How refining the donation value proposition affects conversion
Dallas Theological Seminary
The DTS mission is, “to glorify God by equipping godly servant-leaders for the proclamation of His Word and the building up of the body of Christ worldwide.” They strive to help men and women fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, or more simply: Teach Truth. Love Well.
Experiment Summary
Timeframe: 10/29/2015 - 11/18/2015
Dallas Theological Seminary launched a resource center for biblical perspectives on today’s issues. The goal of this resource center was email and donor acquisition. Immediately after the signup page was a donation ask.
DTS had run a similar value proposition experiment on this page before but had seen no significant difference in results. Taking those learnings, they did a more radical test. They tested which value proposition was stronger: an ask for an investment in a student or an ask supporting the provision of the resource center. They also changed the placement of the endorsement and added a photo of the endorser.
Research Question
Will a value proposition focused on the resource center improve conversion rate?
Design
Results
| Treatment Name | Conv. Rate | Relative Difference | Confidence | Average Gift | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C: | Student-centric Value Proposition | 0.19% | $10.00 | ||
| T1: | Resource Center VP/Endorsement Inline | 1.2% | 553.3% | 96.3% | $34.14 |
This experiment has a required sample size of 511 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 1,100, and the level of confidence is above 95% the 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
× 553.3% increase in conversion rate
× 241.4% increase in average gift
2,130.4% increase in revenue
Key Learnings
DTS learned that messaging and layout can have significant impact on donor conversion rate and average gift. By having a stronger value proposition that supported the resource center coupled with reducing friction by having the endorsements inline with the rest of the body copy, they were able to see a 553.3% lift in conversion rate and a lift in average gift of 241.4%. This is also an indicator of the value proposition being reinforced in the messaging and having suggested giving amounts instead of an open field.