What's Your Shopify's Conversion Rate? (4 Steps to Maximize CRO)
Suppose your website is pixel perfect and you are driving qualified prospective buyers to your site. Now, how do you convert those prospects into buyers and buyers into loyal brand advocates?
Cue Conversion Rate Optimization. CRO helps you create quantifiable data that you can use to increase sales and profits. It is calculated by dividing the number of people taking an action (like making a purchase) by the number of people who are asked to take that action.
When implementing CRO, you want to see an increase in the number of sales and the average order value while seeing a decrease in the number of returns and refunds issued. This is accomplished through a layered CRO strategy. It is not an overnight process, but it pays off dividends over time. Plus, well-implemented CRO leads to an increase in positive reviews, increased buyer referrals, repeat purchases, and fewer customer complaints.
Here’s a 4-step process to creating a conversion strategy that works
#1 Start with a Super Efficient Shopper Journey
Customers don’t want to be hassled with slow page loads, website issues, or dysfunctional systems. They want everything to be streamlined and efficient so that their experience with your brand is effortless and pleasant. Consider hiring an operation systems analyst to build a great customer experience for your site. Having someone evaluate your processes is beneficial because they may see something that day-to-day operations might miss. An OSA will also create workflows with minimal steps to ensure you keep happy, loyal customers.
# 2 Develop a CRO strategy plan
Conversion expert Brian Massey notes that “there is always more revenue to find” and says that while “CRO isn’t about quick wins,” it will create solid processes, measurable data, and real results. He stresses that you must “tie tests back to bottom line goals” and “measure tests all the way through to the sale.”
You may find our Conversion Guide helpful in narrowing down how to create a winning CRO strategy. You can click here to download your free guide and start developing new strategies that will deliver maximum sales revenue.
#3 Optimize for Mobile Devices
More than 50% of online shopping is conducted from mobile devices so it is worth investing time and resources into enhancing the mobile experience. Typically, smartphone shoppers want to find something very specific, very quickly. To close the sale, it’s essential to give them a hyper-efficient experience. Load time should be under one second, and photographs should be compressed to the smallest size without losing image quality.
#4 Remember the value of human contact
Customers spend a lot of time in front of screens and digitizing everything may seem enticing, but they still want the option to interact with people. Think about how frustrating it is to call a number to get real-life assistance, only to end up speaking to a robot that doesn’t understand what you say unless it’s a keyword. Help your customers avoid that headache by giving them the power to interact with your customer service experience on a personal level.
Set yourself apart and care about the individual shopper, not just the masses, by making all your customer service features intentionally. Even automation can be intentional. Implement live chat so that customers can speak with a representative in real time. Create your automated emails to come from a person, not just “Support” and prepare to be amazed by how people jump at the opportunity to partner with your brand.
