Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

www.skinutrients.com markets a nutritional supplement for people with acne.  I developed the product in order to help my own patients who wanted to avoid taking oral antibiotics long term for their acne (dermatologist here).  There are strict limitations on exactly what I can claim for this product because it is not a drug, but a nutritional supplement.  The before/after photos and testemonials are my own patients and are real/unretouched.  The business started selling product about two years ago.  Due to slow sales, I tried to mimic proactive by offering the product as a "subscription" whereby first month free, then autoshipments every three months if happy.  This helped a bit but still only about $1000 sales retail a month, and NOT growing.

What about this site is turning people off?  I get one sale for every (approx) 150 visits to the website.  I would like to get more like 2 for every hundred visits.  Then of course, I need to get about 10 times as many visitors to the site as currently going there.  I`ve done many itterations of google ad words, yahoo, etc.

Lastly, off topic, I would be interested in partnering with anyone with EXTENSIVE experience in getting nutritional supplements successfully to a broader market, into stores, infomercials, QVC, etc.  I`ve got over 6 figures invested and am looking for someone to invest their time/expertise/money to help exponentially increase sales for a share of the business.  Thanks.

 

Dean

how long has your site been up and running? And what are your key words for ranking?

 

 

The site in this itteration has been up since 1/1/07 and the keywords (I`m not the webmaster) include acne, treatment, natural treatment, herbal treatment, skin care and others.

Dean

Hi Dean and welcome!

Proactiv`s web site does a great job selling there product. The content on your "homepage"  is very weak. Most people reading it would most likely say "So What" after reading it...for example, you have the following statements on your page:

Looking for something completely new and different to treat your skin? [SO WHAT - WHO CARES] Your prospects aren`t looking for something new and different, they`re looking for a solution to a problem and you need to address this...

Take a look at how Proactiv does it on their site: proactiv[.com]

In their body, the first thing they say is:
Get the great skin you want, now! {which is what your prospects want --- not something new and interesting}

Look at the 3-steps they have right under that which explains how their system works without being boring. Notice that they`re not talking about how great their system is or how their system was fortified with berberine.

They simply say:

Step 1. Renewing Cleanser gently exfoliates dead skin cells allowing benzoyl peroxide to penetrate pores.

Step 2. Revitalizing Toner soothes and softens skin while removing pore-clogging impurities.

Step 3. Repairing Lotion hydrates skin while penetrating deep to stop acne-causing bacteria at the source.

Compare what they say above, to what you say below:

Every vitamin and mineral in Skinutrients Accunatural has been clinically studied in the treatment of acne.* In addition, Accunatural is fortified with berberine: nature`s most versatile anti-acne compound.* Berberine in vitro not only inhibits the growth of the bacteria that causes acne, it also reduces the production of skin oil.*

Lastly, berberine has beneficial effects on carbohydrate metabolism that may be key in controlling diet-related breakouts.* Combining vitamins, minerals and berberine into a single product has resulted in an extremely effective nutritional supplement for promoting and protecting healthy skin against non-cystic acne.* Imagine dramatic improvement in as little as 30 days using no prescriptions and no messy lotions.* We are so certain you`ll be completely satisfied with Skinutrients Accunatural that we gladly offer this...

-----------

This type of talk is completely foreign to most of your prospects and benefits them in no way...now, I`m not saying you shouldn`t have this information there, it`s important. But you should have it elsewhere where they can access should they choose too...don`t force it upon them.

Even Proactiv uses that fancy "lingo" on their About Acne page...so there is a place for it, just not on that front page.

Also, do you have more photos of the product? Are they just getting that 1 bottle you have here:

http://www.skinutrients.com/img/graphics/default-green/pic-b ottle.jpg

Does the bottle comes with other materials (whether it be reading material in the form of a brochure, a cleaning schedule, etc...), if so, put a picture of the entire package so they can visually see what they`re getting.

They need to understand they`re not just getting a "Bottle of Pills", but that they`re getting a complete system!

At proactiv, they`re getting a complete system, PLUS they`re getting this bonus:
proactiv.com/img/order/bonus.jpg (i intentionally made it so it won`t link to their site, this way they won`t immediately know we`re studying them

The perception is that they`re getting a lot for that $59 value.

Proactive offers a 60 day supply at $59, you offer a 3 month supply at $59...

Could you offer a 60 day supply instead of 3 month supply at $39.95 (they pay less up front, and get a great "system" and you`ll make the same amount and you`ll actually make some off the shipping 6 times per year.

I wouldn`t ship priority at the $5.95 rate, I`d ship that first class whereby you`d make a few bucks (proactiv) does the same thing and then they offer the rush shipping for $13 (which is priority) and then of course they offer the FedEx shipping at $19.95.

In their case, the shipping ($5.95) most likely pays for the cost of the product while the shipping itself is less than $2.00 (assuming here), but clearly, the $13 pays for everything.

I don`t know if you have other supplements that you can upsell (you should be sending offers with each package that goes out the door, if you`re not, you`re losing money).

Also, rework those testimonials...those are important because that`s your proof that your system works.

Compare yours:
http://www.skinutrients.com/testimonials.php

To Theirs:

proactiv.com/stories/stories.php?pactvid=d59b14972097748b99e f36e359feb16e

Earlier you mentioned that you`re not the webmaster, and that`s fine, but you need to be directly involved with what content should be on the site. Your webmaster is not in the Acne treatment business. Let me rephrase that, you`re no longer in the Acne treatment business, you`re now in the Marketing Business. You need to make the transition from business owner, to the Marketer of Acne Treatments. When you make this transition in your mind, you`ll start to see things a little differently.

You also mentioned earlier that you used pay per clicks...how successful were those in getting you customers? Pay per clicks work extremely well! But the key thing to remember with that is this...if you`re going to be spending money to bring traffic to your web site, then you better be "darn" sure your site is converting well, otherwise you`re simply throwing away your money.

Your site must convert...period...and I wouldn`t say 1 out of 150 people is that good. But keep working with it and keep testing, that`s the name of the game. If you`re willing to test different elements, you`ll eventually find your winner.

If you`re selling $1000.00 bucks worth of products per month, then thats a good people do want your product, you just need to make that "sales" process a lot better.

How long are these people staying on the autoship after the initial order?

Hope this helps!
Cartess Ross


-------------------------

Website Startup Coach: Step-by-Step Coaching to Help You Build a Profitable Business Online!

Coding ... In viewing your page source, you don`t have any meta tags set up for keywords or description; some search engines might not mind, but you should have them there anyway. The only meta tag you have is the title. All of your css should be moved to an external file, then included. You have a ton of tables in your code. Also, the W3C Validator shows 342 errors just on your main page. I think I`d have a talk with your site developer if I was you.

Visually .... myself, I hate seeing a slide show right away. I would prefer your main information right at the top telling me what you have and why it benefits me, for example this part ...

"Something Completely New and Entirely Different Than Anything You`ve Ever Tried for Your Skin!"

Just my opinion, I`d use a link to another page with your comparison photos. And I`d eliminate the slide show and just use comparison photos next to each other. And, do you really need the "Get SMART Now" banner 3 times on one page?

Your layout seems like an hourglass on some pages, i.e., wide at the top, narrow in the middle, then full width at the bottom. Just my suggestion, try to keep it a consistent width all the way down the page.


-------------------------

M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

Dean,

There are some basics for successful conversions on an ecommerce website

(1) The site needs to be user friendly - easy to get around and esy for the viewer to find what they are seeking.

(2) Easy to find - searches, referral links, word of mouse, etc.

(3) Your marketing message should be clear and something that connects with the viewer.

For your site, as suggested above your content needs some work to get your marketing message across. That starts with an understanding of your target market. Who they are, their demographics, and how they relate to a product...etc.

You can certainly look at examples of successful products and use their success techniques without copying thier site... but making it "yourown".

I agree, the slide show is not important to have on the main page although you could have one before and after photo on the page.

As far as your code... there are some issues as noted above. In addition the site`s style code should be put into an external CSS, it is not necessary to have it in the html of the page nor is it search engine friendly to do so.

At the bottom of your home page is a link to another site/domain... I`m assuming that is your`s also.  You might think about how to use your domains. To cross link, or consolidate, 301 redirect..etc. to get the most value and ALSO NOT CONFUSE your potential customers. I folowed that link to a number of related but different sites.. now I`m confused.

~Roland

-------------------------

Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

Psychology

Marketering experts have known for a long time that people aren`t buying a product like this, they`re buying a dream.

It`s not only medical solutions, but buying a car, clothing, perfume, or just about anything else you can think of. Cartess laid it out: You`re trying to sell a medical product and nobody wants a medical product.

To consider buying a medical product means you first have to believe you have a medical problem. Nobody wants to think about that, regardless of it being true. Everyone would rather imagine themselves dating someone wonderful, being out enjoying vacations, wearing fabulous clothes, and drinking champagne for breakfast.

Your whole site says, "Hey! You with the messed up face! How`d you like to look halfway decent?"

Who`s going to jump up and down and buy that product, and shout, "That`s ME!" :-D Nobody.

There`s a reason sites like this use models, gorgeous people, and exciting lifestyle pictures. That`s what people want....it`s what they wish they could have. They already know, deep down, that they have acne or whatever, and hate it. They sure don`t want to be reminded of it.

So the reason marketers get paid the big bucks is they know how to walk the very fine line between gently indicating they`re aware of "the problem which must remain nameless," and an almost realistic, reachable opportunity to solve everything and become one of the beautiful people.

OK, that`s like a million dollars worth of great advice from all.  Thanks so much.  I think Cartess and Craig hit on the major problem with the site - it tries to sell a product -  a bottle of pills when it should be selling clear and beautiful skin.  After all, customers don`t want my product at all, they just want clear skin.  Best case scenario is my product is a neccessary evil/expense to get that clear skin.  I`ve been trying to sell a product instead of the solution people want.  Interestingly enough, Proactiv is called Proactiv Solution. 

Any ideas on who can help to market this product more broadly to wholesale channels, etc?

FYI, I did do a few hundred direct mailings to health food stores, dermatologists, spas, etc., but only about a 1% conversion rate, so after expenses it was pretty much a wash.

re: priority mail - its easy for me to print the labels, and then they are automatically tracked in my software and customers can track too.  I definitely want to track stuff.  I have a lot of people say they didn`t get their order when in fact they did, and some of those people never even ordered!

My cost on the product is very very low, I just need some volume to make it happen.  Thanks again for all your help!

 

Dean

I`d market more tightly than more broadly and then use some targeted social networking to get some buzz going.

Does anyone use http://www.aminstitute.com/headline/ for headline checking? (Or bullet point writing, etc.)

I agree that you want to improve usability before going nuts on PPC, but when you do go back to PPC get some really nice specific long-tail keywords. Like "sick of bad skin" (longer, more specific) or "middle age acne" - and also make sure you`re appropriately utilizing negative keywords!

I`m usually more verbose, but you`ve already been given such amazing advice...that was all I could think to add!

-------------------------

Jennifer G
Just smart enough to be dangerous since 1989.
---------------------------------------------
www.atypicalva.com | www.marketingcurve.com

I`d guess that the 1% conversion rate on the direct mail is related to trying to sell pills, not beautiful skin. After you`ve reworked the marketing scheme, I tend to agree with Cartess that direct mailing is right up there as the best "bang for the buck."

You might want to explore the community here, and see about connecting with someone who specializes in marketing....?