Prospa the magician
Here's a quick update on the self appointed leader in non-bank lending...Prospa.
In my previous article https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/brief-history-non-bank-lending-steve-palmer/ we said of their landing page -
'Prospa changed the look and feel of their landing page environment...It’s a ‘Me To’ strategy which will relate to potential buyers but aren’t they simply saying, ‘we give good service’?
The page we're referencing can be seen here.
We felt it was a short-term play. It didn't break away from the F Words (Fast, Flexible Funding) so prevalent in the industry and it wasn't ground breaking. More importantly it could be too easily adopted by the smaller players, some of which are the Prospa Pawns (refer back to original article).
The reason we're analysing this is, as they've said, they're the self-appointed leaders in P2P lending. But, to their credit, they've also made some smart plays since their inception.
They've got the largest, Australian based, in-house marketing team in the sector so we expect a lot from them, plus the rest of the industry looks at them with interest.
We asked ourselves in the previous article - was Prospa performing a magic trick by diverting attention here to only reappear over there?
And hey presto
Well it appears we were right. After only 6-8 weeks here's the new page.
zzzzzz...zzzzzz...zzzzzz. They're certainly not going to offend anyone are they. Wake me up in the New Year when they change it again.
For all those competitors out there let's look a little closer and see what Prospa's page can tell us about their frustrations today and what 2018 may bring for them.
Did you notice....?
- There are 3 references to Business Loans above the fold...just so people get it.
- The phone number is so small in the top right corner it should be in braille.
- There is no hipster barista in the image (Hipsters are so 2016 anyway).
- There are 3 next steps above the fold. THREE! No, that won't confuse the consumer at all.
We asked Arnie to help us explain why 3 outcomes are a dumb idea. This is what he came back with (Arnie works here).
No, we don't do personal loans
As the #1 lender to small business (Marketing 101 - it's not who you say you are, it's what your customers say you are) we believe Prospa have a large amount of people calling them for personal loans.
To combat the stupidity of people not reading what's on the page they have BUSINESS LOANS as the biggest font size on the page and the phone number as one of the smallest. They also reference the word 'Business' 3 times before people even have to scroll, plus it's mentioned 13 times in total on the page.
Frustrating fact - Most people only read the heading and first line on a webpage.
When using online channels in non-bank lending the best enquiries come from business owners coming to considered conclusions. This means we want people to read the page copy. So in general terms, contact forms can deliver better conversations and more funded deals. In contrast, anxious and irrational people simply pick up the phone and barf all over the call centre staff.
I can hear the frustration in the call centre, 'I'm sorry sir, we don't do personal loans'. Let me ask 'did you happen to notice the 3 references to business loans, above the fold, before you called us'?
We're still not sure what works
Competitors can take some solace from the following insights because even after a short period of 2.5 years, legacy has crept in.
A couple of interesting points here is the two 'apply now' buttons have the same URL's. Unless they're using 'enhanced link attribution' they won't know which button works best.
Takeaway - Always use different URL's for each path.
All three buttons are Ghost buttons. These are named as such because they blend into the page. They should be called 'Where's Wally buttons'. I say this for two reasons.
- They're hard for the consumer to find
- You're a Wally for using them
It's more web fashion than function: they're made by inner city designers to appeal to outer suburban consumers.
Takeaway - If you want people to know how smart you are use Ghost buttons.
We won't look further down the page as it's not needed but because it's a limited time offer the only outcome which matters is the Redeem Offer button. In the above the fold real estate it's the only button which matters. It makes us ask why you would keep the two Apply Now buttons at all?
The mobile version of the page only has one button above the fold. Thankfully less real estate meant they had to eliminate buttons, unfortunately they kept the wrong button, the Apply Now button.
Takeaway - Get rid of your ego and use only one outcome.
How much more targeted would the campaign be if they had only used the Redeem Offer button as seen below?
That's better and much clearer in its intent. If the Ghost button became a contrasting colour that might improve outcomes even more. The guy in the image even looks like he's taking action after looking at the button. Arnie would be pleased.
Takeaway - Don't confuse Arnie with more than one outcome.
The End of Year page
The Redeem Offer button leads to the End of Year page seen below...
...which has two next steps as well.
So now we have 3 outcomes - Apply now, Redeem Offer and Get Started. The heading on this page says Apply for a loan. I'd be hoping the consumer doesn't click the Apply Now button after seeing the word Apply in the headline.
Once again Apply Now goes back to the same page as the other two Apply Now buttons. The Get Started button goes to the bottom of the page so the consumer can fill in the contact form.
Are you suitably confused now?
Takeaway - Don't give the consumer mixed messages.
The fastest route to Redeem Offer is via the contact form in 3 clicks. The fastest way through Apply Now is only 2 clicks. The challenge is Apply Now is really the Online Loan Application and it feels too soon to ask for that level of commitment.
Like asking for your hand in marriage on the second date Prospa may see some drop off though this path as Apply Now could be interpreted by some as, 'They're asking me to leave my contact details'.
Takeaway - Buttons be like - it should do what it says on the tin.
After the prospect has clicked the Get Started button and filled in their details they are asked to Submit their details...SUBMIT....SUBMIT. Who left this button to the developer to populate?
Couldn't someone in the marketing team have said, 'hey, why don't we see this through to the end and use the words, 'Contact Me' or 'Call Me' instead? Submit was fine 10 years ago but in 2017?
Takeaway - People don't like to Submit...especially business owners.
Before we talk about what might happen in 2018 here's what was important to consumers in 2017.
https://showtimedigital.com.au/images/P2P_&_Debtor_Finance-2017-Showtime_Digital.pdf
What might happen in 2018?
To look into the future you sometimes have to look ino the past.
This is the old Prospa page and in it you can see a little awkwardness. That's quite acceptable, no one knew what non-bank lending was in 2015.
The old page heading states the process; this is what we do. Often times this is what companies say when they don't yet know their place in the world or their reason for being.
The new page heading, 'Business Loans Made Easy' proves Prospa is a little more comfortable in its skin and they don't have the same need to prove themselves.
The new page has moved away from being Fintech and more towards non-bank lending.
Quite simply the consumer doesn't care what's under the bonnet, they only care that you can get them to their destination. To this point today's page is more approachable.
The future of lending
The next challenge for companies in this sector is to move away from fintech and non-bank lending to being a credible lending partner. This won't be easy because the majority of business owners could care less where they get their money, as long as they get to keep all their fingers.
Companies like Prospa realise to successfully execute their exit strategy they need to prepare a dinner jacket for purchase and not a T-Shirt. The banks are ok to finance the T-Shirt brigade but the Big4 won't buy them until they look more like banks.
Can you smell a Prospa rebrand in the air?
Who is Showtime Digital? - We're excited about why people do what they do online. We create campaigns which speak to the inner psychology of the consumer and adapts to their online behaviour. This is why we provide better results, more often.