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The most effective way to boost lead generation is to improve the performance of your landing pages. So, how do you do that?
While we keep advising marketers to test with their specific audiences, there are actually a few best practices you should take into consideration. In fact, the folks at MECLABS came up with a formula to create top-performing landing pages.
C = 4M +3V + 2(I-F) - 2A
Here, C stands for Conversion, M is Motivation, V is Value Proposition, I is Incentive, F stands for Friction, and A means Anxiety. If you had to break down this formula into a quick guide for building successful landing pages, here is how it might look:
1. Identify an Effective Value Proposition
The first condition for the production of top-performing landing pages is to accurately convey the value you offer. As MECLABS describes it, “Value proposition is the primary reason why your ideal prospect should buy from you rather than your competitors.” You might be painfully familiar with the value behind your offer, but you’ll also need to articulate that value to your target audience.
2. Ensure High Motivation
The most important factor in determining high conversions for landing pages is the user’s motivation. In other words, the visitor should have high desire to receive your offer. How can you ensure that? In a few ways: provide a highly valuable offer, make your landing pages clear, and segment your audience to predict what they will be really interested in. Be aware that there might be different motivation levels for people landing on your pages from various sources. (For instance, someone who clicks on a link from an email might be more motivated than someone who stumbles upon a link from social media.)
3. Minimize Friction
As the MECLABS folks like to say, “one of the most effective ways to increase conversion is to decrease friction.” So what is friction? It refers to the elements on your landing page that make it difficult for a visitor to convert into a lead. The length of field forms and the number of calls-to-action are examples of friction elements.
4. Provide an Incentive
“If you are not using an incentive, you are leaving money on the table,” said Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, CEO & managing director of MECLABS. McGlaughlin’s team defines incentive as “an appealing element you introduce to stimulate a desired action.” An effective incentive could be a visual that reinforces the value of your offer. So on your next whitepaper landing page, for example, add an image of a thick book with its perceived dollar value.
5. Reduce Anxiety
Anxiety, as MECLABS defines it, includes “psychological concerns simulated by a given element in the sales process.” As a marketer, you need to mitigate anxiety in the minds of your website visitors. For example, you can provide reassurance that the lead’s email will be kept private, that your company is reliable, or that the lead will really receive a high-quality offer.
Do you have any personal best practices to increase the performance of landing pages? Share them with us!
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