Are you about to launch a new CRO program? The first 30 days are pivotal for your long-term success. There’s a lot of pressure to demonstrate value quickly, which isn’t easy. The process is far more complicated than it seems and can only be tackled with a well-thought-out plan. Our expert for this session, Joe Johnston, is the Head of Conversion at Launch, and he understands the common challenges that often arise when you kickstart a CRO program. Fortunately, he also knows how to mitigate them. In this webinar, he will share methods for gaining trust from key stakeholders and laying the foundations for collecting robust (valid) data, which is crucial in the first phase.

1. First 30 days of
Your CRO Program
VWO Webinars
@launchonlineuk
Joe Johnston
Head of Conversion @ Launch

2. Hey, I’m Joe!
• Head of Conversion @ Launch
• 10 years agency experience
• Love UX / experimentation
• Guest lecture at UWE & Bristol Uni

4. me

5. Why Launch?
Top 1% of Google Agencies
The Drum - Top 10 UK Agency
VWO Premium Partner
The Clutch ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reviews
9* Rating on The Drum

6. I’d like you to take away:
a framework for agencies &
internal teams to execute
seamless CRO onboarding
and
some practical tasks to do in
first 30 days of launching a
new experimentation program

7. 🥳
congrats!

8. Agency
In-house
🏠 🏓
+

9. The majority (71%) use an
internal team only.
Source: Experimentation Maturity Benchmark Report 2023, Speero
20% opt for a combination of an
internal team and an external
agency.

10. When looking at only
high-performing businesses.
Source: Experimentation Maturity Benchmark Report 2023, Speero
↑33% opt for a combination of
an internal team and an external
agency.

11. This talk will include tips for
businesses using both internal
and external teams for
experimentation.

12. Program
Sign-off
Discovery &
Onboarding
Diagnostics
& Velocity
Pre-start 1-30 days 30-90 days
Week 1 Quarter 1
Month 1

14. You only get one
chance to make a
first impression.

15. Behaviour change is as much to
do with meeting emotional needs
as it is your processes.

16. 1.
Strategic planning & alignment:
Building relationships &
getting cross department buy-in

17. What do we want
stakeholders to
do?
1. Set expectations early
2. Map out all key players
3. Establish KPIs and goals
4. Define resource requirements
5. Identify any skills gaps
=
Stage 1: Strategic planning & alignment

18. What do we want
stakeholders to
feel?
🔒 Safety
🤝 Trust
🔗 Connection
💬 Autonomy
🙋 Contribution
=
Stage 1: Strategic planning & alignment

19. Set expectations early

20. An unarticulated
expectation is a
disappointment
guaranteed.

21. 1. Clear outcomes
2. Clear next steps

22. Who needs to be involved?
CRO /
experimentation
UX research /
UI design
Copywriting Dev / engineering
Data analytics &
tracking
Digital marketing /
performance
Sales SEO
Product / project
management
Customer experience
SLT / C-Level
representation
+ any advocates

23. Key takeaway:
Brainstorm. Categorise. Prioritise.
Stakeholder mapping workshop

24. Head of
Conversion
Head of Data
Head of Creative
CEO
Customer Director
Managing Director
Head of
Performance
Head of
Ecommerce Measurement
Analyst
Conversion
Consultant
Performance
Manager x2

25. KPI & planning workshop

26. KPI & planning workshop

27. Key takeaway: Give everyone a voice.
KPI & planning workshop

28. 2.
Discovery & audit:
Living the customer experience &
exercising your empathy

29. What do we want
stakeholders to
do?
1. Audit core conversion journey
2. Brand immersion (live the
experience)
3. Begin interviews and plan user
research
4. Review existing results, data
analysis and insights
=
Stage 2: Discovery & audit

30. What do we want
stakeholders to
feel?
💑 Empathy
💡 Imagination
🌍 Inclusion
😇 Honesty
☝ Challenge
=
Stage 2: Discovery & audit

31. Journey audits work best when the
reviewer wasn’t involved in
creating the design.
A fresh perspective is more likely to
be unbiased and deliver candid
feedback.
Get a fresh
perspective

33. Initial observations are valuable!

34. Warning:
!Expert reviews cannot
replace real data!

35. Previous performance Interviews
Competitors
Sources of 360° brand immersion
Insight reports Reviews
Sales enablement Brand library Personas / ICPs
Chat logs

36. What are the top products/categories?
What are the key services that customers engage with?
What is it about your brand that resonates with customers?
What are the key selling points or value proposition?
Who are your main competitors, is that the same across all product categories?
What are the primary challenges or pain points you're facing in your industry or market?
What is the seasonality of product sales/leads?
Can you describe your target audience?
Who is your ideal customer?
Do you have buyer personas?
What proportion of your customers are repeat buyers?
Do you offer anything additional to your brand loyal customers?
Can you describe your typical sales process and customer journey?
Do you run promotions, how does discounting impact consumer demand?
What are the most common objections to buying and how do you overcome them?
What are the most frequent complaints you receive?

37. 3.
Operational set-up & data hygiene:
Setting up proper data collection &
having the right tools

38. What do we want
stakeholders to
do?
1. Review web analytics tracking
set-up
2. Agree ways of working
3. Plug any gaps in conversion
tech-stack
4. Establish knowledge
management tool (database)
=
Stage 3: Operational set-up & data hygiene

39. What do we want
stakeholders to
feel?
🚧 Boundaries
📐 Order
✅ Validation
⚖ Fairness
😌 Comfort
=
Stage 3: Operational set-up & data hygiene

40. 41% of teams lack
the tools or features
they need for
experimentation
Source: Experimentation Maturity Benchmark Report 2023, Speero

41. Bad Data = Bad Everything

42. Data hygiene:
What to look for.
• Conversions (Forms/E-comm)
• Are we counting the conversions
correctly?
• GA4 Audit
• Is GA4 setup correctly and fit for
purpose?
• Run an AA test
• Is your testing software configured
correctly?
• Are you reporting properly?
• Can you automate reports?

43. Surveys /
Qual. research
Website / form
analytics
Personalisation
Heatmaps
/ Session
recordings
A/B testing /
experiments
Nailing the CRO tech stack
How many of these do you have?

44. 58% of businesses
with a CRO program
don’t have a
knowledge base.
Source: Experimentation Maturity Benchmark Report 2023, Speero

45. tests

46. research

47. how-to

48. 4.
First test launch:
Getting a test off the ground!

49. What do we want
stakeholders to
do?
1. Define A/B testing workflow
2. Set up proof-of-concept test
3. Communicate learnings with
wider business
=
Stage 4: First test launch

50. What do we want
stakeholders to
feel?
🧑🏫 Learning
⚡ Excitement
💯 Success
💪 Power
💰 Value
=
Stage 4: First test launch

51. easy
copy
change

52. No. Test name Primary metric Duration Annual uplift
1 Homepage title Search results 22 Oct – 1 Nov 23 £300,000
We expect that by making the homepage value proposition more
focused on speed and value - the main customer pain points - we
will improve engagement and users will be more likely to continue
their search journey.
Hypothesis
Test showed positive results in the main conversion action and no
negative effects on secondary conversion actions. Recommend to
fully implement change.
Outcome / Recommendation
Unique conversions / Visitors Conversion rate Difference Confidence
Control 36,012 / 801,235 4.49% - -
Variation 36,801 / 801,323 4.59% 2.18% 95%
Control Variation
WIN + Fully implement

53. 1. Strategic planning & alignment
2. Discovery & audit
3. Operational set-up & data hygiene
4. First test launch

54. 1. ✅ Set expectations early
2. ✅ Map out all key stakeholders
3. ✅ Make introductions and meet (workshop)
4. ✅ Establish KPIs and goals
5. ✅ Define resource requirements
6. ✅ Identify any skills gaps
7. ✅ Audit core conversion journey
8. ✅ Brand immersion (live the experience)
9. ✅ Begin interviews and plan user research
10. ✅ Review existing results, data analysis and insights
11. ✅ Review web analytics tracking set-up
12. ✅ Agree ways of working
13. ✅ Plug any gaps in conversion tech-stack
14. ✅ Establish knowledge management tool (database)
15. ✅ Define A/B testing workflow
16. ✅ Set up AA test and proof-of-concept test
17. ✅ Communicate learnings with wider business
First 30 Days Checklist for Success

55. People will forget what you
said and did, but people will
never forget how you made
them feel.

57. Thank you