Using Conversion Rate Optimisation to grow your business

Using Conversion Rate Optimisation To Grow Your Business

Author: Ashton Oldham

Hey there, I'm Ashton, the Content Ninja with a penchant for creativity! I'm all about crafting killer customer-focused content and sprinkling it with that special sauce that makes brands pop. Teaching, strategising, organising (people and projects), and spicing up collaborations? That's my jam!

In today's digital landscape, the art and science of Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) have become crucial to unlocking your business's true potential and achieving remarkable growth and profits. 

When we think about conversions, oftentimes, we focus on the ultimate goal, converting a lead into a customer. A single action. However, there’s a whole load of conversions that take place during this journey. 

In this blog, we will address all the different micro-conversions that happen in the customer journey. From the point where a lead is unknown to you all the way to becoming a customer. And, more importantly, how you can use CRO to increase your conversion rate and grow your business. 

Understanding Conversion Rate Optimisation

Conversion Rate Optimisation is a data-driven strategy focused on enhancing your website or marketing campaigns to boost the percentage of visitors who take the desired action. This action could vary based on your business goals, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, subscribing to a newsletter, or downloading an e-book.

At the heart of CRO lies the process of analysing user behaviour, identifying pain points, and tailoring your website to create a seamless and intuitive user experience. By addressing potential barriers to conversion, you can foster trust, build credibility, and motivate visitors to take the desired action.

CRO is a game-changer as it maximises the value of your existing traffic, making your marketing efforts more efficient and cost-effective. Instead of focusing solely on driving more traffic to your website, CRO allows you to extract the most value from your existing visitors.

Micro-Conversions in the Customer Journey

As I said, throughout the customer journey, several micro-conversions occur as a lead progresses from being unknown to eventually becoming a customer. 

Micro-conversions are smaller, intermediate steps that indicate a lead's engagement and interest in a product or service. Monitoring these actions will help you understand your customers better and allow you to optimise the conversion process. Here are some common micro-conversions in a customer journey.

Website Visit

The lead discovers the company through various channels, such as search engines, social media, or referrals, and visits the website.

Page Views

The lead navigates through different pages on the website, indicating interest in specific products, services, or information.

Content Engagement

The lead consumes content on the website, such as reading blog posts, watching videos, or downloading resources. This shows their interest in the company's offerings.

Email Subscription

The lead signs up for newsletters or email updates, allowing the company to nurture the relationship through email marketing.

Social Media Interaction

The lead engages with the company's social media posts, such as liking, sharing, or commenting, demonstrating an active interest.

Lead Magnet Download

The lead downloads a lead magnet, such as an ebook, whitepaper, or case study, indicating a willingness to exchange contact information for valuable content.

Webinar Registration

The lead signs up for a webinar, showing a higher level of engagement and interest in a specific topic.

Form Submission

The lead fills out a contact form, request for a quote, or demo form, indicating an intention to learn more or request personalised information.

Cart Addition

For e-commerce businesses, the lead adds products to their shopping cart, showing an interest in purchasing.

Account Creation

The lead creates an account on the website, which may signify a deeper commitment to the brand and a preference for personalised experiences.

Free Trial/ Freemium Sign-up

If applicable, the lead signs up for a free trial or a freemium version of a product, indicating a desire to experience the offering before committing.

Demo Request

The lead requests a product demo, which signals serious consideration of the product or service.

Quote Request

For B2B or high-value products, the lead asks for a formal quote, showing interest in moving towards a purchase.

Abandoned Cart Re-engagement

If a lead abandons their shopping cart or leaves a form incomplete, re-engagement efforts may encourage them to return and complete the process.

Sales Call/Consultation Request

The lead schedules a call or consultation with a sales representative to discuss their needs and potential solutions.

Purchase/Conversion

The ultimate macro-conversion - the lead becomes a customer by purchasing or signing a service contract.

Remember, not all leads will complete each micro-conversion, and the customer journey can vary depending on the industry, business model, and target audience. Tracking and analysing these micro-conversions can help you to optimise your marketing strategies and improve the overall customer experience.

Types of Conversion Rate Optimisation

Now you know about all the different conversions that can take place in the customer journey, what types of CRO can you implement to boost the likelihood of these taking place?

In no particular order, here are the CRO strategies you can use:

Setting clearly defined goals

Setting clear and measurable goals is fundamental for CRO. For example, increasing product purchases by 20% or boosting email sign-ups by 30%.

Understand what actions you want visitors to take on your website and prioritise them based on their importance to your business objectives. For example, a software company might prioritise free trial sign-ups over blog subscriptions.

Define what actions you want users to take and focus your efforts on optimising those specific areas.

Website Behaviour

Understanding user behaviour is essential for CRO. Analysing how users interact with your website, what they click on, how far they scroll, and where they drop off can provide valuable insights to optimise the user journey and improve conversions.

You could show targeted pop-ups or banners to visitors who have spent a certain amount of time on your pricing page, encouraging them to request a demo or contact sales.

Consider implementing recommendation engines that suggest products or content based on a user's browsing or purchase history. This can enhance cross-selling and upselling opportunities.

Personalisation and Segmentation

Personalisation tailors content, offers, and user experiences based on individual preferences and characteristics. By displaying relevant products or suggesting complementary items, you can entice users to explore more and potentially purchase.

Segmentation divides your audience into specific groups based on shared traits, enabling you to deliver targeted messaging and experiences that resonate with each segment, ultimately increasing conversion rates.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data collection involves gathering information about user interactions, behaviour, demographics, and preferences. You could implement tools like Google Analytics, heatmaps, session recordings, and click tracking to gather data about user behaviour on your website.

Analysing this data helps identify patterns, areas of improvement, and potential roadblocks that can be optimised to boost conversions.

A/B Testing

A/B testing, or split testing, involves comparing two versions of a webpage or an element to determine which performs better for conversions. By making incremental changes and testing them against each other with real users, you can identify which version resonates more with your audience and leads to higher conversion rates.

Lead Nurturing

Not all B2B prospects are ready to convert immediately. Implement lead nurturing campaigns through behavioural marketing automation to keep prospects engaged over time. 

Lead nurturing involves engaging with potential customers at different customer journey stages and stages of awareness. You can build trust, address concerns, and guide leads toward conversion by providing valuable content and personalised interactions.

Exit-intent Popups

Exit-intent popups trigger when a user is about to leave your website. They present a last-minute offer or encourage users to stay by getting a limited-time discount or access to exclusive content, such as subscribing to a newsletter. It potentially salvages conversions that would have otherwise been lost.

Conversion Bottlenecks

Conversion bottlenecks are points in the customer journey where users often abandon their actions. Common bottlenecks include complicated checkout processes, unclear calls-to-action, or non-intuitive navigation.

Identifying conversion bottlenecks helps pinpoint areas in the conversion funnel where users are dropping off or encountering difficulties. Addressing these bottlenecks can lead to significant improvements in conversion rates.

Identifying High-Value Pages

Understand which pages are popular, where users drop off, and which elements attract the most attention. High-value pages, such as product pages or landing pages, are critical for conversions.

In a B2B business, certain pages may hold more significant value than others, such as a pricing page, demo request page, or case study page.

Optimising these pages by ensuring clear and compelling calls-to-action, reducing load times, and enhancing user experience can significantly impact overall conversions.

Automated Emails / Trigger Campaigns

Trigger campaigns are automated marketing efforts that respond to specific user actions or behaviours. Trigger campaigns can effectively guide users toward conversion by delivering timely and relevant messages.

For instance, if a user downloads a lead magnet, you should trigger a follow-up email series that provides additional relevant and valuable content, eventually nudging them towards the next action.

Social Proof and Testimonials

Displaying social proof, such as customer testimonials, reviews, or trust badges, helps build credibility and trust with potential customers, increasing the likelihood of conversions. 

B2B buyers often rely on social proof to build trust in a brand or product. But it works well in e-commerce too, especially when product specific.

User Experience

User experience (UX) is crucial for CRO. A well-designed, intuitive, and user-friendly website enhances engagement and conversion rates by making it easy for visitors to find what they need and complete desired actions.

Customer Feedback

Collecting and analysing customer feedback helps you understand pain points and areas for improvement. Identify pain points and address areas for improvement to enhance your CRO strategy continually.

Dynamic Content

Dynamic content adapts to individual users based on their behaviour or preferences. This personalisation can lead to more relevant and engaging experiences. For instance, you can display pop-ups or banners with special offers for users who have shown interest in specific products. This tailored approach makes users feel valued and encourages them to take action.

Retargeting Campaigns

Retargeting campaigns target users who have previously interacted with your website but didn't convert. 

By reminding them of your products or services through targeted ads, you can re-engage them and increase the likelihood of conversion.

Abandoned Cart Recovery

One of the most effective uses of behavioural marketing automation is in recovering abandoned carts. Set up automated emails to be triggered when a user leaves items in their cart without completing the purchase. These emails can include incentives like discounts or free shipping to encourage them to return and complete the transaction.

How is CRO sounding to you now?

Start implementing Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) strategies today to unlock your business's potential and achieve remarkable growth.

Analyse behaviour, identify micro-conversions and optimise your website and marketing campaigns to create a seamless and intuitive customer journey. Set clear goals, collect and analyse data, run A/B tests, and leverage customer feedback to improve your conversion rates continually.

Remember, CRO is not a one-time effort; it's an ongoing refinement and optimisation process. 

By embracing CRO and maximising the value of your existing traffic, you can make your marketing efforts more efficient and cost-effective while driving higher conversions and achieving your business goals. Start your CRO journey now and witness its transformative impact on your business's success.

This blog is a great starting point to begin implementing CRO. However, we understand that doing so can be a little tricky at times. There’s nothing wrong with a little help, eh?

If you’re looking for more support than this blog can provide, we are always on hand should you need any help. 

 We’d be happy to have a call to discuss your challenges and goals, so we can work together to overcome and accomplish them.

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