Everyone Likes a Robin Hood

I recently came across skiplagged.com—a site dedicated to finding the lowest ticket prices for flights. This site uses a number of conversion tactics and it uses them well. From the screenshot below alone you can see Personality (Likability), Clairvoyance (Serendipity), Confidence (Assurance), and Credibility (Assurance):

What is perhaps more prominent and the most successful is this use of Likability. Skiplagged.com is so likable because they are taking advantage of our association of airlines with aggravatingly high prices. Skiplagged.com is, in a sense, a Robin Hood site as it “exposes loopholes in airfare pricing” at the expense of large airlines. They’ve positioned themselves this way with their subheading: “Our flights are so cheap, United sued us… but we won.” People love to root for the underdog, especially when the underdog’s best interests are their best interests. It’s no mystery that skiplagged.com has had over 1 million visitors in a month. United doesn’t need to be reminded.

All companies should show their authentic self, and the results can be measured. I know it sounds risky.

What if my buyers don’t like my quirky side?

Valid concern. So run an A/B test on a high traffic site landing page (landing page because that’s where new people see you for the first time). On this page show people what you’ve always wanted to say but been scared to. If you’re really nervous set the test to 10% of incoming traffic. You may just discover shoppers like your authentic self way more.

What radical (but mission aligned) idea would you test on your landing page?