A small criticism ignore if you wish

Hey guys,

I just ventured to the main site thingy for a change, not straight to the forum like usual, as I wanted to refer foundation to a friend. Why? because it is awesome. However when arriving at the main intro page I found it had changed a lot. I do not like this change. The constant scrolling, big headings with little star things overlayed and repetitive 'sign me up buttons' reminded me of a get fit in thirty days I promise I won't rip you off fat loss website. I feel that the product being offered is of a far more professional nature than the title page suggests.

I am not a marketer or a web designer or anything of the sort however I am a customer and for me this style of advertising makes me skeptical. I feel that if arriving at the main site the advertising has been done and this is the place to be serious.

This is just my opinion , however, I feel I need to voice my concerns as a tiny, if misguided, attempt to aid a product and business that has helped me. 

If this is not the place for such a thing please feel free to remove this post.

Warmest regards

John

I agree to an extent. I do think that marketing has its place, but on the other hand it would be nice if there were a home page I could link to that had more substance and less buzz.

I also have to agree with this, comes off kind of like a late night telemarketing commercial 

I agree. However, you must look at it in an unbiased point of view. Most people who read through that are the ones that think that crunches will get you abs, and an iron cross (ex of notorious gymnastic skill) is attainable with a training schedule of 3x45 minutes a week. We know what this place is, and how it is run. To get the most purchases, it is best to, in my opinion, include this so those narrow-minded people will finally understand what it takes.

My thoughts are jumbled, but there ya go

In my opinion the site is trying to expand its target market thus having to provide what the general population desires. Search the "id, ego and super-ego" and you will understand. The id desires pleasure and having big headings and colourful things gives us pleasure. This probably won't make any sense but anyway...

A first impression is lasting impression. No matter how good your service is, no matter how much it speaks for itself, a flashy website/business card/logo on your truck even, is going to attract people more. Simple economics, I am in the business of making a living myself and I have learned this with my own business. 

I just hope the community/forums don't go to shit. They can do whatever they want to the front page. Put up huge ad banners and other annoying advertising things onto the front page. But for the love of god, please do not mess up the forums.

Yeah I thought it 'cheapened' the image of the site a little. I get where it is going and why it's going that way, but it's difficult to not look like an infomercial. I guess what made me keep coming back here in the beginning was that the site was very understated and had very little claims about what Coach's programs could do, yet in the forums there was hundreds of posts and members posting their results. In a thread those results seem credible but when they are then quoted on the main page they start to look made up or misconstrued. Having seen posts from Joshua and Daniel here in the forums I know those stories are real but new visitors may not be so sure!

I guess the problem is the main page looks too good - which is a credit to whoever designed it!

Well... while I prefer a bit of understated subtlety myself, I don't think anyone can argue with the sheer number of sign-ups and new member postings lately...

Understandable reactions guys, and we appreciate the feedback.

Having been supporting coach for years now. We've been encouraging him to update the website to the 21st century, as I believe that most people respond to a well designed page. We also really believe Coach's program is the best and want to get it out to the rest of the public, not jus of few who prefer at understated discovery we of onus here. Yes, I'm one too.

Now none of us are marketers, so we took inspiration from successful marketers in the industry when designing the home page. Now that's it's up, we'll look at how effective it is. If it doesn't work, rest assured it will change. But one thing will not change, and that's Coach Sommer's commitment to quality. I've spent enough time with him to know that quality is in his DNA, he can't do it any other way.

I thought the new front page was a good improvement. It is obviously more marketing based, but the idea is to reach as many people as possible.

Unfortunately in business just being great at what you do does not mean people will know how good you are. In today's world you have to tell them how good you are. Which means you have to use marketing approaches that have shown to be effective. There are many people who are good at their trade or profession but have terrible businesses. There are also many who are terrible at their trade or profession that have successful businesses.

On marketing & decision making.

Predicably irrational:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions.html

Interesting points.

It depends on what kind of crowd GB want to attract.

Example: marketing that plays to the "solve this problem, lose weight, get ripped" will attract lots of people in the short-term, but these customers may tend to want quick, overnight results - which will mean less customer satisfaction in the long-term. On the other hand, marketing to people already interested in bodyweight work will mean less purchases in short-term, but much higher rate of customer satisfaction long term. It really depends on GBs business goals which approach is a better option.

The good thing is, Cole is clued into split testing. This allows you to make small tweaks to the pages (headlines, images, layout) and statistically measure what actually works.

From a business perspective, I think it would be good to find a way to analyse how far your total customerbase get through the program. Either through surveys, or webanalysing how often a user visits PE1 page vs PE8 page etc.

If 90% of customers get to PE2, and then don't visit their customerhub login for ages, you know the marketing is not hitting the right people for Coach's longterm mission with GB.com.

You can also drill page analysis further into demographics. Example: most 30-40 year olds reach PE5+, while most 20-somethings never get past PE2. With that insight, you know you can appeal to 30-somethings to maximise customer satisfaction.

Any way you can learn how far customers get through the program will help as marketing feedback.

Anyway im rambling and could go on for ages. Bottom line is it be worth looking at what your customers are doing with the product, not just how many are buying it.

wheezer said:

...or webanalysing how often a user visits PE1 page vs PE8 page etc.

 

 

I sincerely hope nobody is checking how many times I revisit the PEs videos (x1000000+) 

wheezer said:

Example: most 30-40 year olds reach PE5+, while most 20-somethings never get past PE2.

DISPUTE!!!

Propose a competition; oldest person to achieve manna. I read about a 'lightest person to strictly press 48kg kettlebell' back when Dragondoor.com was more interesting-- a new record holder was bought a replacement 48kg bell by the previous holder.

What you do think-- competition for oldest manna achievement, if someone older than the current holder achieves it then previous holder buys...

next round?

Jon Douglas said:

 (...) oldest person to achieve manna. (...)

Hehehe, by the time I reach a manna, that would be me! Yay ....... wait...   

.... time for my soup!

wheezer said:

You can also drill page analysis further into demographics. Example: most 30-40 year olds reach PE5+, while most 20-somethings never get past PE2. With that insight, you know you can appeal to 30-somethings to maximise customer satisfaction.

Nitpick: you have to normalize those figures with the total number of people in each group. E.g. if you have 1000 20-somethings and 30% get to PE5+, and you have 300 30-somethings 60% of whom get to PE5+, you're still better off focusing on the 20-somethings. 

It would be ironic to market F1 according to demographics etc when it is for everybody regardless of age, gender, genetics, environment etc etc

I like the new home page, with a few exceptions.  I could do without the "make me awesome" button which really cheapens the product, but i like the layout and clean look of it with the success stories scrolling through.  What i think is wierd is that it shows all these graphics of GB on an ipad and an iphone when there is not an app for it and they are not real images.  It is somewhat misleading in my opinion.  Otherwise, I think it gives a nice overview of the program to prospective sign ups.

There is apparently an web app coming very soon. '

I'm with MT Nordic on this one.

I really like the new homepage! (with execption of all those sign me up buttons which remind me of those websites which try to sell you crap) And how cool are those pics?? Now you don't have to search on youtube for say straddle planches with bad form to show someone what the exercises are.

:D

Sorry! But lets make something clear. More people = more progress to us all. When ever 1 course is sold the more effort the GB guys can put into this.

I know that people tend to think that this is my private thing and i´m special. And yes you are! Now lets all learn how to share and we will all be good

Just sell the quality to every one! Then we can all get the whole university even sooner.

And if this did hurt someones feelings? Just remember that you were here in the beginning and no one can take that away from you :D

Joshua Slocum said:

Nitpick: you have to normalize those figures with the total number of people in each group. E.g. if you have 1000 20-somethings and 30% get to PE5+, and you have 300 30-somethings 60% of whom get to PE5+, you're still better off focusing on the 20-somethings. 

It depends on priorities.

• Market to the 20-somethings to maximize numbers completing the course. Pros: More sales. More valuable success stories. Cons: more people saying "I bought F1 to get fit, this is too much", leading to a reputation that F1 is too long a road.
• Market to the 30/40-somethings to minimize percentage of customers who lose interest and drop the course. Cons: Less sales. Less volume of success stories. Pros: Overall reputation of F1 will be of better quality. Higher percentage of customers really get F1. This will be very good for GB.com 5+ years down the road.

Like most businesses, it's probably a balancing act.

Marketing to the high-volume, quick results demographics will mean higher short-term sales to fund future growth ("cash is king"). At the same time, marketing this program to the people who really get it will mean customers actually find success with it. The long-term focus on customer quality will mean less sales up-front, but will do better at expressing Coach's mission to present gymnastics as something truly accessible if approached in the right way. Again, it's a balancing act. You want to leave the best legacy you can, but you also want healthy cashflow for your efforts.

FYI, I'm referring to 20-somethings and 30-somethings hypothetically. All demographic info was pulled out of my a__.

LateStarter@46 said:

It would be ironic to market F1 according to demographics etc when it is for everybody regardless of age, gender, genetics, environment etc

Definitely. But the benefit is, people are more likely to buy something if they feel its' relevant to them specifically. It conveys value.

RiQC said:

Sorry! But lets make something clear. More people = more progress to us all. When ever 1 course is sold the more effort the GB guys can put into this.

I think that is incorrect in this case.

The delays in F3, F4, H2 M, R & H are limited by Coach's time more than money. Unless an increase in sales changes Coach's schedule meaningfully, that's not going to change.

presentation is presentation. its just for looks and used as a presentation(on the web)

as a business owner, the best presentation is your product and as a coach, that is your athletes. 

I think we all have an idea of what type of ship he runs at his Gym. 

"- My own athletes are far more ripped than anyone else on this board." 

from a perspective stand point, what you perceive with your conscious mind will not be the same thing your subconscious mind is really taking in. 

from a business stand point, what you really want is the product and from the reviews i've seen, in testimony or in video, i'm not at all worried of the direction GB is going.