7 Key Pillars of Mature Conversion Optimization Strategy - Conversion Conference 2013

7 Key Pillars of Mature Conversion Optimization Strategy

#convcon 2013 | Chicago

Michal Parizek (@parezem)

4,500 Miles

Michal Parizek (@parezem) | #convcon 2013 | Chicago 2

I have travelled around 4,500 to give you a speech about Conversion Rate Optimization Maturity Model. From Prague to Chicago.

Maturity Model


A maturity model in general is a model which describes different maturity stages of a particular discipline.

Conversion Rate Optimization

Maturity Model


A CRO maturity model focuses primarily on CRO. It consists of 7 key pillars and 5 maturity stages. The goal od the model is to help companies execute CRO more effectively.


These are the 7 key pillars and the stages a particular company reached in each of them: People, Tools, Knowledge, Activities, Processes, Testing & Sponsor.

YoY CNV: -11.1% YoY CNV: +19.7%

Sales: +€400k


An example what a maturity of CRO means in real business. A German affiliate of UPC in Europe was more mature in several aspects of CRO than a Switzerland one. And it meant $400,000 in yearly sales.

What are the aspects of a mature CRO program?


In the following slides I walk you through the key differences between a mature CRO company and an immature one.

Invest more $ in people than tools1


Most importantly these companies invest more $ into their staff than into the tools. All the fancy analytics, testing, research and targeting tools without people actually using it are rather useless.

Follow an optimization cycle2

Michal Parizek (@parezem) | #convcon 2013 | Chicago 9Execute a complete optimization cycle. Never stop.

Analysis & Research

Improvements Proposal

Testing


The optimization cycle always starts with an analysis. Then you propose improvements, prioritize them. Validate them by A/B testing, analyze the impact and start over.

Examination

Treatment Proposal

Treatment


It is like when you go to a doctor. She examines you first, only then she can propose you a right treatment. Then you apply the medicaments. And in a week or two you visit her again for an “after-treatment” check.

Analysis & Research

TestingImprovements

Proposal


In my experience the most underestimated step of a CRO cycle is the first one: “Analysis & Research”. It is the most difficult, but also the most important step.

+ 20%


A great proof of an importance of a research phase: An user survey revealed existing customers lack some important information about the product. By adding it to the site, we got 20% uplift in a conversion rate.

Prioritize initiatives correctly3


Prioritize your initiatives so you can focus on the ones which bring you the most profits. Plan your testing roadmap according the prioritization.

# InitiativeImpact Score

Feasibility Score

1 Implement popular local payment method 7 5

2 Remove unnecessary steps in OP 6 2

3 Add a contact details to TY page 2 1

4 Customize cross-sell offers based on customer shopping history 5 7

5 Test few versions of CtA copy 3 3

Hours of work needed or costs of production

$ initiative can bring


I have good experience with this simple table. There are two important scoring metrics: Impact ($), Feasibility (hours of work or $ too). Score all your planned initiative wisely.

Impact

Feasibility

2

1

3

4

3


Then set up such a diagram and map your initiatives there. Focus first on “low-hanging” fruit (high impact, low cost). In a long term start working on “high impact, high costs” and when you have time execute “low impact, low costs”. Avoid doing “low impact, high costs” initiatives.

Plan both long and short term4


When you’re finished with prioritization set up a plan of your CRO initiatives. It helps you and your team keeping on track: both deliverables and resources. Make both short and long term plans.

Long Term Plan

GOAL FOR Q1 2013: Optimize a checkout and increase CCR

Depth of information needed

from a customerNumber of steps

Copies and Call-to-Action

January February March

Michal Parizek (@parezem) | #convcon 2013 | Chicago 18In a long term plan outline the areas of where you want to focus each month/quarter.

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Test 4Preparation of

Test 2

Preparation of Test 3

Analysis of Test 1


Analysis of Test 2


Analysis of Test 3

#1

#2

Short Term Plan

W1 W2 W3 W4


In a short term plan go deeper and outline single A/B tests or other initiatives you’d like to execute. If you have limited resources or you can run only 1 A/B test at a time you might find handy this two-track planning.

Test iteratively5


Don’t A/B test chaotically. Have a system in your roadmap. Start testing first few different concepts. Then tune the winning experience by focusing on single elements. Iteratively improve.

Ad hoc → Regular → Iterative


That’s an usual evolution of A/B testing in a company. Move from ad-hoc testing to regular. Incorporate testing to your online sales agenda and processes. When you’re there implement A/B testing into a continual website and e-commerce improvement program. A/B test everything.

Do follow up tests


Spend enough time to do a proper A/B test finalization. It usually reveals something interesting about users’ behavior and opens few new ways what to A/B test. Do follow up tests on a regular basis, they are often more successful than the initial ones.

Learn from every test


Even an A/B test fails it tells you something important about your users’ behavior. Something you might use for your marketing campaign or even your offline ads. Store your learnings and share it with key stakeholders.

Test Name

Dates Impact (%) Impact ($) Learning

Homepage Content

May 23rd – June 5th -12% - $500/day

Current focus on customers needs works better than product features.

Homepage Layout

June 9th- June 18th -6% -$250/day A long homepage layout did

not work well

Homepage CtA

June 20th – July 2nd +9% +325/day Get a price quote works

better than Buy now

Michal Parizek (@parezem) | #convcon 2013 | Chicago 24An example how your A/B tests repository can look like.

Get tools which match your needs and skills6


I know quite a few companies who bought tools which were more sophisticated than the skill level of their staff. They not only wasted their budgets but also struggled with the tools and were ineffective in their daily workload. If it is your case provide trainings to your staff or consider changing vendors.

Have a sponsor. Ideally a CEO ;-)7


Sponsorship is rather a political issue, but it is crucial to sell your activities well and earn enough trust, budget and resources so you can focus on your job. Evangelize CRO in your company & share your success stories. When you do so always emphasize what’s the impact in $. That’s what management is interested in.


Have a look at what the CRO Maturity Model looks like in all its beauty! If you’re interested in more details, check out the link below the presentation in the description area.

Your turn


Enough theory for now. Study the CRO Maturity Model from the previous slide and think about how your organization fits there.

Where does your organization stand?


Score your organization in each of those seven pillars according the maturity stages described in the model.


Find out your weak point and outline where you want to be next year. Plan next steps and starting working on more mature CRO in your company today!


Takeaways

• Focus on research/analysis

• Learn from every test

• Test iteratively

Just few takeaways I’d like to emphasize: Focus on analysis before thinking what to A/B test. Learn from every test so you can gradually improve your success rate. And iteratively test and improve your online business.

Enjoy #convcon!

Conversion Conference 2013 | Chicago

Michal Parizek (@parezem)

Data & Analytics

7 Key Pillars of Mature Conversion Optimization Strategy - Conversion Conference 2013