What are the best practices for aligning CRO experiments with your overall marketing strategy?

1 Define your CRO objectives and KPIs

The first step to align your CRO experiments with your marketing strategy is to define your CRO objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs). Your CRO objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), and they should support your marketing goals and customer journey. For example, if your marketing goal is to increase sales, your CRO objective could be to increase the average order value or the number of repeat purchases. Your KPIs should be the metrics that indicate how well you are achieving your CRO objectives, such as conversion rate, revenue per visitor, or customer lifetime value.

2 Prioritize your CRO experiments

Once you have your CRO objectives and KPIs, you need to prioritize your CRO experiments based on their potential impact, effort, and resources. You can use a framework like the PIE (potential, importance, ease) or ICE (impact, confidence, ease) score to rank your experiments and decide which ones to run first. The higher the score, the more likely the experiment will have a positive effect on your CRO objectives and KPIs, and the less time and money it will require. You should also consider other factors, such as the traffic volume, the segment size, the seasonality, and the ethical implications of your experiments.

3 Design and run your CRO experiments

The next step is to design and run your CRO experiments following the scientific method and best practices. You should start with a hypothesis that explains what you want to test, why you want to test it, and what you expect to happen. Then, you should create a variation of your website or landing page that reflects your hypothesis, and split your traffic between the original and the variation using a tool like Google Optimize or Visual Website Optimizer. You should also determine the sample size, the duration, and the statistical significance of your experiment before you launch it.

4 Analyze and report your CRO results

The final step is to analyze and report your CRO results and learn from them. You should use a tool like Google Analytics or Kissmetrics to track and measure your KPIs and compare the performance of your original and variation. You should also look for other insights, such as how your experiment affected different segments, channels, or devices. You should report your results to your stakeholders and explain the impact of your experiment on your marketing strategy and goals. You should also document your learnings and recommendations for future experiments.

By following these best practices, you can align your CRO experiments with your overall marketing strategy and optimize your website or landing pages for maximum conversions and value. CRO experiments are not a one-time activity, but a continuous process of testing, learning, and improving. You should always keep your marketing strategy and goals in mind, and use data and insights to guide your decisions and actions.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?