Nice animated graphic by McKinsey to describe customer journey:

Key takeaway: More than half of customers- 58 percent- change brands from one purchase cycle to the next.

This means, as marketers, we have plenty of opportunities to acquire new customers.

CRO = Conversion rate optimization

LCRO = Layered conversion rate optimization

Here is how my process used to be: when working on a conversion project I’d block a chunk of time and apply brute force to come up with the best idea I could.

I didn’t know any better and my intention was good.

But, it turns out, this isn’t the best way to develop a killer test concept.

Now I do things differently.

First, we deconstruct a page. Deconstruction is a process where we systematically evaluate every word, pixel, and emotion conveyed on the page. Each deconstructed element should nudge the shopper along the conversion path. Anything that doesn’t should be considered for elimination. Once deconstruction is complete we assemble the first iteration of our test concept. The concept doesn’t have to be perfect at this point.

We then take this concept and deconstruct it.

The process is repeated several times (each iteration is called a layer). These are the layers that give LCRO its name.

No doubt this process is more time consuming but the idea that ultimately emerges at the other end is objectively better.

Not going to lie. It’s hard to move to layered approach because, as experts, we believe our first big idea is amazing. Confirmation bias makes it really hard to dispel ideas that have already emerged. Poured concrete hardens.

This is why deconstruction is so important. Deconstruction is a wrecking ball, it isn’t emotionally tied to the idea, it just smashes it to bits.

If you want to develop a truly great idea; take it, smash it to bits, and rework it.

Try LCRO.

Don’t know about you but for me, 2017 has been the year when I’ve had to admit I have a problem. A problem with fragmented attention.

Whether it’s email, instant messaging, or even reading research articles on conversion optimization I find it hard to focus for too long.

And this doesn’t only apply to my work and personal life. This also applies to potential buyers on your site.

Looking at Google Analytics data it’s hard to miss the general trend that session durations are down, Exit rates are high, abandons are high, and percentage of shoppers who scroll to the bottom of a page is low. And those who scroll, scroll fast.

We already know 83% of what’s on a page is invisible to shoppers. And the reason it’s invisible is because shoppers are distracted.

To overcome this marketers have applied a novel trick, amp up the marketing message. If people can only see 17% of what’s on a page let’s make each marketing message scream out to get the user’s attention.

This works in the short term (novelty effect) but it’s a bad idea in the long run because if EVERYTHING on your page is marked important then we’re kinda back to square one.

2018 will be the year when marketers will start thinking deeply about conversion optimization in a world where shoppers have fragmented attention. Our product pages have been designed for shoppers that are willing to spend 90 seconds, what do we do in a world where shoppers are willing to invest only 70 seconds? How do we pitch our story?

Things to things to think about in 2018 …

People are kinetic creatures. We are never stagnant. Our views and behaviors change based on outside stimuli, whether that’s the time of day, what side of the bed we woke up on, or, are we hungry? You’d think these things wouldn’t have any effect on important things like our jobs or the future of others but you’re wrong. In a study, the US National Academy of Sciences published findings of parole judges in Israel. In brief, at the beginning of the day, and right after lunch, a prisoner coming up for parole had a 65% chance of going free. Before lunch and towards the end of the day, the chances dipped to close to zero. If hunger affects the supposedly concrete rule of judges, it can be assumed that mere mortals have a similar predisposition to irrational behavior. Websites can change their message to great effect based on the time of day or the day of the week because assumptions on human behavior can be made.

For example, someone’s on a site at 2 AM on a Friday night trying to buy something. You can assume that this person has been out and there’s a credit card burning a hole in their pocket. What messaging tweaks should be made to the site to capitalize on this?

Is this the same behavior as someone coming to a site on 8AM on a Monday morning from a computer browser? This person doesn’t have all the time in the world. They’re popping in for a second before work because they have some time, or is it a mobile device which means they’re commuting on the train and have all the time in the world to kill. Is a conversion going to be made before they get to work? How does the site adapt to these situations?

Because a site can know where you are and the device you’re coming from, it’s possible to tell seemingly insignificant details. Where you are? What time it is? What the weather’s like there? All these factors can be brought to play when it comes to changing the message on the site.