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Choose a Plan: Bait and Switch or a Good Discount?
Recently, we came across Keeps (keeps.com)—a business that provides hair loss prevention products. Keeps offers subscription plans that target specific types of hair loss. Take a look:
There’s a call-to-action below each subscription plan that says “GET 3 MONTHS FOR $42” (or $30 or $12). But below those calls-to-action, there is additional copy that reads “$105 every 3 months after” (or $75 or $30):
To some shoppers, this can feel almost like a bait-and-switch tactic. They may think to themselves, “Wow, $42 looks great—wait. $105 is over twice the price!”
Before we continue, let’s revisit our Narrative Control tactic. There are 4 dimensions to Narrative Control:
- The negative aspects of your product/service.
- The positive aspects of your product/service.
- The alternative solution (competitors).
- Not doing anything at all.
And remember: Narrative Control is used to address the things that a shopper could perceive as negative. In the case of Keeps, this is their actual subscription plan price after the first 3 months. For the shopper who thinks that “$105 is over twice the price”, they won’t do anything at all (i.e. won’t convert) or look at Keeps’ competitors.
So how do we use Narrative Control to address this negative? One way is to reimagine the $42, $30, and $12 options as discounts. Shoppers love discounts, especially those who are already showing purchase intent.
So here is what we did instead:
Change 1:
We’ve added a new heading:
Now we’re explicitly letting shoppers know that the first 3 months are 60% off. That means they’ll already be expecting a price hike after the first 3 months. In other words, they’ll be primed to see a higher price when they find the regular price lower on the page.
Change 2:
We’ve modified the calls-to-action and the regular price copy:
Here, we’re showing the full price first, which they’ve been primed for with the heading we added. Then, to have greater impact, we’re showing the 60% off price next.
Finally, instead of saying “GET 3 MONTHS FOR $42”, we’re reiterating the fact that this deal is only for the first 3 months by saying “GET FIRST 3 MONTHS FOR $42″. Again, we want shoppers to be aware that is a 60% discount and not a bait-and-switch tactic. So we’re being as explicit as we can be.
What do you think? Do you believe our concept would perform better for Keeps? Or do you think their current page (https://www.keeps.com/get-started) is good as it is?
Comments 2
The narrative really changes how I perceive it. The first way, I feel as if I am getting a price increase after a few months but the other way I feel as if I’m getting a discount the first 3 months.
ReplyRishi Rawat
That’s right!
Reply