Why CRO Insights Should Come Before Recommendations

A lot of CRO agencies jump straight to recommendations.

And it’s a mistake that causes a lot of failed tests.

Because recommendations are not step one.

Insights are.

A recommendation should only come after you have properly understood what is going on.

But that process often gets rushed.

Or skipped entirely.

Someone spots a drop in conversion rate.

Or poor engagement on a PDP.

Or a decrease in add-to-cart rate.

And straight away jump into creative mode:

• Move the CTA.

• Add more UGC.

• Shorten the copy.

• Test a sticky add to cart.

• Show shipping earlier.

Maybe one of those will solve the issue.

But maybe none of them will.

Because seeing a problem is not the same as understanding it.

First, define the insight:

• What exactly is happening?

• Where is it happening?

• Who is it affecting?

• Is it actually a valid issue?

• Can anything realistically be done about it?

• And if you fix it, will it make a meaningful commercial difference?

When you jump from observation to recommendation too quickly, you end up with weak hypotheses, inconclusive tests, wasted time, and very little commercial impact.

There are a boatload of ways to tackle the same surface-level problem.

But if you do not properly document the insight first, the recommendation is usually just a shot in the dark.

Better insights lead to better recommendations.

And better recommendations lead to better results.

Tomorrow, I’ll send over an Insights Documentation Template.

It is the template we have built into our CRO Agent to help document the findings before jumping into ideas, hypotheses, and recommendations.

Chat soon,

Peter