Have you heard the story about the $300 million button?
You can read the story here, but essentially, a flaw in an e-commerce site’s form was preventing users from following through on their purchases. The fatal flaw was that the site was requiring users to register before they could enter their credit card.
Shoppers were jumping ship left and right, and the retailer couldn’t figure out why. Finally, they conducted user testing (smart!) and realized the mandatory registration was scaring people away.
As one shopper confessed, “I’m not here to enter into a relationship. I just want to buy something.”
The solution? The designers added a “continue” button that allowed shoppers to go through with their purchase without becoming a “member.” The result? An additional $300 million in revenue each year.
So what does independent radio have to do with this?
You ready?
Here it is.
STOP TALKING.
It’s the rookiest of all the rookie mistakes. How often do we hear the volunteer dj say, “Well, I can’t think of anything else to say, so I guess I’ll play some music.”
But don’t they realize the only reason we’re tuning in is for the music? Because every other radio station in our listening area is playing overproduced pop, teenage screech or the ever so predictable Pink Floyd/Led Zeppelin/Eagles merri-go-round?
If they would just stop talking, maybe we we’d actually turn the radio on every once in awhile instead of listening to Pandora all day. If they just stopped talking, maybe we’d tune in on membership drive day and kick them a few dollars.
Sometimes the best answers are the simplest.
Stop talking.
There’s your $300 million button, indy.
–Britta