Proposals for improvement have circled around meeting tables and sparked heated debates amongst leaders of organisations for years. Now, conversion rate optimisation allows an organisation to test variables on their website in order to find out, matter-of-fact, what converts best. There is no question about the results, no debates, you just test different variations and find out the answer.
It would seem that all organisations would therefore jump on the CRO bandwagon and start testing, considering who doesn’t want to improve their conversion rates? However, there are obstacles that can stand in the way. One important obstacle is a lack of buy in from all members within an organisation.
Imagine you are a leader within a large company that also has a number of other stakeholders.
You see the opportunity of CRO, but not all of the other stakeholders in your organisation do. They tell you that conversion rates are “fine”, and maybe they even say that they are “better than average”. They do not see the potential in testing and improving. Hesitation can also occur within companies amongst different departments which stall the testing needed for CRO. Take for example, IT departments who often need to set up and approve testing, or marketing departments who provide the material to test alternate variations of the site. Without buy in, implementation of CRO can come to a screeching halt.
How do you get the wheels turning again?
It is important that each of these members of the organisation understand the value CRO implementation presents. All members have a different perspective on the business, so can contribute their piece to help the organisation as a whole achieve its primary goals. How do you get all members of your organisation on board? Take a look at these tips which can help:
#1 –Share the Facts
The fact of the matter is that CRO offers a systematic method of improvement. It creates a common ground so that a team can understand metrics and make decisions based on facts. Ideas are tested and adopted only if they show to be profitable. Show how this can save time with short concise meetings, reduced deliberations, empowered employees, aligned teams and increased revenues.
Prepare a presentation which includes case studies of several businesses, in your industry, who have used CRO and reaped benefits as a direct result. When working with a third party, involve a representative in the discussion, as they will have input they can share to reinforce the benefits. By sharing the facts, organisations can understand the reasons to implement CRO and believe it for themselves.
#2 – Key Player Involvement
Second, the more involved a person is with an initiative, the more invested they will be. With this in mind, involve key players in the CRO implementation from Day 1. Host a meeting upon launching the strategy, and stress the importance that they attend. If using a third party specialist for testing, include members in the results meetings. Ask for their opinion on implementation, and listen to their recommendations and opinions on the matter. Valuable input can be gathered by involving all the key players within a business, as they can offer information on site elements, obstacles, genuine concerns and recommendations. This can help improve the effectiveness of CRO, while also resulting in buy in.
#3 – Share the “What’s In It for You”
CRO has clear benefits for the company as a whole, but also offers benefits on an individual level. These individual benefits are powerful to share with various levels of management, because they affect them in a direct way. An example of showing “what’s in it for them” is sharing how CRO can increase the leads generated through a specific landing page, this will be enticing to a sales manager who is responsible for meeting a specific quota.
The benefits of a CRO controlled experiment reach across many stages of the sales funnel. Client facing roles, such as sales and support, can optimise their calls to action, messaging, subject lines, and sending schedules. Marketing managers can actually pre-test their display ads to see if they are effective, as well as testing social sharing buttons and landing page effectiveness. It doesn’t stop there, engineering teams can investigate into optimal paths to purchase and user flows. Investigate the various levels that CRO affects, and share those benefits to the individuals who manage those positions.
#4 –Build Confidence and Reassurance by Showing Transparency
Transparency in the implementation of a CRO initiative shows team members that there is nothing to hide, which will increase their confidence. Use clear communication to share timelines, testing plans and calendars so that key members know exactly what is going on. Again, the more involved they are, the more bought in they will be.
For those departments that will be playing an active role in the CRO, offer them a plan for support so no one feels ill equipped. This can be helping to set up promotion pages for marketing managers, to supporting testing implementation for IT professionals or changing a lead generation funnel for sales managers. Reassure them that their goals are of priority and all goals and website changes will be discussed to ensure the optimisation of the whole organisation.
#5 – Keep Everyone in the Loop
After showing the projected benefits of CRO, and implementing the testing, results will come. When those results do come, this is your chance to reinforce the purpose of your CRO initiative. Doing so is especially helpful when a test has resulted in a solid win. However, it is also important to address challenges, balance conflicts and maintain transparency. Keep key players involved in decision making and progress being made over longer periods of time.
#6 – Make it Fun!
Everybody wants to be a part of something fun, so what better way to earn buy in than creating a fun experience around CRO. Which variation does the team think will come out ahead? Conduct a survey or group email which involves the members of the company and gets them thinking about the optimisation. Encourage predictions and even entice participation with a prize for the most accurate one. This facilitates buy in and encourages optimisation thinking amongst an organization’s members.
In summary, earning buy in from organisation members on CRO may feel like a challenge at first. However, with some thoughtful preparation, it can be earned effectively.
Fortunately, CRO is an initiative that almost sells itself with the benefits it can bring. By spreading the facts, you can earn the honest buy in you need. However, to ensure every last person is on board, remember to involve key members, share the facts, keep them updated, be transparent, show benefits for various levels of management and make it fun! With these tips, you will be on the continuous path to ever increasing optimisation.