Bogus Squeeze Page Test- Wrong, or Just Another Marketing Tactic?

7 replies
I came across a squeeze page with a twist- it was five questions on the stock market about investing- if you answered the questions right it said it would see you on the other side. So I gave my answers, which I thought were right, and after entering an email I was taken to a page to get my results- which is said were 5 out of 5.

I felt good, for a second.

But then, being a somewhat jaded marketer myself, I decided to retake the test, putting in what I knew were all wrong answers. Guess what, it took me to the same page that said I got 5 out of 5 right. Now I felt like I was just being scammed.

Before you say maybe there were no right answers- it wasn't set up that way. Some might be opinion but a few were just factual and wrong is wrong no matter what your opinion or style of investing.

My first thought (before I took the test the first time) was this might be a good take on a squeeze page but you will lose a few people. But seeing how this one operates I see they don't want to lose anyone. But then why do a fake test in the first place, or at least make the "test" really be opinion questions so you can truthfully say no matter what the answer the test taker was correct?

Now they lost me and anyone else skeptical enough to throw in a few wrong answers to see if the test is on the level or not.

Am I over-thinking this? It seems wrong to me, unless you either make the test the "no wrong answers" kind or you really do tell people when they've given wrong answers and then maybe use that to educate them and build trust from there.
#bogus #marketing #page #squeeze #tactic #wrong
  • Profile picture of the author peekay
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Matt, like many people, you might be confusing the value of the tactic with the execution.

    In this case, the tactic itself is sound. People love quizzes and seeing how they stack up with others.

    The execution as you described it sucks (for lack of a better word), unless their target market is truly clueless newbies who don't know anything and are thus likely to believe almost anything said with authority. In which case, the execution is brilliant - they weed out the folks like you who know they're FOS and keep only the most likely to be taken in.

    By taking and submitting the quiz, you (generic, all inclusive 'you') are acknowledging their authority. You want to have the right answers. Naturally, you get a warm fuzzy when the authority agrees that you have all the right answers. You want more warm fuzzies, so when the seller comes back and tells you that your test results qualify you to buy whatever they are offering, you're likely to believe them and buy it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
      I use this for a couple of my products and it is one of the most powerful techniques out there... I however have several different versions of the sales letter and they go to a different version based on their answers.

      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      Matt, like many people, you might be confusing the value of the tactic with the execution.

      In this case, the tactic itself is sound. People love quizzes and seeing how they stack up with others.

      The execution as you described it sucks (for lack of a better word), unless their target market is truly clueless newbies who don't know anything and are thus likely to believe almost anything said with authority. In which case, the execution is brilliant - they weed out the folks like you who know they're FOS and keep only the most likely to be taken in.

      By taking and submitting the quiz, you (generic, all inclusive 'you') are acknowledging their authority. You want to have the right answers. Naturally, you get a warm fuzzy when the authority agrees that you have all the right answers. You want more warm fuzzies, so when the seller comes back and tells you that your test results qualify you to buy whatever they are offering, you're likely to believe them and buy it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Matt Remuzzi
        Kevin- that approach makes a lot of sense to me. John- I agree with your point and appreciate the clarification.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Remuzzi
    True, John- I hadn't considered the idea they could be weeding out people smart enough to know better. But when I went back and read the salesletter, not far into it they say "we only want people smart enough to pass our simple test" which is clearly not true if any answers will get you a pass and some of those answers are undeniably wrong.

    I agree a quiz is a good way to go, which is why I liked the idea in the first place, but it seems to me you could do it in a way that also doesn't require dishonesty and not doing that is just lazy and/or knowingly dishonest.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Matt Remuzzi View Post

      True, John- I hadn't considered the idea they could be weeding out people smart enough to know better. But when I went back and read the salesletter, not far into it they say "we only want people smart enough to pass our simple test" which is clearly not true if any answers will get you a pass and some of those answers are undeniably wrong.

      I agree a quiz is a good way to go, which is why I liked the idea in the first place, but it seems to me you could do it in a way that also doesn't require dishonesty and not doing that is just lazy and/or knowingly dishonest.
      Matt, what did you expect them to say? "We're only looking for those dumb enough to believe they could possibly fail our simple test"?

      Any answer you give will be judged as correct, and reinforce the idea that you (as taker of the quiz) are a smart cookie, and smart cookies will buy their product.

      They're looking for 'I'm smart enough for this product - I proved it by passing their test." In three steps, they go:

      1. We only want smart people.
      2. You passed our test, so you're a smart person.
      3. We want you.

      You, on the other hand, knew that the answers you gave the second time were bogus, and that the test was a set-up.

      What they really meant was "we want people smart enough to take our test, but not smart enough to recognize the set-up."

      Absolutely there's a way to use a quiz without being dishonest. And I'm not condoning being deceptive.

      My point was that there may have been method to their madness, as opposed to the quiz being "just another marketing tactic."
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