Commentary

5 Necessary Conversion Rate Optimization Resolutions For 2017

It’s that time of the year. You’re finalizing 2017 digital marketing plans that will help you hit your revenue goals. How about your Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) goals? How do you make sure your CRO program is ready to deliver the results you need?

Improving CRO is often overlooked, although it remains a critical strategic component to digital marketing growth. The evolution of CRO is more about what can be directly optimized, considering all the winning concepts from previous testing and/or industry examples.

For example, where it would make sense to do A/B testing and where it would make sense to offer targeted, personalized experiences, which I call “conversion optimization portfolio.”

Today’s CRO is also closely connected with several disciplines, such as analytics, design, content and other digital marketing channels. A successful CRO program will look at the big picture and determine how to build the most effective “portfolio” by collaborating with other parts of the digital experience equation.

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Some of these concepts include:

  • Data-driven: Good CRO concepts come from good analysis. Make sure you are looking at accurate data to drive ideas for optimization. One of the steps that often goes unnoticed in our industry is that people do not check their tag implementation on a regular basis.

If your tags are not set correctly, you may not be capturing the data you need. Then, when the time comes to perform an analysis, you have a big problem at hand. That’s why marketers should utilize programs that offer tag audit services to ensure they have a solid foundation to build their CRO programs.

  • Mobile first: Stop treating your mobile site as your site! They don’t have to be the same site. “Customer journey” is a big buzzword, but this is where it helps to understand the different role of the mobile site and website at each consideration stage.

Given the nature of how your customers access your mobile site, it may not be realistic to expect them to engage as deeply as they do on your site.

If they are going to spend limited time on your mobile site, what do you want them to walk away with? What three things would you like them to take action on? Answering these simple questions will help create a more strategically designed mobile experience that better supports your conversion goals.

  • Targeting: The more we know about our customers’ behaviors and preferences, the more customized experience we can offer them. Is it easy? Absolutely, not. It takes effort, especially data analysis, to come up with the right approach to targeting.

A strong targeting approach includes delivering customized user experiences, imagery, messaging and so on.

  • Personalization: Today’s technologies have made me rather spoiled. I can go to any Starbucks and order a “double tall cappuccino with almond milk and gingerbread syrup” and get it delivered with my name on it. It’s the ultimate personalization!

This is a perfect example of how user expectations have shifted and it reiterates the importance of why it’s important to offer your customers a tailored experience. On average, marketers see a 20 percent increase in sales when using personalized web experiences, which is why personalization is a key factor in a successful CRO program.

  • The “Portfolio” approach: “Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.” I learned this from developers I worked with over the years and it became a life philosophy. Applied to CRO concept, just because we can test, target or personalize it doesn’t mean we do everything all at once.

We need to look at it as a “portfolio” and determine where it makes sense to test, what groups we should target, and what kind of personalization features to promote.

Like most resolutions, implementing a successful CRO plan won’t take place overnight. Instead, businesses can continuously use these concepts throughout the year to strengthen and improve relationships with their clients.

 

 

 

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