Those Germans… they have a word for everything.
One of my favourites is “zugzwang.”
It literally means “compulsion to move.” In chess, it’s used to mean a situation where any move you make will destroy your position.
And, because you’re forced to make a move – you can’t just pass – you end up self-destructing.
Another German chess term is “zwischenzug.” It means “in between move” and it’s an idea you can use to increase your SaaS signups.
Let me explain…
Back in my early internet marketing days (around 2006), I did some consulting for a hosting company.
Their homepage asked visitors to choose how much disk space they wanted, how much bandwidth etc.
I told them,
“Listen, most people don’t have a clue about this stuff. You’re giving them questions they can’t answer.
So, why don’t you break your funnel into 3 funnels? Have 3 choices on your homepage:
#1: I want to choose my own specs.
#2: I’m new to hosting.
#3: I’m a reseller.
And they can click through to a message that makes sense for their situation.
So the techies get to choose their disk space etc, newbies get a plain English explanation, resellers get offered reselling packages.”
So, in effect, the homepage became a “zwischenzug page” – an in between page that comes before the sales page.
(I’ll call this a “zwischenseite”)
What happened?
Sales went up immediately.
Well, you can do the same.
If you’ve got packages for different types of client then, rather than a one-size-fits-none message, test using your homepage as a zwischenseite that directs visitors to a targeted message.
All the best,
Steve Gibson
PS The word zwischenseite actually exists in German. I made it up and it turned out to be a real word.
Those Germans literally have a word for everything.
