The Most Honest Interactive Response is Anonymous

Posted by Doug on Sep 15, 2009 in Thoughts | 1 comment

When building an online presentation that is stand-alone, it is tempting to try to get the user’s vital information (name, email address, phone number) up front. This comes from an old marketing tactic of ‘building your list’ so that ‘no lead is left behind.’ But this really is not an effective tactic. Most people will put in false information just to see what you are really offering.

The point of interactivity-at-point-of-business is to capture input from a user at the moment of maximum emotional involvement. To gain maximum value from this interaction you need the response to be honest and true. Studies show that you have the best chance of getting this honest input if the user thinks he is anonymous. There is no reason for him lie!

Think of it this way. Imagine that you are starting a presentation such as the one below. The early questions seems innocuous and non-threatening. But what if the presentation had asked you to provide your name and email on the first slide? Or even as a preface for the privilege of watching the presentation? You would most likely enter false information until you know what is coming next — even if you are an otherwise good prospect.

Answer this honestly – Have you ever lied on a contact request for when being prompted for your name or contact information at the beginning of the process? I’d wager 90% of you would say yes. Would you lie if prompted for name and email at the end? The answer in most cases is NEVER. If you truly aren’t interested at the end you would just ignore the prompt and move on.

And that’s just fine. The only truly qualified lead is one who actually understands your offer and requests a follow up. Why would you want to waste your time with anyone else?