Dive Brief:
- Recent research from Ascend2 on conversion rate optimization (CRO) found 71% of marketers reporting it is “very important” in the overall success of marketing programs. However, 61% said lack of an effective CRO strategy is a barrier to the tactic’s success.
- Both A/B testing (54%) and content personalization (51%) were listed by a majority of respondents as effective CRO tactics, but content personalization (57%) and multivariate testing (55%) were also cited as some of the most difficult tactics.
- In terms of CRO goals, 89% cited increasing website leads or sales, 69% cited increasing marketing ROI, and 41% cited improving content relevance.
Dive Insight:
“Don’t know where to get started with your CRO strategy? Research reveals a clear winner with A/B testing. Marketers tell us that A/B testing is the most effective tactic used had the least difficult to execute,” Todd Lebo, partner and CMO, Ascend2, told Marketing Dive.
Even though a majority of survey respondents said conversion rate optimization was key for success, a scant 13% reported having a “very successful” CRO strategy in place (best in class). Still, 55% did say their strategy was “somewhat successful,” or above average in the scale used in the research.
Conversion is one term that gets thrown around often, and for many marketers only applies to the final conversion-to-sale. In fact any marketing KPI, such as a whitepaper download or an email open, constitutes as a conversion within that campaign. With that in mind, marketers should remember that CRO is something that can be happening throughout an entire marketing program across different channels and campaign with widely ranging goals.
Lebo added, "Apply the measure twice and cut once’ principle to conversion rate optimization. Avoid the urge to jump in without a strategy in place."
