Visit Our Blog
Mini Case Study: Unique Value Proposition & a 33% Conversion Lift
In case anyone has ever questioned our emphasis on the power of the Unique Value Proposition, we thought we’d publish this brief case study.
Unique Value Proposition (or Unique Campaign Proposition), is a brief, concise statement about what makes your website/business unique, and why customers should buy from you and not your competitors. It’s been a central part of our Persuasion Architecture methodology from day one.
At our recommendation, our friends over at Accepted.com ran a UVP test on their website. We worked together to draft a few versions of their UVP, worked with the designer to make it look professional, and ran an A/B/C/D test with three versions of their UVP against the control. The UVPs expressed the length of time Accepted.com has been helping customers, how much success they’ve had, and the problem that customers are looking to solve. The control was a stock photo graphic without a UVP statement.
The result? Sure, you might expect some sort of lift. How about an over 30% increase in conversion, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in extra sales?
So if you haven’t sat down and brainstormed your Unique Value Proposition, maybe take 30% of a day and work it out. Then test it and let us know what happens. If the test seems daunting, try crafting a Unique Campaign Proposition and testing it in campaign messaging, assets, and landing pages.
About the author
Brendan Regan is a Persuasion Analyst at FutureNow.
More articles from Brendan Regan
- Christmas Shopping Begins in the Next 4 Weeks…June 25th, 2009
- Beware Marketing Automation Without Data ClarificationJune 24th, 2009
December 23rd, 2008
8:43 am
Great post. How about some screenshots of the different UVP’s tested and the percentage of change recorded for each one? That would illustrate the point as well as provide insight.
December 23rd, 2008
10:00 am
I would love to hire someone to write a Unique Value Proposition for me but I am unsure who would be good? Do you have any suggestions?
December 23rd, 2008
12:57 pm
[...] GrokDotCom has been talking about Unique Value Proposition (UVP) for some time now and today published a case study on how it can help conversion. [...]
December 23rd, 2008
3:12 pm
33 percent is massive. I love thinking in percentages, because when you think about stuff like this:
an increase in conversion from 1% to 2% conversion rate is double the money.
That’s a battle I like to fight.
December 24th, 2008
5:32 am
Great post. Seeing test cases like this just reaffirms my belief in constant testing to achieve greater conversion rates.
Brendan, can you let us know how long this test was run for?
December 24th, 2008
12:13 pm
@ ibmiked: of the 3 variations tested, 1 performed worse than the control, and was quickly disabled. the remaining 2 both did around a 30% increase.
@ audio bible: we’re looking into that for you
@ mikie wakerman: the test ran around 2 months with quite a bit of traffic.
December 24th, 2008
2:15 pm
Thanks, Brendan Regan.
I will wait for your reply.
December 24th, 2008
6:14 pm
Which part of this site do you consider to be the “Value Proposition”?
I assume that this is it?:
Accepted.com, the premier admissions consulting and application essay editing service, helps you:
* Write right.
* Save time.
* Distinguish yourself.
The Wall Street Journal praised Accepted.com for helping applicants “overcome what may be the most daunting part” of the college and grad school application process: writing the essays.
We have been helping applicants like you gain acceptance to top schools and land great jobs since 1994 (on the web since 1996). We provide exceptional advising and editing services along with a website of invaluable information.
Thanks
SS
December 24th, 2008
6:21 pm
Do you think a value proposition is important for all businesses? How about for a lingerie site such as ours?
December 28th, 2008
1:09 pm
I’m sure it is possible for there to be be exceptions to needing a UVP but in 11 years I have never come across one. Great article; it would be interesting to see the variations.
December 28th, 2008
1:16 pm
@silversinus I believe the UVP is actually the statement in the header “guiding clients worldwide through the admissions maze to 2000+ acceptances at top schools since 2004.”
December 29th, 2008
11:50 am
Love Her Lingerie,
You do a pretty good job with your value proposition in the header. The Satisfaction Garaunteed is powerful and the Security logos are essential in creating trust with your customer base. I would move your UVP of ‘We offer the latest styles at the LOWEST PRICES!’ into the header. Right now it’s buried below the fold and really is one of your strongest selling points (assuming it’s true).
Additionally, you have a yahoo shopping cart. There is a company that can increase your sales 5-15% by modifying your checkout flow. Check them out – http://www.Amadesa.com. They’ve had great success with yahoo checkouts.
December 29th, 2008
12:46 pm
Yes, I’m also curious as to exactly what the UVP is – the header statement or the home page copy. As a copywriter, the UVP is the first thing I hunt down and identify – but I’m used to integrating this into the copy. To me, it seems to be an implicit part of good copy.
Are you arguing that it makes a difference to set the UVP aside in it’s own separate statement? Highlight it? Even identify it for the audience: Here’s our Unique Value Proposition (Or why we’re different from all the rest – to sound more conversational)?
Please clarify because the conversion rate is so compelling!
Sarah Clachar
health copywriter
December 29th, 2008
1:06 pm
10 years ago this was called a Unique Selling Proposition – It appears to have been turned politically correct, or at least a new keyword developed anyway.
http://www.hyperformancemedia.com/USP.htm
– SS
December 29th, 2008
1:45 pm
@Sarah Clachar (and all): To clarify, the line of copy above the global navigation is the UVP b/c it is a single sentence. The copy in the active window below the navigation could be called an “expanded UVP.”
Yes, we are arguing that the UVP should be more visually prominent than standard homepage copy (although it doesn’t have to be in the header). Someone arriving at the site should be able to scan and very quickly find the UVP, and the rest of the homepage copy can serve to reinforce it.
As far as highlighting the UVP for visitors, it’s definitely not about subtlety
Many sites call out their UVP by asking the question: “Why Shop at XYZ.com? Because we have the widgets the other guys don’t, and we offer free shipping both ways.”
December 29th, 2008
2:40 pm
So it seems that UVP and “Positioning” are essentially the same thing. Correct? UVP simply explains the positioning?
December 29th, 2008
3:35 pm
@Mark B: Positioning usually refers to product positioning, but what if your website sells multiple product lines? UVP is akin to brand positioning, but it also must give visitors that reassurance that they’re in the right place, e.g. “Welcome to XYZ.com, your source for all things XYZ, where we pay shipping both ways!”