While Conversion Rate has been the main focus of eCommerce stores for years, the outlook needs to change. And we’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again: Conversion Rate is not the be-all and end-all of your analytics measurement. It will not tell you whether your business is healthy or not.
The name Conversion Rate Optimisation gives the wrong impression of what CRO should be and what it should aim to achieve.
Pillar One: Conversion Rate
Focusing solely on increasing Conversion Rate (CR) and Average Order Value (AOV) will only give you one pillar of CRO. But CRO is not just about increasing Conversion Rate. It’s also about improving the customer’s experience and maintaining your brand’s reputation.
These are known as the three pillars of CRO: Conversion Rate, Customer Experience, and Brand Reputation. And today, we’re going to discuss the other two pillars that make up CRO as a whole to which you should pay very close attention.
Pillar Two: Customer-Centric CRO
The customer-centric aspect of CRO focuses on improving the experience your customer has with your store. This means you’ll need to understand the customer journey in its entirety, including what they’re looking for and what they need.
We don’t only mean what products or services they need. We mean everything over and above, including web design to make for easy navigation and ordering, customer service, and the like.
Some ways you can gather this data is by utilising Omniconvert to create an NPS Survey or even a Web Survey where you can find all the customer's pain points - straight from their mouths.
You’ll then create a store surrounding the main need qualities gathered from this data collection. It’s about making the customer experience as smooth and effortless as possible. Customers want to be guided on your website, not wander around trying to find what they need.
Pillar Three: Brand CRO
The brand CRO aspect focuses on improving your brand and your customer's perception of your brand. You will need to create a strong brand identity and make sure that you have consistency across your online and offline channels. This includes (but is not limited to) utilising social proof, consistent design from your webpage to your email marketing, and ensuring your brand’s voice is consistent in your messaging, marketing, and on your webpage,
It’s all about building the crucial trust and loyalty you need from these customers and creating long-term relationships with them.
The Ecommerce Problem
Many eCommerce businesses focus on the first pillar of CRO, which is your Conversion Rate. And that’s the problem with the name; it only contains the first pillar. Focusing on the first pillar alone can negatively impact the other two pillars.
For example, if you make changes that make it easier for visitors to convert but make the website less user-friendly, you may lose customers due to friction. Similarly, if you make changes that improve the Conversion Rate but damage the brand’s reputation, you’ll lose customers in the long run.
Focusing on all three pillars will allow you to achieve sustainable and long-term growth, which means improving your Conversion Rate without sacrificing the customer’s experience or your brand’s reputation.
Blend & CRO
We have been a CRO-focused agency for many years, and our experience with the metric is that it’s just one piece of the puzzle. CRO is about improving the overall customer experience, building a solid brand, and creating long-term relationships with your customers. By focusing on the three pillars together, you’ll be able to optimise your brand’s profits and longevity.
If you want expert assistance with all the nitty gritty when it comes to Customer Value Optimisation, get in touch with us at Blend.
Published: January 23 2023
