I Showed My Price And Killed My Sales

Steve Peters Benn · 08-13-2008, 10:49 AM

Hey Guys,

Some of you who remember WF v2 will remember I started a thread that became very very popular - called something like - show your price. Or something.

Anyway, my idea came from the Bang and Oulfsen, or was it Bose - who don't show prices on direct mail or in store. They told me (in store) that it was pushing sales through the roof.

We talked for a while about the pros and cons. So I decieded to test it out on a very popular product of mine. I'm not going to mention anything about it or details as that's not what this forum is for.

All I will say is that product was converting between 6%-7% before then and was doing great. Like any good marketer I like to test. So I altered the headline to include the price.

Sales fell to below 1% conversion rate. How bad is that????

I have plenty of other ways I have killed sales before, but I thought that I would let you know this one first.

Why did the headline kill my sales - well people just didn't progress past the headline. The cost was low, so I though that advertising it was a virtue. How wrong could I have been.

Now please - I don't want people destroying their sales by doing a KernCloneDrone (named for the less "creative" members of Kerns list). In some circumstances showing your price can be good.

So, in terms of testing, I think that this is one extreme example...

Dan C. Rinnert · 08-13-2008, 10:57 AM

That's interesting. A while back, when I was running ads on Google, I started listing the price on the ads, thinking that would steer away people that weren't willing to pay that price. Lowered the CTR, but didn't raise the percentage of conversions at all.

I never thought of doing a comparison, running an ad with the price and one with out and tracking those conversions...

AlexR · 08-13-2008, 11:03 AM

Steve, the success or falure of any copy depends on it's strength. Changing your headline without giving it the strength to be able to carry the price is probably what cost you the extra sales.

By showing a price in the headline, you are effectively asking the reader to open their wallet/purse before they really see what you are offering. This gives you very few words to play with to win the sale.

Companies like Bang and Olufsen and Bose can make sales on their name alone as they are known for quality and generally, more expensive products. Taking Tiffany's (the jewellers) as an example, here's a market that already knows..."If you have to ask the price, then you probably can't afford it".

A few well known marketers make money on their name alone and probably wouldn't suffer any great loss whether they showed a price in the headline or not.

For most people, it could have similar results to those that you found.

Alex

Steve Peters Benn · 08-13-2008, 12:15 PM

Alex, that is the most clear and concise explaination I have heard regarding the whole showing your price debate. Thanks for that - I think I understand now.

Cheers

Steve

Jelasco · 08-13-2008, 01:01 PM

Steve, what was the price?

Steve Peters Benn · 08-13-2008, 01:31 PM

It wasn't much, less than $20.00.

Lance K · 08-13-2008, 01:31 PM

What was your value proposition?

Andy Fletcher · 08-13-2008, 01:41 PM

Couple of quick questions -

How long did you run the test for?

Can you be sure the traffic quality stayed consistent?

Steve Peters Benn · 08-13-2008, 01:49 PM

I can't be sure of those things and I couldnt reveal more without mentioning the product which I don't think would be suitable.

Tirmizi · 08-13-2008, 01:49 PM

very informatve indeeeeed

Steve Peters Benn · 08-13-2008, 01:55 PM

I do think the traffic quality played a part, I also think my tracking software went wonky as it recorded nothing for yesterday, yet my sales software records 40 hits. Not sure what to trust.

08-13-2008, 10:49 AM	#1
Steve Peters Benn Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Leeds, United Kingdom. Posts: 3,519 Thanks: 598 Thanked 334 Times in 165 Posts Social Networking	I Showed My Price And Killed My Sales Hey Guys, Some of you who remember WF v2 will remember I started a thread that became very very popular - called something like - show your price. Or something. Anyway, my idea came from the Bang and Oulfsen, or was it Bose - who don't show prices on direct mail or in store. They told me (in store) that it was pushing sales through the roof. We talked for a while about the pros and cons. So I decieded to test it out on a very popular product of mine. I'm not going to mention anything about it or details as that's not what this forum is for. All I will say is that product was converting between 6%-7% before then and was doing great. Like any good marketer I like to test. So I altered the headline to include the price. Sales fell to below 1% conversion rate. How bad is that???? I have plenty of other ways I have killed sales before, but I thought that I would let you know this one first. Why did the headline kill my sales - well people just didn't progress past the headline. The cost was low, so I though that advertising it was a virtue. How wrong could I have been. Now please - I don't want people destroying their sales by doing a KernCloneDrone (named for the less "creative" members of Kerns list). In some circumstances showing your price can be good. So, in terms of testing, I think that this is one extreme example...

08-13-2008, 10:57 AM	#2
Dan C. Rinnert I have a lame list. War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: One Second into the Future Posts: 4,256 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 811 Thanked 2,177 Times in 1,003 Posts Social Networking	That's interesting. A while back, when I was running ads on Google, I started listing the price on the ads, thinking that would steer away people that weren't willing to pay that price. Lowered the CTR, but didn't raise the percentage of conversions at all. I never thought of doing a comparison, running an ad with the price and one with out and tracking those conversions...
	Click here for the MOST FUN PRODUCT CREATION GUIDE for Procrastinators since forever. Dan's content is irregularly read by handfuls of people. Join the elite few by reading his blog: dcrBlogs.com or following him on Twitter: dcrTweets.com but NOT by Clicking Here! ----------> [Free WSO] The Lamest WSO in the History of the Warrior Forum ☺ <----------

08-13-2008, 11:03 AM	#3
AlexR Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Chelsea, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 5,241 Thanks: 10 Thanked 19 Times in 17 Posts Contact Info	Steve, the success or falure of any copy depends on it's strength. Changing your headline without giving it the strength to be able to carry the price is probably what cost you the extra sales. By showing a price in the headline, you are effectively asking the reader to open their wallet/purse before they really see what you are offering. This gives you very few words to play with to win the sale. Companies like Bang and Olufsen and Bose can make sales on their name alone as they are known for quality and generally, more expensive products. Taking Tiffany's (the jewellers) as an example, here's a market that already knows..."If you have to ask the price, then you probably can't afford it". A few well known marketers make money on their name alone and probably wouldn't suffer any great loss whether they showed a price in the headline or not. For most people, it could have similar results to those that you found. Alex
	Sig released on parole.

08-13-2008, 01:31 PM	#7
Lance K Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: USA Posts: 3,866 Thanks: 1,435 Thanked 646 Times in 405 Posts Contact Info	What was your value proposition?
	"You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want." ~ Zig Ziglar

08-13-2008, 01:41 PM	#8
Andy Fletcher Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: , , . Posts: 2,463 Thanks: 1,046 Thanked 1,120 Times in 373 Posts Contact Info	Couple of quick questions - How long did you run the test for? Can you be sure the traffic quality stayed consistent?
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08-13-2008, 12:15 PM	#4
Steve Peters Benn Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Leeds, United Kingdom. Posts: 3,519 Thanks: 598 Thanked 334 Times in 165 Posts Social Networking	Alex, that is the most clear and concise explaination I have heard regarding the whole showing your price debate. Thanks for that - I think I understand now. Cheers Steve

08-13-2008, 01:01 PM	#5
Jelasco Senior Warrior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: USA. Posts: 1,248 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Steve, what was the price?

08-13-2008, 01:49 PM	#9
Steve Peters Benn Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Leeds, United Kingdom. Posts: 3,519 Thanks: 598 Thanked 334 Times in 165 Posts Social Networking	I can't be sure of those things and I couldnt reveal more without mentioning the product which I don't think would be suitable.

08-13-2008, 01:49 PM	#10
Tirmizi Advance Warrior Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Islamabad, Pakistan Posts: 410 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Contact Info	very informatve indeeeeed
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08-13-2008, 01:55 PM	#11
Steve Peters Benn Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Leeds, United Kingdom. Posts: 3,519 Thanks: 598 Thanked 334 Times in 165 Posts Social Networking	I do think the traffic quality played a part, I also think my tracking software went wonky as it recorded nothing for yesterday, yet my sales software records 40 hits. Not sure what to trust.