When should you take off the gloves and have a dustup with your designer? Columnist Jeremy Smith shows you how to make your CRO case in a powerful way.
Normally, I’m a pretty peaceful person. But sometimes there are things worth fighting for.
When conversion optimization faces off with other forces in the digital marketing world, sparks will fly.
As conversion rate optimization pros (CROs), we need to understand that we are the spear tip of Web marketing. Design is important. Social media is enormous. SEO is essential. UX is critical. Content marketing is imperative. All those things are clutch. But when it comes down to it, conversion optimization is what makes the whole effort turn into money.
Every aspect of marketing is entirely useless unless it produces conversions.
And that’s why some things are worth fighting for. In particular, I want to focus on several aspects of Web design, and how they aid or conflict with conversion optimization.
A Word About Web Design, And How It Applies To Conversion Optimization
First, allow me to set the stage for the discussion that will follow.
What does Web design have to do with conversion optimization?
The answer is, a whole lot. Web design forms the entire landscape where conversion optimization takes place. If the user can’t understand, use, view, operate or experience a website, then the user can’t convert, period.
Crappy design means crappy conversion rates.
For example…
I’m positive that this design is going to get amazing conversion rates, but only after 99 percent of users claw their eyeballs out with their fingernails.
But CROs aren’t designers. How do we handle the importance of design in the conversion optimization space?
Like the proverbial T-shaped marketer, a conversion optimizer should have some familiarity with Web design. If a CRO and a designer happen to sit next to each other on a subway, they should have a few things to talk about.
Should a CRO know how to create a wireframe or whip out a mockup in Photoshop? Nah . But should a CRO understand the basic limitations, processes and tools of Web design? Yes.
How much power does a CRO have?
This brings up an important question. Is it truly the CRO’s place to boss people around like this?
Yes and no. A CRO doesn’t need to be bossy. Why? Because the CRO has data to back up his points. One can be persuasive without being bossy. The CRO can communicate using authoritative information, not with anger or force .
In other words, CROs don’t operate on behalf of their own power. A CRO is someone who can show the designer the results of the split test: why A is not working, and why B is better.
The CRO should understand human behavior and psychology to explain to the copywriter why headline A is superior to headline B. The CRO should be able to communicate the basics of mobile conversion principles to a UX designer who is redesigning the mobile checkout.
The CRO holds immense sway in his or her organization, because he or she can assess how all the disciplines together are impacting revenue.
Remember what I told you about CROs being the spear tip of marketing? It’s true. A conversion optimizer fills a critical function where it really matters. For that reason, the CRO should have the ability to make calls on things as important as Web design.
Now, let’s get into those things that you should be willing to fight with your designer about.
1. Make Incremental Design Tweaks, Not Huge Sweeping Changes
[Stay tuned, because I’m going to clarify this point with a completely contradictory one coming up next! Yeah, I’m tricky like that.]
One of the core truths about conversion optimization is that it relies on continual improvement. That’s the whole premise of split testing. You take a single element — let’s say the image on your landing page — and produce two versions to see which one improves conversions.
When image A wins the test, what do you do? Swap out the headline, move the button, change the form fields, and rearrange the bullet points, right?
No! You change the freaking picture to the one that got the best results. You don’t touch anything else!
Split testing shows you which single element is doing better.
Split testing does not give you license to change the whole website.
Designers need to understand this, and you need to enforce it. A designer’s dissatisfaction with a Web design is not his or her excuse to go changing around the whole website. “Creative license” has its place, but if it messes with the exacting science of conversion optimization, then you need to snatch that license away.
For example, if I were the CRO for Treehouse (which I’m not), then I would look at this website, and think to myself…
What would I not do?
I would not tell the designer to change the color scheme to fuchsia.
I would not tell the designer to add a picture of an attractive person.
I would not tell the designer to put all the course choices above the fold.
I would not tell the designer to add a video.
I would start small, improve carefully , and gradually make this website better.
Most of the time, conversion optimization deals in micro-changes, not mega-changes. Designers must understand that conversion optimization is all about making systematic and small changes.
2. Make Huge Sweeping Changes, Not Teeny Designs
[This is the point in the article at which I totally contradict the above point.]
There are times when the whole website needs to be redesigned.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
For example, let’s pretend that Arngren.net called me and needed some help optimizing their website.
I visit their website.
I gasp, grab my heart, and drop dead.
(Or, more realistically, I simply pass out, and my loved ones come in, close the computer, take me to the ICU, and help me recover on bed rest and viewing therapy.)
What would I propose as the CRO for such a site? I would propose radical, sweeping, earthshaking , outright, revolutionary, shocking and totalitarian change.
This can be a tough conversation when you’re standing face-to-face with a designer. He designed this. He poured his life into it. He loves it. He has become attached to it.
And now you’re proposing that he ditch it and start all over again?!
Tough.
When should you suggest incremental changes versus demand sweeping changes?
How do you know when it’s time to tear it down and start from scratch with a redesign? I hate to rely on simplistic answers, but you just know.
I mean, seriously, the above website? You simply know.
Other times, it’s hard to tell. For example, I’ve always thought that Salesforce’s landing pages were downright horrific.
But maybe, after rigorous testing and thorough analysis, this is the best possible landing page on the planet for its product and user base.
It just depends.
There is no simple test that can tell you when to demand sweeping change versus making incremental adjustments. However, I can give you several pointers.
Know the user.
The user gets to decide what’s best. This is the underlying principle of testing, and it is the theory which guides conversion optimizers. Know the user, understand where they are coming from, assess their awareness, and comprehend usability before you make a decision.
Know the history.
Maybe the site has already undergone lengthy redesigns, multivariate testing, and expensive optimization to get it where it is. Or, maybe, the company doesn’t have a clue. Find out before deciding.
I’ve worked with clients who are operating vintage 1980 CMSes . I’ve had people who weren’t allowed to change a single pixel without permission from the CEO and the unanimous support of the 200 board members, an act of the Sudanese Congress, approval by the Italian and Russian mafia leadership (and their spouses), and a UN executive committee agreement (slight exaggeration). Sometimes, you have to work within the constraints of technology and the limitations of politics.
Know the goals/KPIs.
A company’s goals determine the direction of your conversion optimization work.
If the goal of a website is to shock users into thinking “CRAPPIEST WEBSITE EVER,” then don’t touch a thing. If, however, the goal is to sell a widget, get a newsletter sign-up, or have a visitor read an article, then this fact will guide your decision.
3. The Designer Should Follow Your Basic Advice, Not His Webby Dream
Here’s something I’ve learned about designers. They have dreams. They sometimes have topknots and tattoos. They want to win awards. They innovate. They are artists. They are restless souls.
[/Offensive Stereotyping]
So what happens when the dream collides with the anal number-crunching CRO?
I hyperbolize , but I speak words of wisdom.
When it comes to the basic design and construction of a webpage , you should make conversion recommendations to the design process.
Conversion optimization involves a holistic perspective of every area of the digital experience. Design is part of this experience — a very significant part. Although there are certain “design best practices,” these should mesh with a conversion optimization strategy.
One important principle to keep in mind is the familiarity principle, also known as the mere-exposure effect.
This principle states that the more you are exposed to a certain thing, the more you like that thing. For example, the more often you see a person, the more attractive they become to you.
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