I tend to think that people in marketing and sales jobs were cursed.
However, at college, I was in awe of my friends who took pre-festive season part-time marketing and sales jobs to earn pocket money for them with ease.
Likewise, when it came to public speaking or writing, I could only dream of having some of my friends’ ability to smartness and recall the essential stuff quickly and comprehensively - all without scratching heads in desperation.
Looking back, I have to admit that I was resentful to those friends. While I needed cash but hesitated to take any marketing or sales jobs, they found them easy. While I had to hide my shyness to pass my opportunities, they just surpassed me.
However, 10 years later, I am witnessing something strange. I become a marketer!
You may have experienced the same. I now no longer feel jealous of those smart friends, who had easily exceeded me at college and wishing them the best in their careers.
I was struggling with -
- Maintaining a positive attitude towards me and get easily influenced by others
- Stop challenging obstacles and achieve new things
- Nurturing illusion about own satisfaction and happiness
How did I overcome it?
Well, it took me a few years of exploration to find the solution. However, when I did, I found a simple route to success. That is the continual doing of conversion rate optimization (CRO).
Let me explain.
Individuals who claim certified in their field (namely digital marketing, SEO, etc.) are mostly driven by superfluous egos rather than their serving attitude.
To give you an example, picture yourself studying digital marketing at an institute (if you actually did this, then it will be easy to imagine).
Due to the ability of your faculties to teach things super quickly, you have no problems passing your coursework. In fact, you get a distinction in your batch.
Encouraged by this achievement, it only takes you a few weeks after collecting a certificate to find an entry-level SEO position at a prestigious company.
Things are going well.
Your success at the institute (in terms of being certified) led you to believe that digital marketing would be just as easy for you to surpass the final exam. However, being certified (or a short-term course) was not enough.
You soon (even if you have cleared the interviews somehow) found yourself in deep water. You not only struggle to manage tasks or add values to your organization but also lack the necessary people management skills to be an effective leader or team player.
While you hung onto your job, your dreams of climbing the career ladder were broken into pieces. In addition, you saw many of your juniors from the team progress their careers strongly - despite them not certified like you.
So, what went wrong for you?
You stopped optimizing conversion rate - means, learning new things, while others continued due to their thirst for knowledge.
It is true.
They may not have certificates with great scores from reputed institutes, but their nonstop desire to learn new things (continuous work on conversion rate optimization) eventually paid off. Hence, after several years, they found themselves overtaking you.
Looking at this from a different perspective, you could say that:
When experts stop learning, they start to fall behind.
And as I’ve talked about above, this is because other people will keep learning and improving. And, eventually, these people will get ahead.
Clearly, then, an essential component of success is to always be learning new skills and knowledge. Do this, and you’ll keep yourself enthused and your mind sharp!
Of course, they're a lot more to say on this topic. So please click through to read my recent posts, which explain why learning should never come to an end.
As a marketer, we know our work is important. But I want more than that. I want a seat and a voice at the big table. One way to do that is to understand and be able to articulate how you and your team are tying marketing initiatives to ROI. Sure, it’s fun to report a huge increase in web traffic to your company’s site. But what if all your visitors get to your site and do nothing? Conversion rate optimization (CRO) allows you to tie a dollar sign to each visitor.
You can use the concept of CRO in many ways. I use it in my marriage all the time - more on that later.
Let’s start by quickly defining the components of CRO.
Well, it took me a few years of exploration to find the solution. However, when I did, I found a simple route to success. That is the continual doing of conversion rate optimization (CRO).
Let me explain.
Individuals who claim certified in their field (namely digital marketing, SEO, etc.) are mostly driven by superfluous egos rather than their serving attitude.
To give you an example, picture yourself studying digital marketing at an institute (if you actually did this, then it will be easy to imagine).
Due to the ability of your faculties to teach things super quickly, you have no problems passing your coursework. In fact, you get a distinction in your batch.
Encouraged by this achievement, it only takes you a few weeks after collecting a certificate to find an entry-level SEO position at a prestigious company.
Things are going well.
Your success at the institute (in terms of being certified) led you to believe that digital marketing would be just as easy for you to surpass the final exam. However, being certified (or a short-term course) was not enough.
You soon (even if you have cleared the interviews somehow) found yourself in deep water. You not only struggle to manage tasks or add values to your organization but also lack the necessary people management skills to be an effective leader or team player.
While you hung onto your job, your dreams of climbing the career ladder were broken into pieces. In addition, you saw many of your juniors from the team progress their careers strongly - despite them not certified like you.
So, what went wrong for you?
You stopped optimizing conversion rate - means, learning new things, while others continued due to their thirst for knowledge.
It is true.
They may not have certificates with great scores from reputed institutes, but their nonstop desire to learn new things (continuous work on conversion rate optimization) eventually paid off. Hence, after several years, they found themselves overtaking you.
Looking at this from a different perspective, you could say that:
When experts stop learning, they start to fall behind.
And as I’ve talked about above, this is because other people will keep learning and improving. And, eventually, these people will get ahead.
Clearly, then, an essential component of success is to always be learning new skills and knowledge. Do this, and you’ll keep yourself enthused and your mind sharp!
Of course, they're a lot more to say on this topic. So please click through to read my recent posts, which explain why learning should never come to an end.
As a marketer, we know our work is important. But I want more than that. I want a seat and a voice at the big table. One way to do that is to understand and be able to articulate how you and your team are tying marketing initiatives to ROI. Sure, it’s fun to report a huge increase in web traffic to your company’s site. But what if all your visitors get to your site and do nothing? Conversion rate optimization (CRO) allows you to tie a dollar sign to each visitor.
You can use the concept of CRO in many ways. I use it in my marriage all the time - more on that later.
Let’s start by quickly defining the components of CRO.
Conversion
A conversion is when your website visitor accomplishes the goal you’ve set for them. Website goals can be anything that you deem important to your business. For example, it could be for your visitors to fill out a form, subscribe to your blog, complete a purchase, or engage with content on your site.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of your website visitors that successfully complete the goal you set for them. Generally, this is measured in a specific amount of time. The conversion rate is calculated by the number of visitors who completed the goal divided by the total number of visitors to that page.
For example, you have a landing page with a form that encourages visitors to download your latest e-book. One hundred people visited your landing page and 10 of them filled out the form. Your conversion rate for that page is 10%.
For example, you have a landing page with a form that encourages visitors to download your latest e-book. One hundred people visited your landing page and 10 of them filled out the form. Your conversion rate for that page is 10%.
Optimization
Optimization is the process of improving your resources to have the desired result in the most efficient way possible.
So, conversion rate optimization is the process of increasing the rate at which your website visitors accomplish the goal you have set for them in a specific amount of time.
CRO is NOT - I do want to quickly note what CRO is not.
So, conversion rate optimization is the process of increasing the rate at which your website visitors accomplish the goal you have set for them in a specific amount of time.
CRO is NOT - I do want to quickly note what CRO is not.
The process and outcome of CRO are not to be confused with that of search engine optimization (SEO). While SEO is focused on increasing the likelihood of pushing organic traffic to your site, CRO is focused on increasing that traffic to act. In a perfect world of marketing, you’ll have a real plan for both!
In simple terms, the process of CRO includes the following:
In simple terms, the process of CRO includes the following:
- Determine the goal
- Set hypothesis
- Conduct testing
- Analyze the result
- And action!
Here’s an example,
I usually have a goal of getting my way without my wife knowing. So, I use the CRO method to help me determine how to best reach that goal.
1. Determine my goal
After moving to a new city - far away from our hometown, every Saturday, my wife and I with our little baby boy get out to explore the new city. My goal is for my wife and kid to get over loneliness and move on with our lives as quickly as possible.
2. Set my hypothesis
2. Set my hypothesis
If I change my reaction to my family’s unfavorable behavior after the move, they will get over it faster.
3. Conduct A/B testing
3. Conduct A/B testing
Scenario A: City sightseeing with outdoor dining.
Scenario B: Weekend trips outside the city.
4. Analyze the data
Surely “Scenario B” has a higher acceptance rate (read conversion rate) to us moving on from being upset and towards our happiness.
Now, this is not an exact demonstration of CRO, but you get the idea.
Tired of increasing your marketing and advertising budget on a website only to find it doesn't deliver? Keep on reading -
Now, this is not an exact demonstration of CRO, but you get the idea.
Tired of increasing your marketing and advertising budget on a website only to find it doesn't deliver? Keep on reading -
How do I get a start on CRO?
There are several small things you can do before dig deep into CRO. Here’s a list of quick and easy things that you can try out on your website:
- Add explainer text to your forms: Set the expectation for the visitor as to what they will get if they fill out the form correctly
- Test your call to action buttons (CTAs): Try different size, contrast, and colors; tweak the text on the CTA (submit vs download now!); try links versus buttons
- Reduce form fields: Only include necessary fields for your potential customer to fill out to submit
- Change the position of your form: Test if your form performs better above or below the fold, right or left aligned, as a part of the hero image, as a sticky form, etc.
- Images: Try different images - stock versus real, people versus buildings/scenery, size versus shape, representational versus abstract
- Copy: Test headline copy as well as supporting description copy versions. A single word in a headline or the slightest change in the description could make all the difference!
It is essential to keep in mind that you only want to accomplish one thing at a time. This makes sure that you can track what exactly is influencing your conversion rates and how.
CRO is a never-ending process. People that are visiting your site are always varying, and your site should be, too! Getting started with CRO can be a fun learning experience, so give it a try and you’ll be controlling your data and regulate your campaigns’ budget before you realize it!
NB: Please don’t forward this blog post to my wife. My A/B tests will no longer be valid if she knows about them.
Enjoy!
CRO is a never-ending process. People that are visiting your site are always varying, and your site should be, too! Getting started with CRO can be a fun learning experience, so give it a try and you’ll be controlling your data and regulate your campaigns’ budget before you realize it!
NB: Please don’t forward this blog post to my wife. My A/B tests will no longer be valid if she knows about them.
Enjoy!
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