Bright orange costumes, egg races and fake tattoos: The Conference 2022 (formerly know as Conversion Hotel) was anything but your average conference. Nick, Vince and Kristof took the plunge and were blown away by the fresh Texel sea breeze and a range of fresh conversion insights.
What did they learn? Well, we’ll let them explain.
Nick – Junior Creative Strategist – “Stand by your brand.”
A slow start was nowhere to be found on Texel. The conversion veterans took a flying start with keynotes and interactive discussions. And don’t forget the fun team battle between the newly blended island families. But what does all this conversion talk teach a creative strategist?
Your brand strategy stays essential
Who are you targeting? What message are you sending? What does your brand stand for? Without that basis, your conversion efforts are pearls before swine.
So, how do conversation and branding meet? Well, think about the headline that makes your client jump up and down going ‘Yes! That’s us!’. Or the product description that stays ahead of any questions. Both branding and conversion have their part to play. One tells your story, and the other makes sure people listen.
And so you see, you (or I) don’t need to understand ‘tech talk’ to get the message. The most important things to remember are:
- Creativity and conversion strengthen each other
A/B tests don’t exclude ideas. They validate them. - Bring the message that your client is after
If the target audience recognises itself, your message stays with them - Conversion is more than just numbers
Persuade in everything you write and create
Vince – Performance Planner – “No wild cowboys, but plenty of sharp analyses”
Data-driven marketing has grown immensely over the last few years, and B2B is no different. Makes sense, right? Surely, you want your digital channels to perform well.
Still, there’s a lot of confusion about the field. Performance, growth, conversion, what do those words actually mean?
Constant improvement thanks to data
In the end, they’re all after the same thing: constantly improving your digital market by getting insights from your data.
The conference featured several examples: from Booking.com to full-blooded B2Bers. No wild jumps to conclusions, but rather a scientific approach. What do you want to check? What data do you need to capture for that? And what do the results teach you?
The effect of that logic can be found in your numbers, whether it be about hotel reservations or whitepaper downloads.
So, don’t be afraid the next time you see ‘experiment’ or ‘A/B test’. From now on, you’ll know the value those words have. And remember:
- Different terms often mean the same thing
The most important thing is that you learn from your data - Begin with one clear intention
Make sure everything you learn or do contributes to the same goal - Conversion is a mindset
It’s a continuous process of testing, analysing and improving
Kristof – B2B Campaign Planner – “The most important thing is putting a process in place.”
we’re evolving towards a situation where Performance Marketeers are putting hard numbers and results on the table to prove direct business impact. But how do you scale that process to your business?
Before you start the experiment, you’ll need to know two things:
- What does your client need?
- What steps do they take before they make decisions?
You guessed it, the buyer journey.
What road does your client travel, looking for a solution? Are you offering a relevant answer? When do you chase him off? When does he stick around? Collect as many relevant insights as possible, and supplement them with buyer personas. That’ll give you the resources to answer ‘who, what, where and when.’
Improve your process with these 5 steps
Mapped everything out? Good. Now your experiment can begin, following these 5 simple steps:
- Gather ideas based on your research
- Rank ideas based on impact/effort
- Outline the hypothesis what do you intend to confirm
- Do the work build & QA
- Study & share results and next steps
Repeat that cycle. Repeat it again. And again. It’s a constant search for improvement in every touchpoint with your client.
Long story short, experimenting is something you can learn. As long as you remember these three things:
- Chart your customer journey
And learn where you can make the difference - Design a clear CRO track
After that, repetition is the key to success - Share your insights with your organisation
That way, you’re not just building a process. You’re building a culture.
Was Conversion Hotel a successful experiment? You bet! One thing’s for sure: you’ll leave with plenty of energy and fresh insights. On to the next edition!
Looking for higher conversion rates? Send us a mail, we’ll be happy to trial-run a collaboration!
