Closing the (online) deal…

In my last posting, I mentioned that I recently joined Knewton.com, an online GMAT and LSAT test prep site to head up the online marketing efforts. Despite great feedback from student users and the product’s competitive price point, marketing knewton.com to students is a challenge.

Traditionally, GMAT and LSAT test prep has been an off-line affair. Cash-strapped students could either cram with a $50 book and then pray for a miracle on test day or they would shell out up to $2000 to schlep to a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom (and still pray anyway). Knewton’s online course is flexible for busy students, features an unbeatable score increase guarantee ( based on our innovative adaptive learning engine that powers our course) and costs less . A real no-brainer for the experienced online marketer, right? Not exactly.

Being a start-up (i.e. the new kid on the block), getting eyeballs and wallets is a real challenge. As mentioned before, GMAT and LSAT students may be uncertain about virtual classrooms. One great solution was the development of our GMAT prep free 7 day trial offer. Like Netflix, we now offer prospects the ability to try out features of the product before they purchase. This has certainly helped our conversion rates (and certainly Netflix’s, first month free is their typical control offer).

Another major feature we recently included is email remarketing. In order to enroll in the free trial, request email addresses so we can remarket to prospects. The team developed a string of 4 short emails to actively communicate to trial users during the 7 day window (themes include “Welcome and thanks!”, “Try a practice question and watch a video explanation”, “Knewton’s benefits”, and the ubiquitous “ Hey, your trial is almost over, act now!”) . This frequent contact during the critical evaluation period is important to keep us “top of mind” and helps enforce a decision-making process.

Both these campaigns show real promise and I look forward to sharing results as I get them….

Stay tuned!