Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

Please Critique This New Clients' Product

Posted by Anonymous on 2/28/2012 at 4:59 PM ET 10000 Points
Subject: WE HAVE A NEW CLIENT…I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK--

FIRST 50 MarketingProfs Experts

We have all had difficulties, from time to time, trying to figure out the key factors that will have our prospects and our clients’ prospects buying.

My client, Lana McAra of InstantClientGenerator ™ -at my request, has made 50 Tests Available for my MProfs Colleagues, to test and critique the program…HONESTLY!!

She has been online for about a year, with minimum results...that's where you come in.

We think it’s pretty remarkable, to know within a very few minutes the exact profile of your potential client (or your clients’ potential client profile).

Because of my relationship with you, my dear colleagues…Lana is going to send the first 50 Mprofs members a FREE TEST DRIVE of her new product, a quick and simple way to discover specific emotional impulses and the words that have your best prospects giving a nod to your offers.

InstantClientGenerator(TM) is an online service (nothing to download) that evaluates client motivators and generates unique word lists with an astounding 16 buying triggers in client each report.

There is no cost or obligation. All you need to do is register to get your free test drive. Here’s
the link:
https://tinyurl.com/6p25jpg

The evaluation takes about 8 minutes and generates A custom 22-page marketing report with a minute, delivered directly to your own email box.

Here’s what’s in the report:
*16 emotional triggers that speak directly to the heart of your prospect

*2 pages of Hot Words that will wake up your prospects and have them listening to every syllable you say

*How your prospect wants to be in relationships, their leadership style, and how well they are coping with their life challenges.

*Their change and adaptability quotient, to give you vital insight into pacing for your marketing plan

*How their personality relates to colors, food, and their ideal lifestyle (favorite vacation spots and dream car)

*Where they hang out and who else they buy from

*where to look for potential joint venture partners

Here’s the link to register for your FR EE TEST DRIVE:
https://tinyurl.com/6p25jpg


We have all seen “assessments” over the years…This one seems to be the most innovative, groundbreaking marketing tool we’ve seen for years. Take a look.

After you take it…please post your critique in MProfs…for all to see…good or bad.

I’m putting a lot of points on the line…so please…be OPEN AND HONEST. What can we do to help her?

What’s right – What’s wrong – All of it!

Thanks,
Randall


If we cut to the chase...with precise information about your clients’ prospects will ramp up your results and make your life easier at the same time. That’s a win-win and add another win for the client’s bottom line as well.

Anxiously Awaiting Your Feedback.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/28/2012 at 5:08 PM Member
    Randall - Are you looking for "friction" for people who don't sign up, for those that do sign up but don't then buy, or for those that buy and don't renew/recommend? What do her analytics tell you?
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 2/28/2012 at 5:49 PM Member
    I've just signed up and I'll get back to you over the next day or so. Randall, we need to talk about this product off forum. I'll explain why when we speak. When might you be free?
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 2/28/2012 at 5:57 PM Member
    Er? Not sure here if I'm missing the point of something. I've signed up and thus far, the auto responder hasn't kicked in to send anything to test. What am I missing?
  • Posted by mgoodman on 2/28/2012 at 8:51 PM Accepted
    I just completed the assessment and read the report. Looks like a lot of BS to me.

    I've taken assessments like this before, and some are better than others. This one, IMHO, is no better than average, certainly not something I'd pay for or use myself.

    It makes everything sound like a strength and suggests ways to change that might (or might not) be more fulfilling. But I found several sections that I didn't feel were applicable, and there were some questions that I wasn't sure how to answer as I completed the questionnaire.

    I certainly don't think it represents a product that's ready for commercial prime time -- regardless of whatever hype the creator gave you. Extreme over-promise.

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/28/2012 at 9:31 PM Accepted
    The landing page:
    - The logo looks odd to me. What is the blue person with a drop for a head supposed to mean?
    - There are 3 different names for this page "Prospect Profiler™", "Instant Client Generator", and the domain name of expertsinfocus.com (which appears to not support a home page). This misalignment makes me feel nervous, especially when the contact information isn't seen until the bottom of the page.
    - The site looks quite dated, with not enough white space to comfortably scan the page.
    - Is there a guarantee of success? If so, make it clear.
    - What problem is the site trying to solve? (Get more clients easier?)
    - What's in the evaluation? How much private information do I need to give out?
    - Why should I trust this software to provide great information for me?
    - The signature of Lana isn't connected to the copy/offer at all. Either make the page personally from her (and let me see her face) or from her company.
    - I don't see any way to learn more about the product from this landing page (examples of reports would be a good start).

    After opting in (https://instantclientgenerator.com/):
    - the video is of poor quality. A "Multimillion Dollar Marketing" product should have a professionally done video, with clear audio, and nice graphics. I have no immediate clue who's talking on the video.
    - When I see "Multimillion Dollar Marketing" I want to see statistics that show this stuff works (white papers, etc.). Without the proof, I don't necessarily believe.
    - The sample assessment is nice to see, but at first glance appears to be more of a Meyers-Briggs result than a marketing focused assessment. For example, what does "Relationship Style" have to do with marketing? The pleasure/pain words would seem to be general purpose, and could be used for most marketing copy.
    - Given the pain/pleasure model of the assessment, this page isn't set up to mimic the model. Where's my pain? Where's my pleasure? Some of the bullet points address this, but not all (and not consistently).
    - I see the 90 day 100% guarantee, but it's buried in the copy.

    Order Page:
    - The guarantee is hidden in the footer of the page.

    The survey
    - There's no way to go back and review answers
    - Some of the questions are vague
    - Some of the questions felt too personal (age? children? magazines read?)
    - The results didn't "wow" me, especially since my personalized results looked similar to the sample.
    - The results were about me, not about my client's needs.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 2/29/2012 at 12:10 AM Accepted
    Dear Randall,

    Jay's hit many of the points I was going to make.
    Before I received the links and went through the survey,
    I thought the product was something else (although what,
    I wasn't sure). Here's my warts and all two cents' worth.

    The client, (Lara McAra/Rosey Dow ... who IS this person?) isn't ready to launch this product. She might think she is but that would be a mistake.

    The main landing/sales letter page needs work. The headline above the video needs to make the reader stop what they're doing and read the text. At the moment, it doesn't do that. The body copy needs more points to create "yes" momentum. At the moment there's nothing to grab the reader's attention and get them thinking "yes, that's me, that's my problem! How can I fix this problem?"

    The copy needs to clearly outline the problem and then offer the product as a solid solution. At the moment, the copy doesn't do that.

    After taking the survey my reaction was "OK dokey ... now what?" The product needs to deliver something to me, as the user, the moment I've finished the survey.

    All those bars with numbers look pretty and all. What do they tell me? Not a lot. This confusion element is a bad, bad thing. The golden rule here is: thou shalt not confuse of befuddle the client. Having taken the survey I felt none the wiser. Had I forked over $77 per survey, I'd have been pretty pissed. If this product goes to market in this state, with the lack of explanation it appears to have at the moment, the refund rates could be a problem.

    The multiple product and person names? Not good. Just what am I dealing with here? The logo ... as Jay points out, needs some refinement. One of the characters in the logo seems to be cut off ABOVE the knee, poor chap. What happened to him? Dunno, but it does not bode well. I think the logo typeface needs some work and the strap line ... well, it might help by having this line do a little more in terms of the heavy lifting.

    The issue of the payment page and about needing to take 3 to 5 surveys (at $77 apiece), is just wrong. Over the last five years I've seen hundreds of online product offer pages in the Internet marketing world and I've seen nothing like this in terms of the payment option and how many things I can buy, should I want to.

    From a buyers point of view, the product needs to offer a set number of surveys for one price. If I want to survey 50 people it's going to cost me $3,850. The buying option is confusing. This point ALONE will kill sales. I'd suggest one price of $97 that gives the buyer the ability to send out up to 10 surveys. The point of the surveys is to gain some kind of insight into an idealized buyer—some kind of avatar client—it's not necessary to squeeze $385 out of me for five surveys. I've seen LOTS of online offers over the years and I think the $77 PER survey price tag is too steep.

    All this aside, and again, having seen LOTS of online sales videos over the last two years or so, the video is quite frankly, an abomination. As a sales tool it needs to be pulled from YouTube the MOMENT you finish reading this paragraph. No. Scratch that. Pull it now. I've made an online sales video (which, I'll admit, won't be winning any Oscar nominations) and even I, with ZERO video technical ability, produced a video that was a thousand times better then the one in this sales letter. Randall, you can't let your client do this, she must, must, MUST pull that video NOW. YouTube is NOT the place for a sales video of the kind of calibre that this product demands. A logo and ad free subscription for VimeoPlus, through which you can host high definition videos with a customizable player costs just $60 per year.

    The swirling graphics, the poor image quality of the woman standing in what looks like a barroom (the product's creator?), the static images and varying qualities of voiceover audi, and the woman with the near illegible text. It needs an introduction, a statement of intent, and a lead in to create audience buy in. Without these things it's a melange of badly edited elements that fail to connect the need with the solution.

    The video needs to tell a story. a point, and continuity.
    It needs ZERO flying graphics—it needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. And it needs a call to action. Why not set it up as a simple talking head piece, with the product creator giving her story? A simple, scripted, well lit, super simple, compelling sales story, WITH a point, and WITH an offer, and WITH a guarantee will blow the current offering out of the water. I guarantee it.

    And speaking of guarantees ... 90 days isn't enough.

    If the product's as good as it's claimed to be the guarantee needs to STAND OUT as being a thing of beauty. It needs to be utterly outrageous, it needs to telegraph belief, trust, and wowability. It needs to something buyers will shout about from their rooftops. Ninety days does not cut it. Not even close. At the very least, it needs to be a year.

    You asked for comments, that's what I think.

    The product's sales path needs help, it needs shortening and it needs straightening. At the moment that path is way too swirly to solidify and reinforce the decision to buy. The whole sales path needs to build trust and value, which at the moment, it doesn't.

    Before we get to that path, the sales architecture itself needs a lot more support: for a start, it needs a more solid foundation: a statement or question in which the potential buyer can see themselves and the problems they face right here, right now. Then it needs stouter, sturdier walls to contain the truth that is the value that the product's use will supply. Then it needs a decent roof (a rock solid guarantee), to keep out the rain, the wind, and the vermin.

    Products like this (because it's an online product with nothing to own), they need to make the buyer believe with every fiber of their being that they're living in "home, sweet home"—all nice and cosy, with their feet up by the fire. At the moment, what's on offer doesn't do that. The product needs to be positioned in such a way that it would be madness for anyone with a list that they mail to NOT to buy it. Close, but no cigar.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Princeton, NJ, USA
  • Posted by mgoodman on 2/29/2012 at 1:26 PM Moderator
    The content of the report looks too formulaic and sounds repetitive (the pain and pleasure island are repeated numerous times). Less attempt at creativity and more substance would be nice.

    I'm also not sure how I would use the report. What is the purpose? What benefit am I going to get from it? How will my life be better? How will I recoup my investment and get a serious ROI on the time/effort/money expended? It seems to be a lame attempt at telling me what my own profile is.

    My sense is that once you figure out the purpose and intended use are, there will be clear opportunities to simplify and make the report meatier -- less fluff and more solid information that the reader can use. Perhaps an executive summary, so we don't have to wade through a lot of pages of scant news.

    You might start by getting your client to explain her business model and positioning. Who exactly is the target audience and what important benefit will she deliver for them? How/why is this tool different from and better than Myers-Briggs, Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, Birkman, others?

    (FWIW, I think Herrmann has done a pretty good job of explaining why his "thinking style" assessment tool is valuable. It might be worth getting and reading "The Creative Brain," by Ned Herrmann ... or "The Whole Brain Business Book," also by Herrmann.)
  • Posted by mgoodman on 2/29/2012 at 6:03 PM Moderator
    I don't understand, Randall. How can I answer in a meaningful/accurate way for someone I hardly know ... at least on a personal level? Maybe I'm missing the big idea here.

    Is this going to compare and contrast my personal style/strengths/weaknesses with that of a prospective client?

    I'm clearly confused. (Is that an oxymoron?)
  • Posted by mgoodman on 3/1/2012 at 3:25 PM Moderator
    Got it. Thx.

    Separate subject: Yesterday evening I got an email message (probably auto-generated) from Lana McAra offering a "once in a lifetime opportunity." It also reminded me to take the survey I already completed.

    You may want to look into the procedures (and the copy) for follow-up to the [InstantClientGenerator]. The wording, puffery and excessive hype in the email message would probably not appeal to the kind of audience you're seeking (i.e., professional consultants or agencies). (Check too for typos.)

    Example of the hype: "You'll be amazed at how much it contains ..." Better to let me discover myself how much it contains and then * I * will decide whether I'm amazed or not. (BTW, I'm not.)

    And as for the benefits of saving time and money, and increasing returns on marketing dollars, (a) those are not unique claims, and (b) without some proof or substantiation of the claims, they are not very persuasive.

    You have your work cut out for you on this one, Randall! Good luck.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/1/2012 at 7:05 PM Member
    My hunch is that getting a client to complete this survey on my behalf won't be a simple matter. Why should a client tell me how they tick? What's in it for them to complete the form?

    The "meat" of this report seems to be the "magic wand". I'm not sure I believe that there's a wealth of different words for different types of people. Why do some words have a "secret power"? Unless backed up by a lot of psychological studies, this is one person's opinion of the "right" words to use.

    Magic colors & favorite flavors are overly simplistic, and might be totally inappropriate for different demographics/nationalities.

    The "voice" of the report is a bit too "New Age" for the target market as well. If this is to be considered a professional report, I'd want to see business-appropriate phrasing throughout.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 3/1/2012 at 7:47 PM Moderator
    Jay's right. The report needs to speak the language of the target audience. Right now it is New Age-ish and somewhat amateurish.

    As for the content itself, I'm underwhelmed. I did NOT read the profile it projected of myself and say, "That's me! How remarkable this tool is."

    Instead I said, "OK. So it got some things right. Other things not so much. Not sure I'd really trust this tool to give me insights into my clients' minds. In fact, I do pretty well without it."

    I guess I'm not impressed by the inherent "intelligence" of the assessment tool. It's not awful, but I don't think it would be my first choice if I were looking for a tool to help me communicate more effectively with my target audience/clients. (By way of contrast, my clients find the Herrmann assessment to be extremely interesting and helpful, and they thank me for introducing them to it.)

    I also agree that clients might not be so eager to take the survey if I asked them to. And I probably wouldn't feel very comfortable asking them ... because they might think I'm not as perceptive as they already think I am. They could see this as quite an imposition, with questions this personal.

    The value proposition and positioning need as much work as the report itself. Just fixing the report won't do the trick.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 3/2/2012 at 12:45 PM Member
    Dear Randall,

    First, I'm surprised that so few people have chipped in to this thread. The potential for this product is pretty wide.

    Second, I went through my survey and did my best to look at it objectively. When it comes to getting inside someone's head and making enough noise so as to create a lasting echo, the word list in the report has value as a copywriting tool.

    As I went through the results, yes, I could see myself
    in the text, which I thought was useful.

    This list's applications, when aimed at a group mailing, have potential to increase opt ins. Just by how much, well, that remains to be seen.

    One point to consider as part of the overall sales piece for this product is a few split test results for mailings sent out to similar niche audiences.

    To give enough of a spread, and to create enough of a measurable pattern, this test might need to go out to ten different lists in ten varying niches, with half of each group receiving a control letter that doesn't use the product, and the other half (in the same demographic and psychographic groups) receiving a mailing that does use the product. The client could measure the results of those calls to action via controlled 800 numbers, or to personalized URLs.

    I think that by offering that kind of social proof (providing it vividly demonstrates the effectiveness of the product's use), the client could further interest in her product's capabilities.

    Add this social proof to a limited time trial (that's either free or that's offered at a reduced price for a set period of time) and your client then gets to weed out the tire kickers so that she can focus more of her marketing effort (and her marketing budget) on her paying customers.

    Once the kinks and bugs are ironed out, I think this product has potential in a specific niche market that
    I'd prefer to discus off forum.

    As a marketing tool for use by marketers, I think this product has value. Here's why: with all sales copy, BEFORE the prospect takes the action (by buying something), it's CRITICAL that they see themselves taking the actions, or attaining the goals, or achieving the results that they'll gain by virtue of being on the other side of the purchase.

    We've all—ALL—seen sales copy that fails to do this, that fails to connect the dots for the prospect so that they can see the hidden picture of their life as it will be BECAUSE they invested in the thing or service on offer.

    I think this product has potential to help marketers make that journey for the buyer an easier one.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Princeton, NJ, USA

    P.S. You might want to post a link to this thread on a few Facebook marketing groups.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 3/2/2012 at 3:53 PM Moderator
    Here's a thought: Using the profiles of the people who responded, why doesn't your client try composing a message presenting the product to us for our use.

    In a sense, you will have responses from prospective clients and you can use the profiles to demonstrate how you would use them to target the message for each one (and others like them). Then we can all see how the tool can be used -- guided by a professional who understands it better than anyone else. If we are all similar (in our profiles), then we'll see how it applies to the group. If we're different, we'll see how the approach would differ for each of us.

    If your client can't do that for some reason, then maybe the tool isn't as useful as she thinks it is. This will be a great learning experience either way.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 3/7/2012 at 8:47 PM Moderator
    Randall, just FYI, I've been getting follow-up email on this and the copy is terrible. You may want to (a) turn off the follow-up email until you can revise the copy, and (b) do a major overhaul on the copy so it rings true/authentic to the target audience. Right now it's full of hyperbole and excessive hype.

    Examples of the copy (from Lana McAra):

    "The tiny window to get access to this powerful product will soon close because we just can't afford to leave it open for long." (If you can't afford it, why offer it in the first place?)

    "Wow! This is taking my breath away, it's such an incredible opportunity." (An opportunity for you to make some money maybe. Not so incredible for me.)

    "This is a very private offer. Please do not share it with anyone else." (Why me? What did I say or do to deserve this?)


    Even though they have my profile information, I don't see anything in this mailing that would make the message particularly important for me. Isn't that the whole idea? If the product is so good at finding the right clients, why isn't she using it to target the message to ME? Am I not a prospective client? (If not, why is she sending these over-hyped messages to me?)
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