Mastering conversion rate recovery: A 10-step practical guide
This eBook guide equips you with actionable strategies to revive and maximise your ecommerce conversion rates — your compass in the storm of digital success.
In the realm of ecommerce, your conversion rate is the lifeline of digital success. When this crucial metric takes a dip, it’s time to act. This practical 10-step guide is your compass through the storm, offering actionable strategies to not only revive but also maximise your conversion rates.
Short term actions to help fix conversion rate drops
In the fast-paced world of ecommerce and mcommerce, time is of the essence. Addressing CRO issues immediately is crucial because every moment of inaction translates to potential lost revenue. By swiftly identifying and resolving issues affecting your conversion rates, you can stem the bleeding and stabilise your ecommerce ship. Timely action not only minimises the impact of a declining conversion rate but also demonstrates your commitment to providing a seamless shopping experience for your customers, earning their trust and loyalty.
Analyse data and metrics
Start by analysing your website or sales funnel data to pinpoint the exact point where the conversion rate declined. Identify which pages or steps in the process are experiencing lower conversion rates than before.
You may not have enough data to help pinpoint the exact point of conversion rate decline, so a general exploratory test can be used to identify potential issues.
Sometimes you may not be able to identify a specific conversion issue that’s causing the problem. It may be that functional or cosmetic issues that in isolation may seem minor but when clustered together mean the customer experience is poor. Looking at the bigger picture allows you to see these clusters and trends and group the deployment of fixes together to provide the biggest impact.
Identify potential causes
Look for potential reasons behind the dip. Some common causes include:
- Changes in user behaviour
- Seasonal shifts
- Economic factors
- Technological advancements
- Conversion blocking defects
- Payment method failures
- Products not adding to basket / cart
- Price mismatches
- Delivery lookup failures
- Changes to the website or product
- Popular products aren’t as accessible
- Website performance has decreased
- Website navigation isn’t as user friendly
- Distracting or intrusive pop-ups
- Shifts in the market
- Is the product need reduced?
- Has a new product gone to market that is taking market share?
At Digivante, we work with many clients across industries, gaining key business insights to understand user behaviour and market shifts better — helping identify these potential causes.
Our usability testing and functional exploratory testing can surface issues related directly to your software and any changes you may have implemented that are having a negative impact on conversion rates.
Address software defects and technical issues
Check for any technical glitches or errors that might be hindering the conversion process. This includes:
- Broken links / redirections
- Page errors on load
- Page crashes
- Redirecting to test pages
- Redirecting to incorrect products
- Checkout issues
- 3rd party integration failure
- Discounts not applied correctly
- Incorrect product stock levels
- Pricing discrepancies
- Incorrect postage charges
- Form errors
- Fields not accepting certain characters
- Lack of field level validation
- Unclear error handling
Identified issues should be prioritised based on business impact assessment.
Once changes or fixes have been deployed, carry out retesting and usability testing to ensure the changes are working as expected.
Assess these changes to ensure the conversion dip has been resolved. The length of the assessment relates to the change — e.g. fixing a payment method should have an immediate impact, whereas a change to a user journey may take longer to understand its impact.
CRO actions you can take in the medium term
Gather customer feedback
Gather feedback from your customers through surveys, feedback forms, or interviews. When planning to gather feedback, it’s important to follow these steps:
- Set clear objectives
- Choose the right feedback method
- Craft effective questions
- Timing and placement
- Incentivise participation
- Analyse and interpret data
- Act on the feedback
- Continuous feedback loop
- Track progress
Usability studies can target your unique demographics and provide detailed reports with actionable outcomes.
Gathering data from different user groups using different variations of your website can give invaluable insight into creating the ideal user journeys to give the best possible conversion rates.
A/B testing
Implement A/B tests to experiment with different variations of your website or sales funnel. Test changes to headlines, calls-to-action, layouts, forms, or any other elements that could influence conversion.
Optimise landing pages
Your landing pages are the gateways to conversions, and their effectiveness hinges on several key factors. Start by conducting a thorough analysis of each landing page, considering factors such as relevance, clarity and persuasiveness.
Examples:
- Relevance: if you’re running a promotional campaign for a specific product, ensure the landing page directly corresponds to the advertised offer. For instance, a discount on running shoes should have the landing page prominently feature those products.
- Clarity: simplify your landing page design and messaging. Avoid clutter and distractions, guiding visitors seamlessly toward the desired action — a clean layout with a clear CTA for a limited-time offer can significantly improve engagement.
- Persuasiveness: craft compelling copy that highlights the unique selling points of your product or service. Testimonials or before-and-after images can build trust and influence purchase decisions.
By addressing these aspects, you can create landing pages that not only capture attention but also guide visitors toward conversions. Regularly test different elements — headlines, imagery, CTAs — through A/B testing to continually refine performance.
Optimise user experience (UX)
Ensuring a seamless and intuitive user experience is paramount for boosting conversion rates. A holistic approach to optimising UX involves enhancing various elements of your website or app to create a positive, effortless journey for users.
Examples:
- Navigation: streamline navigation by organising content logically. An online clothing store, for example, can categorise products by type so users can quickly locate specific items.
- Page load times: optimise images, leverage browser caching, and consider content delivery networks to ensure swift loading across devices.
- Mobile responsiveness: ensure your website or app adapts seamlessly to various screen sizes — an online travel agency, for instance, should optimise its mobile interface for easy booking.
- Overall design: evaluate design aesthetics, focusing on a clean, visually appealing layout — consistent branding and well-chosen typography build trust.
Regularly conduct usability testing to gain insights into user interactions and preferences. Analyse feedback and behaviour to make informed adjustments, and employ A/B testing to experiment with different design elements.
Usability studies provide a great way to assess your software. The key to any UX optimisation is identifying your real customer demographics and behaviours, and ensuring your product meets their requirements and expectations — creating an environment where users can effortlessly engage with your content.
Competitor analysis
To stay ahead in the dynamic landscape of ecommerce, a thorough examination of your competitors is essential. Basic competitor analysis involves identifying changes in strategies or offerings that might impact your conversion rate.
Basic competitor analysis:
- Price comparison: regularly check the pricing of your products or services against competitors. If your prices are significantly higher, consider adding value through additional features; if lower, ensure quality and value are clear.
- Promotions and discounts: monitor competitor promotional activity and adjust your own accordingly — if a competitor runs a flash sale, consider a similar time-limited offer.
- Product assortment: analyse the range of products or services competitors offer. Identify gaps or areas where you can differentiate, and assess whether your own lineup needs expansion.
Advanced competitor analysis using usability studies:
- Usability benchmarking: conduct usability studies on competitors’ websites or apps too, comparing user experience, navigation and overall usability.
- Feature comparison: evaluate specific features against your own, using usability studies to understand how users interact with them.
- User preference analysis: understand what users appreciate or find challenging about competitor platforms, and use it to tailor your own experience.
By combining basic competitor analysis with advanced usability studies, you gain a comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape — enabling you to react to immediate market changes and proactively plan for long-term success.
Reassess pricing and offers
Periodically reviewing your pricing strategy is crucial to maintaining a competitive edge. Gathering feedback directly from users provides valuable insight into their perceptions of your pricing and overall value proposition.
Methods to gather user feedback on pricing:
- Surveys and feedback forms: ask users to rate affordability or whether pricing aligns with the quality offered.
- Email campaigns: encourage customers to share pricing feedback, offering incentives such as exclusive discounts to boost participation.
- Social media polls: pose questions about pricing models, discount structures or bundled offerings to a broad audience quickly.
- In-app feedback: prompt users to share pricing reactions in real time, during or after interaction with your app.
- Usability studies with pricing focus: observe how users navigate pricing pages, identify confusion points, and gather expectations directly.
By employing a combination of these methods, you can gather diverse perspectives on your pricing strategy. The goal is to refine your approach based on user preferences, ensuring pricing aligns with perceived value and remains competitive in the market.
Longer term CRO strategy
Personalisation
Implementing personalised content and product recommendations based on user behaviour and preferences is a powerful strategy for enhancing engagement and driving conversions. Leveraging machine learning and AI, you can create data-driven activities that tailor the user experience to individual preferences.
Examples:
- User behaviour analysis: track which products users view, how much time they spend on specific pages, and their past purchase history, to create recommendations that align with each user’s browsing patterns.
- Dynamic content: implement content modules that adapt in real time — if a user frequently explores electronics, the homepage can dynamically showcase the latest tech gadgets.
- Machine learning algorithms: predict user preferences and behaviours from large datasets — an online fashion retailer, for example, can suggest clothing that aligns with a user’s style.
- Segmentation and targeting: divide your audience into segments based on demographics, purchase history or other criteria, and tailor content and promotions accordingly.
- Preference centres: let users customise their experience directly — indicating preferred categories, communication channels or promotion types.
- AI-driven recommendations: implement solutions that continuously learn and adapt to user behaviour, assessing evolving preferences to deliver personalised suggestions.
By embracing these personalised approaches, you not only cater to individual preferences but also create a more engaging and satisfying experience — increasing user retention, higher conversion rates, and a strengthened connection between your brand and your customers.
Conclusion
As we wrap up this journey, remember that your role as an ecommerce leader is never-ending. Continuously monitor the impact of the changes you’ve implemented. Track your conversion rate, bounce rate, and other relevant metrics. Patience and iteration are your allies in the quest for sustained success.
In the realm of ecommerce, where conversion rates reign supreme, the role of the head of ecommerce is both challenging and rewarding. The 10 strategies outlined in this guide serve as a blueprint for navigating the turbulent waters of declining conversion rates. Your responsibility is to not only react swiftly to immediate issues but also to strategically plan for long-term success. Remember, as the captain of your ecommerce ship, patience, data-driven insights, and a commitment to excellence will be your guiding stars on this journey to conversion rate recovery. With these tools in hand, you’re well-equipped to steer your ecommerce vessel towards calmer and more profitable seas.
Ready to elevate your ecommerce game?
At Digivante, we specialise in providing comprehensive user acceptance testing solutions to optimise digital experiences. Our global crowd of testers enables rapid and thorough testing, ensuring your ecommerce venture remains resilient. From usability testing to exploratory testing, we uncover issues affecting your software, empowering you to make informed decisions.
