Conversion Comics gives you a glimpse into the life of a conversion rate optimization professional and the situations guys like me deal with on a daily basis. In issue nr. 1 we look at a very common situation. The good old “Thanks for the data, but we know better” scenario…
Are you familiar with this situation – do you have a story to tell?
Even if you don’t work conversion rate optimization, you’ve probably been in a similar situation. I know for a fact that many online departments get the same treatment internally when they pitch data-driven optimization ideas that don’t fit directly into the archaic structure that many business subscribe to.
Leave a comment and share your thoughts and/or your experience or join the conversation on Google+.
This is spoton! Tried it a million times with customers. In the beginning i got angry and frustrated, because they did not understand how much more profit I would be able go generate for them, if they just let me do my work properly.
However, working professionally with online marketing for a long period of time and with many different clients, it has come to my attention, that they way I was dealing with these “stupid” customers was all wrong and did not get me anywhere.
Here is the mindset I am using now, to prevent myself from getting angry and trying to give my customers the best service possible:
1. I acknowledge that their worldview on this specific topic is very very far from my own: They have not yet experienced the enormous amounts of extra cash that CRO can provide. Thus they do not in any way see the whole picture. This is not because they are stupid, but simply because generating 100% extra profit from changing the color of a button simply seems like a fairytale for them: They simply do not believe it, untill they see the money on their bank account.
2. I accept, that in their world asthetics is important – because they can understand and relate to how thinks look. Most of them have had their websites made by professionel designers, who care more about the looks than the conversion.
Therefore, when you ask them to change the color of a button, you are giving them counterdirections from what they have heard from the designer. Who should they believe then? The designer, that has been their web-yoda untill now, or this other geeky guy telling them to change the button and screw up the whole design-pattern?
3. I try to do the math for them: Telling them, what an conversion-increase of 100% actually would do for their business in hardcore numbers. Put it out there on a piece of paper and do the math – this, in most cases, works better than just sticking to telling them how many % better their conversion will be. Money talks!
4. I try to get on contact with the designer/webagency and the customer and get them in a room together – with me. Here, I tell them about my findings and how much more profit, it will generate.
My purpose of this is to get the webagency to acknowledge my point INFRONT of the customer. If can get them to acknowledge this while my costumer is in the room, I will win.
Thank you once again for a spoton conversion-comic.
Rasmus hoeks recently posted..SpotON Marketing på Iværk & Vækst messen 2012
Thanks for the comment Rasmus!
Great advice man – all of us could learn from your example.
I love your point about how clients can get confused and mislead by the different parties involved in the process. For us as CRO professionals it often seems 100% logic and self-explanatory that one should do what the test data says
- Michael