I have a mission, to make CRO affordable for all companies.
I am aware a large proportion of companies can’t afford a traditional Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) service. But often, these are exactly the companies that would benefit the most from some outside support and guidance.
That’s why I developed a 3-level system, for smaller, medium and rapidly growing companies. Each level is priced accordingly and scaled to suit different budgets. I chose to launch this multi-level system primarily for e-commerce, as that is where my specialty lies, and I feel I can help companies the most.
The 3-level system is in place for two connected services; CRO Audits and E-Commerce CRO Programs. CRO Audits can be run alone, but they work best when followed up with an E-Commerce CRO Program. If you are reading this, you are likely to be new to the multi-level system, so I hope this introduction increases your understanding and helps you choose an appropriate option for your company.
So, without any further delay, let me introduce you to the 3-levels and what goes into them:
Level 1 – Mature
This is the lowest price bracket, but don’t let that fool you!
This isn’t like other services (where a budget-conscious option is just thrown in to make the pricier option look better). This is the level I started with when thinking about how to make CRO accessible for all companies, so a lot of effort (and strategy) has gone into it.
The Mature CRO Audit
The Mature CRO Audit is based on years of experience studying UX best practice and user psychology. At it’s heart, it is a checklist. But it’s not a simple case of ticking items off a list. Time dedicated to understanding users and practical experience in the tech world help inform the decision-making process for every point.
A checklist is used to make sure that as many issues as possible are detected, making the final report highly comprehensive. Using a standard tool also means we can give you a quantitative indication of your website’s performance in different areas, giving you a quick overview of how well it is converting users.
Issues uncovered are listed, so you have them as a point of reference. These issues will be given a visual indicator if they are deemed to be majorly or moderately impactful on the user experience (and therefore conversions). Having this guide helps you understand where the big problems lie, and then target them appropriately.
You also receive a pre-recorded site walkthrough, broken down into bite sized videos. These video recordings provide context to the issues raised and make it easier for you to pinpoint where conversion opportunities are passing you by on your website.
Towards the end of your report, you are given several recommendations for how to improve conversions further. We will be able to help you out with putting these recommendations into action through one of our E-Commerce CRO Programs, so you won’t be left wondering what to do or where to go next.
The Mature E-Commerce CRO Program
The Mature E-Commerce CRO Program follows on from a Mature CRO Audit. It is the best choice for smaller companies, for whom the budget is a little small, but the desire to grow is not.
One of the first things we would recommend is either setting up Analytics, or giving your existing Analytics a health check. This is to make sure we can record and measure everything we need to during your program. Making sure you are recording the right data is also vital further down the line when you want to run split tests, so getting it sorted now has positive impacts in the future too.
A lot of smaller e-commerce companies (especially those using a Shopify or WooCommerce platform) struggle with basket abandonment. One of the main reasons for this is that the basket and checkout pages don’t look like the rest of the website, raising big red flags for cautious online shoppers. If basket abandonment is a problem for your company, we can look at ways to send the right trust signals and bring your abandonment numbers down.
Another way we can help increase sales is to reach out to potential customers at opportune times in their decision-making journeys. I have had major success with customer relationship building strategies, so I know you are on to a winner if we decide to roll out this option for your company.
Of course, you will likely want to address any navigation issues with your website as well. We will make changes to the navigation of your website that help users get to what they are looking for sooner. Improving your website’s ease of use will be a huge conversion booster as not only does it reduce the number of people abandoning their task due to getting lost or stuck, it also sends the message that your website is professional and official (which is very important for building trust).
Trust is so important to conversions that it is something we will look at multiple times during your program. In addition to building a relationship and improving the online experience, we can also look at your use of social proof elements such as customer reviews. A lot of companies misunderstand social proof, thinking that only positive reviews are good reviews. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, conversions can increase dramatically if you allow us to re-evaluate how you use social proof on your website.
On completion of the Mature E-Commerce CRO Program you should expect to see increases in profits far in excess of anything you have paid out. This means you are in an ideal position to invest in your business further and springboard to the next platform of success – the Thrive level.
Level 2 – Thrive
The Thrive level is targeted at companies who deem themselves medium sized to begin with, or companies who have experienced an increase in profit on our Mature program and want to see things progress further.
The Thrive CRO Audit
The Thrive CRO Audit includes everything from the Mature CRO Audit PLUS a full review of your Analytics data.
It’s important that you have had Analytics set up for a while before we produce a Thrive CRO Audit for you as it increases the accuracy of the findings. (If you need help setting up your Analytics, the Mature E-Commerce CRO Program may be better suited to your needs.)
Combining the findings from a comprehensive website review with real quantitative data will give you an even clearer picture about which issues are causing the most problems on your website. For example; your Analytics data may indicate that users are leaving your website on product listing pages, and several issues with your product listing pages are featured in your website walkthrough. The combination of both pieces of information sends a very clear message; that improvements should be made to this part of your website to prevent lost conversion opportunities.
The Thrive E-Commerce CRO Program
The Thrive E-Commerce CRO Program is the program for your company if it has already been through the Mature Program, or if you feel you already have a solid base to start from. Although you can pull in any of the activities from the Mature Program, to get the most out of Thrive, you should be looking at more advanced CRO strategies.
One of the biggest differences between Mature and Thrive is the focus on understanding your customers. Whilst most e-commerce companies can benefit from a range of conversion boosting strategies; longer term wins come from building an understanding of, and empathy for your users.
That’s why, on the Thrive program, we start to delve more into the full user journey and understand the types of people (personas) who are attracted to your offer. Having this information allows us to:
- Target marketing activities more accurately (resulting in higher engagement and click through rate).
- Map out the most effective routes for users to take through your website, wherever they are in the purchasing journey (further reducing customer acquisition costs).
- Understand what motivates potential customers (this can be used to inform content creation, design and copy).
- Upsell add-ons that appeal to the customer and increase basket value.
Level 3 – Accelerate
Accelerate does exactly what it says, it puts the foot down on the accelerator pedal of your company’s growth. Although this kind of rapid expansion can seem scary, it is also extremely exciting to see progress and stive for those ambitious targets! Accelerate will help your company reach your sales goals in record time. But it will also provide you with a steady hand on the wheel, to make sure you stay on the course of sustainable growth.
It’s understandable that when companies need to secure rapid growth, focus is given to obtaining more new customers (fast). But the secret to long term, sustainable growth is to also take care of existing customers, which is why this level is designed to achieve both goals. It finds the balance between new and existing customers by being bespoke and rapidly responsive to your changing business needs. So, if you are looking for a partnership to steer you through an investment in your business or an increase in demand, this is the level for you.
The Accelerate CRO Audit
The Accelerate CRO Audit is a combination of Analytics data and real user interaction data from click maps, user recordings and more. This audit is designed to give you the most accurate picture of user behaviour and the most personalised feedback of findings.
The high level of interaction with an Analytics expert and bespoke recommendations sets the Accelerate level apart from the others, and this elevation in service begins with the Accelerate CRO Audit.
The Accelerate E-Commerce CRO Program
After the Accelerate CRO Audit, your dedicated CRO expert will collaborate with you on a comprehensive road map to success. This roadmap will determine which website improvements to test (and when) using a specially created formula.
From there your CRO expert will begin implementing and/or testing these hypothesises for maximum return on investment value. With a split testing success record of 3 out of 4 split tests providing uplift (compared to an average of 1 in 8), you can be reassured you are in safe hands.
If you have a Shopify or WooCommerce platform you don’t even need to worry about creating any of the content for testing or implementation. With a network of reliable and knowledgeable designers, developers and copywriters specialising in these platforms, your E-Commerce CRO Program can take place without putting any extra pressure on your internal staff.
The second important part of the Accelerate E-Commerce CRO Program is the implementation of a customer loyalty strategy. Whilst the continuous conversion optimisation of your website will have positive impacts on existing and new customers, this part of the program is focused on making those existing customers feel extra special. Customer loyalty is the Holy Grail of e-commerce, and it is a fantastic indicator of long-term success.
In addition to continuous optimisation of your website experience and the customer loyalty strategy, you will receive advanced site search optimisation and anything else from the Mature or Thrive program that will drive the growth you need.
You will be kept informed and in control every step of the way with dedicated, in-person support and regular performance reports. Meaning you are always, 100% sure how your investment is paying off.
This service is completely bespoke, so it isn’t possible to put a price tag on it without speaking to you first. But don’t let that put you off, I offer free consultations where we can discuss your needs and come up with something that works for everyone.
Decision time: Mature, Thrive or Accelerate?
Hopefully now you have a better understanding of the Mature, Thrive and Accelerate CRO Audits and E-Commerce CRO Programs.
I feel confident that no matter which level you begin at, you will be thrilled with the results. To recap the CRO Audits on offer you can check out my CRO Audits page: https://robertdeans.co.uk/cro-audit/ and for a summary of the E-Commerce CRO Programs, check out my CRO for E-commerce page: https://robertdeans.co.uk/cro-for-e-commerce/ .
If you still feel unsure about which option would be right for your company, why not get in touch with me to arrange a free consultation? I would be happy to help you establish which audit and program is the best fit for your company.
During a free consultation I will also tell you if I don’t think any of the levels are right for your company right now. Although it might seem unexpected for me to say this (I did say my aim was to help all companies after all). I can end up telling you that I can’t help right now if, during the consultation, I spot signs of major problems with the traffic reaching your website.
Traffic problems indicate that you need to fix your marketing before you will see any conversion improvements by engaging with CRO Audits or E-Commerce CRO Programs. I never mis-sell my services, so I will always be honest with you in your consultation if this is the case. I even wrote another article about this very topic! Feel free to give it a read before reaching out to me (I will pop a link for you here ->): https://robertdeans.co.uk/blog/is-my-website-rubbish-or-is-it-just-my-marketing/
If you do feel ready to get in touch you can reach me any time of the day at: robert@robertdeans.co.uk or by phone on: 0115 671 9909
Speak soon!
