Optimizing Sling homepage language for conversion
I conducted a competitor analysis on the verbal landscape of 5 homepages for streaming service businesses. This research showed me how Sling’s competitors were using language to market their product to a digital audience. Sling’s competitors frequently used words related to shows, channels, etc. However, Sling’s homepage language more frequently reflected the price of the service.
Hypothesis and Goals
I hypothesized that adding language about programming included within Sling services would clarify options for prospects and thus drive an increase in conversion. I pitched this idea to the growth marketing team’s leadership and received the go-ahead for testing.
This activity ran during July 2023 and had 2 goals:
Increase the prospect conversion rate by 3%
Provide more educational information for users considering a subscription with Sling
Target Audience
This experiment targeted prospective Sling subscribers who landed on the homepage.
To reach this audience, a segment was created to exclude website visitors who were active customers or former customers. This was determined by factors including a visitor’s previous behavior on the website and account status.
Test Plan
Location: Sling homepage (sling.com)
Variants:
Exp A / Control (50%): BAU, no changes
Exp B / Tabs Section (50%): I proposed implementing a new section on the homepage, below the package cards, that used existing website components: Tabs and Carousel. The section would include genre types as categories that a user could toggle between to reveal content and imagery related to that genre.
Results
While prospect conversion rate was the metric being observed initially, we found that the tabbed content experience outperformed the control for not only prospect conversion rate, but also for former conversion rate.
The data revealed a 2.3% lift in prospect conversion and a 3.9% lift in former conversion. Although the numbers were unexpected, it showed our team that implementing the tabbed content section on the homepage would be beneficial for both acquiring new customers and winning previous subscribers back.
Additionally, the cancellation rate of subscribers reflected a downward trend, which could be attributed to the improvement in messaging that helped users better understand the services available before purchase.
The experience was implemented as a BAU strategy and has continued to be iterated on.
