A relatively young discipline, Conversion Rate Optimization: yet, it has already managed to make a noticeable impact on the online presence of digital giants – think of Amazon and Booking.com – and, perhaps, more than any other branches of web marketing has contributed to making these Brand what they are today.
Conversion Rate Optimization is beginning to take hold in our country too: marketers are becoming increasingly aware that two key elements – users’ listening and the evolutionary approach based on tests – are fundamental for the success of a digital property, whether website or app.
What is Conversion Rate Optimization
It is wrong to think of CRO as a one-off or static activity: on the contrary, it is a process based on analysis, testing and continuous improvement.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is not a one-off or static activity, on the contrary: it is a multidisciplinary process, based on a scientific approach and testing, geared towards increasing the profits generated by a website or a app. How? By listening to users and observing their behavior. This makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the path towards conversion, that is, to transforming themselves from mere visitors into real customers.
Why a marketer should decide to undertake CRO: the benefits
Being a marketing manager in the digital field means having a dedicated budget available to fund all the necessary activities: development improvements, adv, SEO consultancy, email marketing campaigns, inbound content, etc.
Investments can be maximised using CRO, thereby decreasing the CPA and increasing the control we have over our marketing budget
There are two key benefits that result from integrating CRO into a digital strategy:
- Multiplies the value of the marketing budget available
- Often, a large part of your investment goes on paid advertising: the cost of advertising has been increasing over the years and the trend seems unlikely to stop. This is right where CRO comes in: its biggest benefit is to multiply the value of the marketing budget. In fact, if we can increase the conversion rate (CR), we effectively decrease the cost per acquisition (CPA).
- Ergo, double the CR and the CPA is halved: consequently, when we double the conversions and we have also freed up a part of the budget, which we can reallocate to other web marketing activities, testing new strategies and potential new channels.
- Gain control and achieve continuous improvement
- Investing in optimizing your own digital property rather than paying for campaigns on third-party platforms means maintaining greater control over your budget and not being dependent on the “whims” of the algorithms of Google, Facebook and other digital giants.
CRO: which is better, agency or in-house?
Ok, let’s imagine we’ve convinced you CRO is a good move, at this point you can’t wait to get started.
So, specialized agency or in-house team? Both are valid solutions depending on what you want to achieve. But whichever you choose, it will certainly be difficult to find all the necessary skills in one individual.
Anyway, you will definitely be wondering: is it better to rely on an agency or to hire an internal resource to manage everything? Both solutions are valid: it depends on many factors within the company itself.
One thing is for sure, it is important to underline how the multidisciplinary nature of CRO makes it difficult to find a single individual able to manage every aspect – UX, copy, psychology, analytical skills, knowledge of testing tools etc. So, for a company it may be difficult to set about finding and hiring a CRO Specialist to do everything alone, although one pro is certainly that they will have a greater knowledge of the company’s products, services and internal policies. On the other hand, bringing an agency onboard can be a good idea because a ready-formed CRO team will be able to do the job faster and more effectively, guiding the company towards a true, CRO-oriented change of mindset.
To find out more: download the Pro Web Consulting White Paper on CRO
Download our new Conversion Rate Optimization White Paper!
We’ve just released a White Paper entitled “Conversion Rate Optimization, get more from your site by watching and listening to your users.” If we have intrigued you and want to find out more about the scientific process, the testing phase, the most used tools and CRO best practices, contact us!
