How asking for the donation at the right moment affects revenue
Human Coalition
Experiment Summary
Timeframe: 12/09/2014 - 12/19/2014
The essence of marketing is the message — and the essence of the message is the value proposition. Every value proposition must be properly crafted to minimize perceived cost and maximize perceived value. However, when you ask matters as much as how you ask. The ask has to be properly set up, even for the most powerful value propositions. During Online for Life’s year-end fundraising campaign, we developed two messaging styles to test with their audience. The control made direct asks for support earlier and throughout the copy, while the treatment page reinforces the value proposition throughout the copy but did not make a direct appeal until the end of the copy.
Research Question
We hypothesized that reserving the ask until later in the copy would allow the reader to fully understand the value proposition and would result in higher conversion and average gift.
Design
Results
| Treatment Name | Revenue per Visitor | Relative Difference | Confidence | Average Gift | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C: | Multiple Asks Throughout Copy | $2.77 | $174.17 | ||
| T1: | Ask Delayed Until End of Copy | $7.03 | 153.4% | 100.0% | $165.71 |
This experiment was validated using 3rd party testing tools. Based upon those calculations, a significant level of confidence was met so these experiment results are valid.
Flux Metrics Affected
The Flux Metrics analyze the three primary metrics that affect revenue (traffic, conversion rate, and average gift). This experiment produced the following results:
0% increase in traffic
× 166.4% increase in conversion rate
× 4.9% decrease in average gift
153.4% increase in revenue
Key Learnings
Delaying the ask until the end of the copy resulted in 153.4% lift in revenue. This teaches a valuable lesson — even the best value proposition must have the right amount of set up before delivery. After all, you don’t propose marriage on the first date, right?