The other day I was looking through my Blockbuster Total
Access “My Account” considering upgrading my service. I found this
handy little cost comparison chart for all of Blockbuster’s Total Access plans:
That’s a great chart but the problem is that it’s only
available to existing Blockbuster Total Access customers. (This isn’t entirely
true. I did find a round about way to get to it when not logged in, but more on
that below.) Understandably Blockbuster is trying to gain customers with their
two-free weeks sales hook and have streamlined that process. Two weeks free is
cool, but that’s not the only selling point they should be providing. When
you’re not logged into your Blockbuster account you see the following banner
near the top of the page:
(click for larger view)
But that’s about all the explanation of how their services
work that you’ll get. Clicking on that banner takes you to this page:
I think they are making a mistake here in the persuasion
process by not letting people see the various program options. For many, this information can be an
important part of the decision making process. Blockbuster provides these
options only AFTER you create an account (and are therefore logged in.)
They’ve got these two screens backwards. Show me the various
programs first and then give me the option to sign up for my free trial!
Hold
on. Not so fast. This just in!
You don’t have to sign in to get to this information after
all. It is available, but through a round-about way. Next to the free trial
banner shown above is an ambiguous text link.
That link takes you to this screen where you can either sign
into your account or create an account like before:
But this page has something else that’s different. An ad for
Blockbuster:
Click on that ad and then you’ll be taken to the page with
the chart shown above. It’s kind of a round about way to get to this
information. Notice the heading at the top that says this page is for
“existing members”. What about newbies?
Is this information not important? Or is the more
streamlined sign-up-for-the-free-two-weeks-only approach the right one? My
personal preference is the former and while all may not agree, many will. Which
is why the approach to marketing must try to satisfy all types users equally.
Stoney deGeyter runs a leading search engine marketing business with a small team of seasoned Reno SEO and marketing experts. Stoney pioneered the concept of Destination Search Engine Marketing which is the driving philosophy on how Pole Position marketing helps their clients succeed.
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