Getting Users Involved with Involvement Devices
Involvement devices are methods of getting your prospects involved with your web site or your offer. They also assist you in converting your prospects.
Getting Involved With An English Accent In Epcot’s United Kingdom showcase, I observed a great involvement device. One of the English “cast members” (Disney’s name for employees) was behind a shoppe sales counter. On the sales counter was a small chalk board listing ten questions about the United Kingdom with the heading “Can You Answer These Questions?” It could have been pure coincidence, but a few moments after I noticed the chalk board a family inquired about the questions. They spent the next five minutes talking with the pleasant young lady from the United Kingdom, complete with an English accent. (Disney brings people in from each individual nation to work at their World Showcase.) I’m not sure if the interaction resulted in a sale, but I know that the people spend a significant amount of time at the sales counter. After five minutes of conversation with the lovely young lady from England I’m sure they were quite charmed. That simple interaction also increased the probability that someone from the inquiring family would make a purchase.
Integrating Involvement
The previous example shows a simple disarming process to get users involved in your message or web site. You should think of ways to integrate something similar on your web site. You can use online surveys, checklists, or interactive media presentations. High quality content is the simplest form of an involvement device. It allows you to capture people’s attention. At the same time don’t confuse involvement devices for hype or trickery. Your efforts and information need to be sincere and truthful. Users are already skeptical of anything they see online. They’ll see right through any trickery.
Communicating Involvement
Use communication as an involvement device. Encourage people to contact you beyond just online forms and email. Too many people hold the false assumption that because you have a web site that everything should be automated or computer driven. Email and online forms are a one way communication channels. Think of other ways to get people involved. What takes a few emails and a half hour of time to accomplish via email could probably be resolved in a 5 minute telephone call. There are any number of ways to engage people online and offline.
Involvement devices are a great low pressure ways to keep people on your site or deliver your message. Think of what you can do to keep people on your site and open lines of communication. There are multiple approaches to create a trust building process. It’s up to you to figure out a creative hook. Don’t forget to be sincere. Focus on getting people great information or honestly answering their questions, not on making another sale.
Want to get more great info? Check out the articles below:
- Choosing the Right Online Market
- Tracking Your Advertising, Old School
- Watch Your Pay Per Click Advertising
- Building Trust and Credibility with Follow Up
- Web Centric Marketing and Marketing Leverage
- Get Your Marketing Message Across
- Do You Test Your Web Site Often Enough?
- The Event Promotion System
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Alfons,
Thank you for taking the time to read through the article and your kind words! Please let me know if the information proves useful down the road.
All the Best,
- Eugene
Posted by: Eugene Loj | 04/07/2010 at 18:32
Thanks Eugene, for your article on "Involvement Devices". Clearly written out and beautifully explained with visual triggers.
Also, your advice/reminder to us (your readers) for giving out information and not being too 'salesy' demonstrates high marketer's class.
Good work!
Alfons
Posted by: Alfons | 04/07/2010 at 16:16