Conversion rate optimisation – a key factor for success

Amazon dominated all three ‘super sale events’ of this year – Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving, averaging around 30% of share of revenue in each event.  Their razor-sharp focus on customer experience can be directly linked to this performance.  CROmetrc has published a case study that demonstrates the value of standout customer experience and that it’s more important to focus on relationships than just revenue.  In this case study, by adding a text ‘we value your privacy’ the conversion to the next stage in the funnel increased by 5%.  Mockplus recommends 3 ‘simple’ UX tips to improve conversion rates – clean layout, responsive design and a powerful call-to-action.  

RedEye and Econsultancy co-sponsored annual CRO report has highlighted the importance of adopting various methods of optimisation and then testing them to improve conversion rates.  Companies that adopt 9+ methods of optimisation will see better results.  Website personalisation is the most crucial method but is still the least implemented because of budget and technical limitations.  More complex and more frequent testing will improve conversion rate.  However, those who consider CRO as ‘crucial’ to business is at only 50% (the lowest ever).   But platforms like AI powered Sentient Ascend will have a positive impact on more companies testing more frequently.   In the 'Conversion Maturity Model' matrix in the CRO Report, an 'expert' is defined as a business that has (1) a structured approach to improving conversion, (2) has atleast one person responsible for conversion, (3) runs frequent and complex tests (3+ tests a month), (4) especially on product selection process, (5) uses a combination of 9+ methods like segmentation, website personalisation, usability and (6) that can offer personalised product recommendations based on browsing history.  But there are very few companies that have achieved this level of maturity with only a quarter claiming ‘satisfaction’ with their conversion rates.  

Artificial Intelligence is impacting eCommerce industry overall – be it with the highly personalised product recommendations, voice/chat interfaces powered by natural language processing or the predictive analytics that improves decision making.  While there are general rules to follow for CRO – each industry is unique in the way its customers discover, interact and purchase the products.  Learning – testing - implementing needs to be a continuous loop.  It helps to look at case studies across industries and refer to recommendations for improving CRO.