User Participation

[Ankesh]

I was reading a speech by Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet's partner) and this sentence jumped at me:

For instance, a lottery.

* You have a lottery where you get your number by lot, and then somebody draws a number by lot, it gets lousy play.

* You have a lottery where people get to pick their number, you get big play.

How can you use that idea for your products?

Discuss...

Hi Ankesh,

Here are some thoughts on this.

The quote:

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"You have a lottery where you get your number by lot, and then somebody draws a number by lot, it gets lousy play"

* You have a lottery where people get to pick their number, you get big play.
===

Basic Definitions:
The Lottery = The Total Product Line Publisher has to market
The Somebody (that draws a number) = Typical online publisher
The People = The customers, The List
The Number = A specific Product being promoted
Big Play = Big Money
Lousy Play = Lousy Money

So based on these definitions if I revised the 1st part of the quote it would read something like this.

"You have a product line where you get your product by lot, and then the publisher draws a product by lot, it gets lousy money

"You have a product line where people get to pick their own product, you get Big Money"

So Here are some quick thoughts on this

* If you have a product line, you could make an offer where your clients get to CHOOSE the product that they want from your product line, instead of you choosing for them

* In your copy if you get your visitors Involved in some capacity this will improve your conversion rates. (Involvement Devices in copy have been show to increase conversions online and off)

* Any involvement, in the buying process whether it be surveys about potential new products or overcoming objections for current promotions

Hmm, Anybody else?

Hmmm...what if we revised the way in which products are presented to the customer? We might try a multiple choice type of presentation (after a brief intro of the product line availability and reason why to proceed with us) to help them decide which product/version best meets their needs.

We could also, in the copy which accompanies the selection process, give suggestions and ideas to help them decide. Most importantly, at any point in which they know what they want (made a decision) they should be able to abandon the choice process and proceed to the order page, along with appropriate copy etc. without a hassle.

The answer might be to put ourselves in our customers' shoes and imagine what would be most helpful to them. Most folks are familiar with deductive logic to arrive at a decision so why aren't we using it instead of so much rah! rah! and hype? We've been going about it wrong, IMHO. People who are really potential purchasers don't need bribes and gee-gaws and hype...they need help to make the right decision for them (one of the primary principles of sales we seem to have forgotten in our rush to push the product).

Those who give the reins back to the customer will be rewarded with happier, less stressed customers who are unlikely to abandon the sale at the order page. Why? Because no customer wants to make themselves look like inconsistent, wishy-washy fools. If they choose...they have a vested interest in following through. Sales 101...remember?

Sandi Bowman

[Ankesh]

Originally Posted by Duane Adolph

So Here are some quick thoughts on this

* If you have a product line, you could make an offer where your clients get to CHOOSE the product that they want from your product line, instead of you choosing for them

* In your copy if you get your visitors Involved in some capacity this will improve your conversion rates. (Involvement Devices in copy have been show to increase conversions online and off)

* Any involvement, in the buying process whether it be surveys about potential new products or overcoming objections for current promotions

Some great points Duane. Brings to mind the Model T fiasco - whose sales went down because Ford didn't give any choice to people. And Dell - who set up the entire system so that people can choose everything.

Originally Posted by Sandi Bowman

Hmmm...what if we revised the way in which products are presented to the customer? We might try a multiple choice type of presentation (after a brief intro of the product line availability and reason why to proceed with us) to help them decide which product/version best meets their needs.

Wacom does this really well.
http://www.wacom.com/tabletwizard/index.cfm

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The lottery sentence really stood out for me because I thought its a paradox.

If people select their own numbers, chances of more than 1 person having the same number increases. And thus, their potential winnings decrease. So why would they buy more lottery tickets if the lottery system is poorer than it would have been if all the numbers are generated randomly?

I think 2 things come into play. Ownership. And collectibility.

People are more enthusiastic about winning if its their own numbers (even if their chances may be low). But more importantly, by allowing them to choose their own numbers, you are encouraging them to buy more than one tickets.

"Buy tickets for all the combinations of your lucky numbers."

I'm not sure, but I think its not the case of more people buying the tickets as much as it is of people buying more tickets.

The closest related product that comes to my mind that allows something similar is Jones Soda. You can use your own photos for the labels on the Jones Soda bottles.

Jones Soda spent a lot of money on this technology of allowing people to customize their own bottle labels. And its paid off well too. Many empty Jones Soda bottles sell for a lot of money.