Do calculators and quizzes really work?
We use a calculator on our website so clients can work out the approximate cost for different content projects. They may decide to pop over an email, leave their email address to obtain details of future offers, or walk away.
It’s empowering for potential clients, because it’s versatile and optional; we don’t force an email address to obtain a result. Around 8% of our clients arrive through the calculator; some even budget around various content types each month using it, and as the costs are fixed each year from April-end March, there are no surprises about the costs when booking.
However, for many website owners, there's still an element of scepticism about if they work. We often see the quizzes that gives you a personality description at the end, but these are often clickbait quizzes. I’m more of a fan of intelligent assessments and quizzes, and I create all types of these forworkshop content creation, pre-recruitment surveys, and so on.
Creating Value
However, if using a quiz on your site, it has to entice your client's audience to be further interested in buying your services. It’s a case of careful crafting, increasing trust and ensuring the sales funnel is clear and delivered in a step-by-step approach.
If you are thinking of how to incorporate a calculator, you need to offer some value to your audience; whether it is to demonstrate a return on investment your business can offer a client; to provide a quote (as I have done) to display transparency, or to determine how many tile packs you need for your bathroom as my husband needed to work out last week. A calculator or quiz is not only useful, it can be a great lead generator if done the right way.
It all boils down to your target audience and their business goals. Would your ideal prospects find your calculator valuable?
Interactive tools get 4X more shares as compared to their static counterparts. Take the New York Times Rent vs. Buy calculator,for instance. This became viral and was shared 187K times over the period of one year and got more than 51K backlinks.
So, while blogs and white papers are useful to obtain leads, these interactive additions can be used to help with targeting and upselling too. Calculators can make you data rich. In order to obtain a genuine result, your customers, more often than not, fill in real, genuine data. In case of an ROI calculator, you obtain information such as your customer’s website address, their current sales numbers,or their conversion figures. Such rich user data opens up numerous possibilities to really make your sales extremely targeted. Of course, you need to ensure you comply with the GDPR regulations of your country of operation.
Exclusive Offers
And, when prospects reach the lead generation form in the quiz/calculator, you can offer some exclusive, limited-time resources that theywill get, either on the results page or later on through email. You’ll find that prospects will face a dilemma. What if I miss this opportunity? Especially, an opportunity that provides an exclusive, “limited-to-a-few” offer. You'll just need to ensure it is exclusive, and they can't buy cheaper elsewhere. You don’t want to appear gimmicky as that’ll dilute your brand image.
Or, you can propose a ‘limited time offer’ after they complete the quiz/calculator. This irresistible offer could be a webinar, a masterclass, a coaching session, or an exclusive event.
The choice is yours.
Too much manipulation will turn off prospects, so you need to be genuine,not gimmicky. People also don’t like to experience too much pressure, but they'll want to be able to get a great deal, a freebie, or to obtain something of value to them. The more they feel an emotional connection, the greater the tendency to invest, And, you need to know what this value is.