Quick Win Checklist template:

Steps to Creating a Successful

CRO Programme
About this template__________________________________________________________2

Outline: Steps to Creating a Successful CRO Programme__________________3

INTERVIEW STAKEHOLDERS__________________________________________________5
1. Meeting Scheduling_______________________________________________________________5
2. List of Questions to Ask____________________________________________________________6
3. Clarify Your KPIs__________________________________________________________________9

SET UP DATA COLLECTION__________________________________________________10

1. Automated Input______________________________________________________________10
2. Human Input_________________________________________________________________10
3. Customer Experience (CX) Audit__________________________________________________11

ANALYZE CONVERSION KILLERS____________________________________________12

KEY CONSIDERATION: TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST__________________________13

Q. How many conversion actions do you have per day?____________________________________13
 A1: 0 – 10  A2: 11 – 30  A3: 31 or more___________________________________________13

PRIORITIZE TACTICAL PROJECTS____________________________________________14

DEFINE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES & ROADMAP______________________________15

 1. Research tools that can amplify conversions_________________________________________15
 2. Assess the value of lead-generation websites________________________________________16
 3. Brainstorm UX features that will boost conversions___________________________________16

DRAFT & EXECUTE MONTHLY CRO PLAN___________________________________16

SHARE RESULTS & LEARNINGS_____________________________________________17

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About this template
Each of our Quick Wins has an associated downloadable template to act as a
‘workbook’ that you can make notes on as you review the recommendations and
examples in the Quick Win. The idea is to make the Quick Win actionable, so you
can learn and improve your approach at the same time!

Using a print or screen copy of the template you can:

 Make notes reviewing your current use of the technique
 Use the checklists to tick approaches you use now or will in the future
 Jot down ideas of future improvements
 Paste examples or diagrams
 Add URLs of tools or websites to follow-up on afterwards

The workbook is ‘unbranded’ so you can readily apply your own branding.

It’s structured around that techniques and steps covered in the Quick Win,
starting here…

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Outline: Steps to Creating a Successful CRO Programme
This is the outline of the plan that we’ll show you how to create in this Quick Win.

Foundations of a CRO Programme

Interview Stakeholders
Meeting Scheduling
List of Questions to Ask
Clarify Your KPIs

Set Up Data Collection

Automated Input
Human Input
Customer Experience Audit
Advanced Topics

Analyze Conversion Killers

From Macro to Micro
Synthesize and Summarize

Key Consideration: To Test or Not to Test?

Case: Insufficient Traffic for Testing
Case: Sufficient Traffic for Testing
Advanced Topics

Prioritize Tactical Projects

Tactical Projects Prioritization Sheet
Column Definitions
How to Write Hypotheses
eCommerce Examples

Define Strategic Priorities & Roadmap

Assess New Tools & Technologies
Ideate New Features

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Draft & Execute Monthly CRO Plan
Just Do It Projects
Split Test Projects
Progress on Strategic Initiatives
Tactical Project Best Practices

Share Results & Learnings

Monthly Status Report
Future Roadmap Items

Summary
Keys to Success
Grow Your Team

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INTERVIEW STAKEHOLDERS
1. Meeting Scheduling
Purpose: Decide which executives to invite to strategy meetings, and how to get their time.
Instructions: First, if you haven’t already been introduced, introduce yourself to all C-level and Director-level executives at
your company who touch the marketing function. Next, explain your role as CRO leader and your vision for the programme.
Then ask for 90 minutes of each executive’s time so that you can meet with them and incorporate their goals into your plans.

Executive Level Introduced? Connected on Meeting Scheduled?

Professional and
Emotional Level?
1. C-level Executives
 CEO
 COO
 CMO
 CFO
 CXO

2. VP & Director Level

Executives
 VP of Marketing
 VP of Customer Support
 Director of Support
 Director of Social Media
 Director of SEO
 Director of Paid Media
 Director of User Experience
 Director of Email Marketing
 Director – Other
 Director - Other

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2. List of Questions to Ask
Purpose: Draft and prioritize the list of questions to ask high-level executives at your company.
Instructions: First, list all the questions you need to ask to get a full understanding of your company’s current business
situation and digital marketing approach. Then organize the questions into what you must cover in the first session (for each
executive group), and which can be asked later if you run short on time. Run these meetings strongly so that one of more of
the executives don’t commandeer too much time, and take copious notes on what you hear. Ask follow-up questions, as their
importance warrants and time permits.

Question Priority – ‘A’ or ‘B’

(B’s can be asked later or via email)
1. History of business
 Markets served
 Years in business
 Brick-and-mortar
 Online

2. Desired conversion action

 End-goal conversions
 Micro conversions

3. Customer Revenue Metrics

 RPV
 AOV
 LTV

4. Product or Service Mix

 Best sellers?
 Changing product mix?
 Products with highest margins?

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5. Value proposition
 Value prop
 Competitive advantage

6. Regulatory environment
 Regulations
 Legal considerations

7. Seasonality
 Time of Day
 Day of Week
 Time of Year

8. Marketing campaigns
 Current campaigns and timing
 Planned future campaigns and timing
 Potential interference with tests?

9. Top competitors
 Online
 Offline
 Differentiators and pricing

10. Traffic sources

 Organic
 PPC
 Email
 Direct
 Affiliate

11. Conversion actions

 Desired conversion action
 Conversion actions per day

12. Unique visitors

 Unique visitors per day
 Percent repeat visitors

13. Access to analytics and BI tools

 Analytics access (GA, other)
 Business intelligence tools

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14. User roles and tasks
 User roles
 Key tasks and intents per role
 Product knowledge per role

15. Customer feedback

 Current features and functionality
 Planned features and functionality
 Customer satisfaction scores

16. Brand guidelines

 Creative brief
 Brand guidelines

17. Target devices

 Current desktop, laptop, mobile usage
 Target device(s) going forward
 Adaptive design plans

18. Website change restrictions

 ‘Off limits’ portions of website

19. Technical considerations

 Technology used to build website: front end
 Technology used to build website: middleware
 Technology used to build website: back end

20. Development / IT considerations

 Development resources
 Resource constraints

21. Previous testing done

 Split tests
 Multi-variate tests

22. Organizational considerations

 Organizational structure
 Cultural considerations
 Site ownership and who else is involved

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 23. Social media channels and objectives
 Social media channels
 Objectives per channel

24. Other considerations

3. Clarify Your KPIs

Purpose: Clarify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by which the success of your CRO efforts will be measured.
Instructions: First, confirm the desired conversion action, Revenue Per Visitor (RPV) and average order value (AOV)
associated with it. Then learn about post-sale conversions and values (upsells and contribution to AOV). Finally, clarify
secondary performance and customer satisfaction metrics.

Performance Metric Current value Goal value

1. B2C metrics - primary
 RPV
 AOV

2. B2C metrics – secondary

 RPV (with upsells)
 AOV (with upsells)
 Customer satisfaction score
 % repeat customers
 Overall conversion rate
 Chat conversion rate
 Phone conversion rate

3. B2B metrics - primary

 Lead form submittal rate
 Lead value

5. B2B metrics – secondary

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  Free trial signup rate
 Customer satisfaction score
 Overall conversion rate
 Chat conversion rate
 Phone conversion rate

SET UP DATA COLLECTION

1. Automated Input
Purpose: Set up the analytics tools that will automatically collect visitor usage data.
Instructions: First, request access to the Google Analytics (GA) tool if you don’t already have it. Then log into that account
so that your website data appears in your GA dashboard. Second, choose and configure a visitor clickstream analytics tool
that will allow you to do things like view visitor heatmaps and sessions, setup online chat, and run short polls.

Data Collection Task Planned / Scheduled Completed

1. Google Analytics (GA) access
 Received GA login
 Verified access to analytics

2. Visitor clickstream analytics

 Chose visitor analytics tool
 Signed up for monthly plan
 Installed JS snippet on website
 Configured heatmap reports
 Configured online poll (if applicable)

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 2. Human Input
Purpose: Gather human feedback that discovers the emotions, intents and motivations surrounding the desired conversion
actions.
Instructions: First, get permission from Customer Support managers to speak with 3-5 customer sales reps, as well as 1-2
customer support reps. Then individually ask these reps questions about prospects and customers. If time and budget allow,
either in the first analysis phase or in future weeks, plan and complete activities included in a comprehensive ‘customer
experience audit.’

Data Collection Task Planned / Scheduled Completed

1. Customer rep interviews
 Secured permission from Customer
Support management
 Drafted list of questions to ask
 Completed rep interviews

3. Customer Experience (CX) Audit

Purpose: Gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the customer experience and what aspects are most in need of
improvement.
Instructions: First, decide which CX audit activities you will undertake in the given month. Second, plan the tasks with the
help of an experienced UX or CX analyst. Third, complete each task in a timely manner. Finally, draft a report that
summarizes your key findings.

Performance Metric Planned / Scheduled Completed

1. (Advanced) Customer

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 Experience Audit
 (B2C) Completed mystery shopping
 (B2C) Completed cart abandonment review
 (B2C) Completed product return review
 (B2B) Completed review of Free Trial
signup
 (B2C, B2B) Created and launched visitor
poll
 (B2C, B2B) Completed chat log review
 (B2C, B2B) Completed phone call review
 (B2C, B2B) Completed website conversion
review
 (B2C, B2B) Completed social media
effectiveness review

ANALYZE CONVERSION KILLERS

Purpose: Through analysis, determine the top ‘tripping points’ for visitors as they attempt conversion-related tasks you
identified earlier.
Instructions: First, review metrics for a prior time period so that you have a baseline for comparison. Next, analyze both the
automated and human data collection streams to identify top funnel bail-out areas, and possible reasons for the early exits.
Next, determine the micro conversion metrics that you must improve to reach your overall conversion KPIs. Finally, distill
down the data into your ‘key issues’ findings and share these with both your CRO team and executive stakeholders.

Analysis Task Completed Notes

1. Review baseline metrics
 E-commerce conversion rate
 Top keywords
 Bounce rate
 Top landing pages
 Most common page flows

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 2. Review bail-out areas
 Top exit pages
 Document preliminary ‘why’ hypotheses
 Assess low-hanging issues

3. Document micro conversion

metrics
 B2C
 B2B

4. Synthesize and summarize

 Key findings
 Other issues of interest
 Questions for discussion

KEY CONSIDERATION: TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST

Purpose: Determine whether you have enough conversion actions to get results from split tests within a reasonable time.
Instructions: First, from your stakeholder interviews you will know the number of ultimate conversion actions you have per
day. If these total 10 or more you can run an A/B split test. If you want to run your original design against multiple variants
you’ll need a significantly higher number of daily conversions.

Q. How many conversion actions do you have per day?

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 A1: 0 – 10
 A2: 11 – 30
 A3: 31 or more

If you answered A1, you should directly roll out new designs, then carefully monitor their performance against your baseline
metrics.

If you answered A2:

- You can run split tests with up to 3 variants (plus your original) OR
- You can run a single variant and get a statistically valid result sooner

If you answered A3:

- You can run split tests with more than 3 variants (plus your original) OR
- You can run a single variant and get a statistically valid result sooner
To get significant results within a reasonable time, you should avoid testing more than 5 variant experiences.

As an alternative approach, you can choose to run tests against your micro conversion metrics. Just know that, while you
might achieve positive improvements in these metrics, your executive management will not likely recognize the financial
value of these micro conversion improvements.

Advanced Topics
While multivariate tests (MVTs) are available in some testing and personalization platforms, they should not be used as an
initial testing approach. They are best used for ‘phase 2’ optimization when significant conversion traffic exists (>30
conversion actions per day), and if you have invested in a capable MVT testing platform.

PRIORITIZE TACTICAL PROJECTS

Purpose: Determine in which order you should conduct your tactical split tests and ‘just do it’ projects.

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Instructions: First, add all of your potential projects to a ‘tactical projects prioritization’ sheet like that shown below. Then,
based on your earlier analysis and UX knowledge, meet to discuss hypotheses for the root causes of the issues.

Financial Value Level of

Conversion Issue UX Fix Implications (local currency) Effort Type Priority Project Name
(LOE)
Issue A
Issue B
Issue C
Issue D
Issue E
Etc.

Definitions:
- UX Fix Implications = UX solution options and the level of creative effort involved
- Financial Value = monetary value expected for a successful update (incremental revenue)
- Level of Effort = time and development effort needed to implement the tactic or test
- Type = ‘split test or ‘just do it’ tactic
- Priority = FV * LOE
- Project Name = name of tactical project (if approved)

Sort in highest-to-lowest Priority order.

Write your test hypotheses in this format:

We believe that doing [A] for visitors [B] will make conversion outcome [C] happen. We’ll know this when we see data [D] and
feedback [E].

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DEFINE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES & ROADMAP
You’ll need to complete 3 assessment tasks to identify which initiatives and activities are capable of producing quantum
leaps in your conversions and KPIs. These are:

 1. Research tools that can amplify conversions

You should research a broad range of tools and platforms that can create a more connected, personalized experience and
thus lift conversions.
This assessment should include:
- Human assistance tools (e.g. Online Chat, Toonimo)
- Website personalization platforms (e.g. Evergage, Dynamic Yield)
- Improved Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms
- Video marketing platforms
- Social engagement tools
- Real-time lead scoring algorithms

 2. Assess the value of lead-generation websites

For higher-priced products and services, consider that purchase timelines are significantly longer than for lower-priced
commodities. Lead generation websites, after they achieve significant traffic levels, can capture email addresses that can be
used for personalized follow-on marketing campaigns. These websites can also gather valuable market research data (infer
visitor intents based on navigational paths, articles downloaded, videos viewed, etc.)

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 3. Brainstorm UX features that will boost conversions
Tap into the expertise of the UX or CX analyst / designer you have on your team to dream up cutting-edge UX approaches
that will increase visitor engagement and lift your conversions. Think about how you can do more ‘consultative selling’ and
‘brand story telling’ on your website, rather than solely relying on a self-service approach.

Document your most promising ideas and designs – based on your internal reviews and financial value assessments - in a
‘strategic roadmap’ document.

DRAFT & EXECUTE MONTHLY CRO PLAN

Your monthly CRO plan should include:
- Your high-priority tactical projects
- Aspects of your strategic initiatives that you can make progress on
- Other applicable items included in the ‘Share your learnings’ step

For ‘just do it’ projects:

- Design and deploy as soon as possible
- If you’re an Agile shop, get these projects on your Product Backlog ASAP, and advocate for a higher priority

For split tests:

- Brainstorm design variations that could lift conversions and KPIs
- Create your test variations, making sure to carefully mind the UX details
- Implement the designs in your testing platform of choice
- Monitor the tests over time until they reach statistical significance

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Include tactical projects that are part of strategic initiatives as possible each month. And don’t forget to note the ‘key
learnings’ from your failed tests, since they, as much as your winning tests, should inform your creative ideas for future tests.

SHARE RESULTS & LEARNINGS

Your monthly CRO status report should include:
- Status of activities for {current month}
- Planning activities for {next month}
- Top learnings from recently projects
- Status of strategic initiatives for {quarter, year}
- Financial value created by CRO projects
- Future roadmap items (CRO backlog)
- Request for feedback from stakeholders (communication, results, timelines)

Remember that CRO activities are iterative; you should adjust your monthly plan based on previous learnings. However, take
care not to ‘over pivot’ on your strategies and high-priority tactical projects, as this may slow your progress and performance.

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