How to Kill User Motivation

Much of the work we do as designers and marketers is done in an attempt to properly motivate our users. The "Why" is simple, we want them to convert, make a purchase, sign up for our Web 2.0ish social networking application or simply read what we are writing. We spend hours crafting value propositions, elaborate flash presentations (I won’t but some will) even going as far as offering steep discounts and trial offers.

Target: gamesnake.com

Our assumption is that the user is not already properly motivated. Huge mistake, next time you assemble the team to brainstorm make the pre-motivated user a part of the discussion and make sure your Web site is great at staying out of the way. Selling to someone that is already sold can be a frustrating experience for everyone as I found out last week.

Warning: I have already made my point so feel free to bail out now however if you are interested in learning how to interface with a properly motivated user stick around.

The Motivation

Two blocks from my house lie ten of Portland’s most amazing Football pitches (soccer fields) and on any given day they are totally empty. A fact which completely baffles me considering seven months of rain is looming like the specter of death. There have got to be legions of testosterone fueled youth soccer coaches just dying to get out there this time of year but I can’t find them and I can’t find a single AJAXy Web 2.0 social networking application that can help me without turning my motivation into anger, case in point:

Through the usual Google channels I stumbled upon gamesnake.com a 2006 Webby Awards Official Honoree (yah!). In three minutes Gamesnake was able turn a guaranteed conversion into this flaming post. This is a case study on how not to treat someone that already knows what he wants.

Don’t make me sign up just to look.

When you walk into the Gap they don’t require a personal profile before you get a look at the goods? They don’t do that because they understand the rules of effective communication. Effective communication is about reciprocation and trust building, you give me some information and I give you some information until a trust relationship has been established.

It goes something like this:

Well Dressed Sales Person: "Hello, welcome to the Gap! Can I help you find something?"

Ripped Jeans and Wife Beater: "No thanks I am just looking."

WDSP: "Let me know if you need any help with sizing."

RJWB: "Well actually I am looking for something to give my girlfriend for our three week anniversary."

WDSP: "Sure no problem, we have some really nice sweaters right over here…"

In this scenario the sales person has initiated a relationship in a non threatening way. She is an expert at helping you find a hot sweater for your three week anniversary and since she didn’t ask you to sign up for a rewards program you kind of trust her. By the time you hit the counter you are feeling good about your purchase, your experience at the Gap and are actually thinking about asking her out. When you hit the counter they close with the phone number request and the 10% one-time only discount for signing up for store credit and you are happy to give it to them.

As a user this is the experience I expect everywhere I go. This is not the experience on offer at GameSnake or any number of other pick-up-game portals. The GameSnake hit me first with a redundant sales pitch, remember I am already sold, and moved me strait into the sign-up. Hold on there snake what happened to the give and take? I am not ready to give it up just yet how about I punch in my zip code and find a game first. I don’t need times or number or players, just something to base the relationship on. What I got was friction, lots and lots of friction.

The Friction

GameSnake requires ten, count em, ten pieces of personal information. Why do they need my date of birth and home phone number? Why do I have to get past a Captcha and confirm my email? Is Gamesnake getting bombarded by malware robots trying to schedule fake pick-up-games? I didn’t give this much information to the Feds last April why should I give it to you, I don’t even know if you have what I am looking for.

A pre-motivated user’s capacity to resist Web friction (forms, navigation, search, etc.) is mush higher then the user you are still trying to sell. The pre-motivated user is willing to give before he gets. Think of him as initiating the relationship, he wants to be your friend so he will be willing to give first. However don’t take advantage, keep the requests here to an absolute minimum. Requesting to much information here as GameSnake did can kill the deal. Ask for email and password only if you can and gather the rest after you have given something back.

The Outcome

Even though the GameSnake conversion path was bad at relationship building and their sign up form provided enough friction to stop my three year old son from eating his fifth cookie I still completed the sign up because my motivation as a user was greater then the friction they put in front of me or maybe I was just so mad I had to see what was behind all that required input.

What was behind the form you ask? Nothing, I punched in my request and found no games in my area then I punched the X. Now GameSnake may have all kinds of useful tools for building a game in my area but they didn’t play the relationship game and this motivated user has moved on.

Still looking for a game in the 97068?

If you are interested in learning how to capitalize on your pre-motivated user base check out our Quickly Redesign Service or drop us a note and let us know what you thought about the post contact[at]suimple.com.