versions of the page were created. The first variation had a photo of an elderly woman.This is how the photo version looked.

Variation 1

The Test

The second variation had a 1 minute 56seconds heart-tugging video in which manyelderly people talk about their positiveexperiences with Brookdale. In the secondversion, the video replaced the woman’sphoto. Everything else on the pageremained the same. Matt expected thisversion to perform better than Variation 1.

This is how the video version looked:

Variation 2

The Result

The image version outperformed the video version. When pitted against the original, theimage version recorded a 3.92% increase in ‘Find a Community’ searches while the videoversion recorded just a 0.85% increase in searches. The image version also achieved thestatistical confidence of 99.99%. The test was run for 2 months on over 30,000 visitors.

According to Matt, the seemingly modest 3.92% increase in community searches will result ina more-than modest $106,000 additional monthly revenue.

Why it Worked?

Let’s first have a look at why the two variations performed better than the control.

While redesigning the ‘Find a Community’ page, Matt made sure that he speaks to all the fourmajor online personas by adding relevant elements for each of the types.

1) Methodical consumer: This user is detail oriented and tries to read up every bit ofinformation present on the page. Matt used additional explanatory content to speak to thiscategory.

2) Spontaneous consumer: This type is quick with the buying decision or already has theintent of purchase while going to a website. Matt used a clear and concise search box with anarrow pointing towards the ‘City’ field to speak to this customer type.

3) Humanitarian consumer: This type wants to know who you are and whether they can placetheir trust in you. Matt uses two tried and tested elements to ward off customers’ fears —testimonials and logos.

4) Competitive consumer: This type wants to know why they should choose you over thecompetitors. Bullet points calling out Brookdale’s unique selling points (USPs) were put up onthe page to get their attention.

Why it Worked?

Now let’s see why the image version worked better than the video version.

1) Brookdale is already an established brand and the video acts as a distraction. BecauseBrookdale is already a big brand, people don’t need much convincing to convert on thewebsite. Visitors have usually done their research and arrive on the website knowing whatthey want hence, the marketing video acted as a distraction.

2) Target audience has slower internet connection so videos might not work for them.Brookdale’s target audience is over-represented by women who didn’t go to college and whobrowse internet from home.

Why it Worked?

A report on average home internet speed in the US tells us that people who didn’t go tocollege are less likely to have high-speed broadband access than those who went to college.

Why it Worked?

Now by adding the two statements, we can come to a hypothesis that majority of Brookdale’saudience is represented by women who don’t have access to high-speed broadband access.The slower internet speed might be leading to a painful video watching experience, and hencethe image version worked better.

Masthead Changes Increased Lead Generation Rate by 232%

CASE STUDY #2

Background

Open Mile, the truckload freight broker bridges the gap between people with shipping andcarrier needs and the companies who are looking to offer suitable quotes to these customers.

Open Mile aims to achieve this by combining their efforts with their web platform,OpenMile.com and the mobile technology.

By automating their traditional process through their online platform, Open Mileaccomplishes a two-way win. They make it easy for qualified carriers and shippers to acquirenew customers and create better revenue opportunities for them.

This simultaneously also help customers find comparable shipping and carrier quotes, makingit easy for them to get the lowest quotes and choose the most viable service provider forthemselves.

The Business Need &Test Hypothesis

Open Mile’s primary landing page had a good value proposition and was receiving a goodnumber of visitors as well. However, the Open Mile team felt that the 4% conversion rate onthe landing page was a hidden potential treasure that they decided to explore for generatingmore revenue. Here’s how the original landing page looked like:

Open Mile realized the need for a complete overhaul of the page masthead, along with a fewminor changes on the page. The hypothesis was that by improving the legibility of themasthead copy and allowing the masthead to occupy a large part of the page, the leadconversion rate from the page would increase.

The Test

The following changes were made as part of changing the masthead:

1) Value proposition was strengthenedThe main heading and the subheading was changed to leverage the conversion elasticity ofthe landing page. The clarity and hard-hitting impact of the new heading(s) contributedsignificantly to the decision-making process of the visitors, impelling them to request the freequote.

2) Background was completely changedThe Open Mile team felt that he hero shot of the image stole the entire thunder of the page,distracting people from the call to action. Hence, they decided to do away with the image andhave a plain blue background with no image.

3) Distractions were removedThe social media buttons were removed. The “talk to us” button was no longer seen in thevariation page near the main CTA button. With more effective headlines on the page, theseheadings were not a distraction anymore. In fact, they sure helped in increasing theconversion rate by making it clear to the visitors what action is expected of them.

The Test

4) Other minor changesThe team at Open Mile also tested some minor but important elements on the page to seewhich ones get more conversions from their visitors, like:

- Red button colour emerged as a clear winner when tested with blue, grey, and green.

- The button text “Get a Quote” was tested with “Get Rates” and “Get a Truckload Quote.”And as the variation page shows, “Get a Quote” was declared the winner in the A/B test.

The Result & Summary

This is how the variation looked after all the changes were made:

All changes together finally gave Open Mile their winning variation page, which made themenjoy 232% increase in their lead generation rate with a statistical confidence of 99.99%.

Key Takeaways

Here’s a quick summary of the case:

Adding Real Images Instead of Stock Photos Increased Conversions by 45.45%

CASE STUDY #3

Background

Harrington Movers is a New Jersey and New York City moving company. Their interstatemoving service pages used a generic stock image of a couple, as seen in the Control page:

The Hypothesis

Spectrum Inc., Harrington Movers’ Conversion Consultant, suspected that the ‘happy couple’image doesn’t relate much to the service.

Their hypothesis was that replacing this stock photo with an image that closely relates to themoving service will increase ‘Request a quote’ leads from the website.

The Test

Spectrum used VWO to make a quick test to check the relevance of images. Two alternativeversions with different images were pitted against the Control page.

The first version showed the image of Harrington Movers’ crew. The second versiondisplayed the image of the truck they use for moving services. To emphasize branding, boththese images also included the company’s logo.

The Result

Both the versions beat the Control with98% statistical confidence level. Afterrunning the test for three months, therewas a close call between the two versions.While version 1 with crew image showed apercentage improvement of 45.45%, thesecond version with truck image is closebehind with 45.05% improvement over theoriginal.

Here’s a comparison of how the twoversions performed:

When asked about the impact on revenue,Brian McKenzie of Spectrum Mind Inc.said:“Assuming a constant value per lead, this testhas added about $10,000 / month ininterstate moves so far.”

Key Takeaways from the Test

1) Stop using stock photos. They look fake and reduce trust on your website.

2) Use images that best represent your product/service.

3) Don’t hesitate to use images of your employees. Don’t underplay the power of humantouch on your website. People like doing business with people, not websites. Hence, usepictures of your employees to add a human element to your website.

4) Have a good reason to use an image. ‘It looks pretty’ doesn’t count. Your image shouldadd relevancy to the landing page by relating to your nature of business

About the Author

Smriti Chopra is a Marketer at VWO and also

helps with VWO’s demand generation initiatives.

She's responsible for handling social media and

creating content offers, including eBooks and

guest posts.

She’s passionate about experimenting with new

techniques in the marketing arena.

LinkedIn | Twitter | Google+

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