Simple, actionable conversion rate optimization
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On a recent episode of Limited Supply, Nik Sharma shared 20 tips to optimize your conversion rates. Here are my three favorites:
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Design mobile-first. Unless you sell B2B products, most of your buyers probably shop with their phones. Don’t be tricked because you work on a computer.
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Lean into social proof. Your visitors should never be more than one thumb scroll away from reviews, guarantees, # of customers bought x product, etc.
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Use heatmaps, scroll-depth maps, and screen recordings … together. Heatmaps show you what’s important. Scroll-depth Maps give you a reality check on how (not) far people scroll down your landing page. Screen recordings bring your visitors to life (better with popcorn). Use Microsoft Clarity (this from a guy who can’t stand Microsoft products but has used Clarity on multiple sites). It’s free, it barely impacts site speed, it’s awesome.
Go Deeper: Listen to all 20 of Nik’s CRO tips, they start around the 13 minute mark of Season 7, Episode 9. Here are the links to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, & YouTube.
Product, offer, and merchandising matter most
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Ecommerce and digital marketing are irrevocably linked. This makes it really easy to get caught up in the latest tactics, trends, and tools. A reminder from Alex Greifeld of No Best Practices: “Your category, merchandising & positioning matter much more than your flows, subject lines & send times.”
Go Deeper: Here’s the full tweet from Alex (complete with a nice funnel and spigot graphic).
ADA compliance and the risk of getting sued
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ADA compliance on your website has become a hot topic in recent years. But, beware, adding a “compliance widget” to your site doesn’t guarantee compliance. And, some operators think it might actually add a target to your back.
Go Deeper: Zach Stuck’s X post – and the comments below – provide thought-provoking sentiments.
Insource or outsource fulfillment?
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Taking fulfillment back in house: Brock Mammoser of Frost Buddy, bringing fulfillment in-house from a 3PL he actually liked:
Turn delayed shipments into opportunities with free accessories. Add a personal touch with handwritten notes for more personal touch. Southern IL offers a cost-effective haven. A 30K sq ft warehouse is a steal. Lower salaries and living costs mean substantial savings. No more split shipments w/ custom orders.
Outsourcing fulfillment after 10 years: Bill DAlessandro of Natural Dog Company,after 10 years of running in-house fulfillment:
And if you think doing your own logistics is cheaper – you’re probably wrong. Add up all your warehouse payroll, your rent, your utilities, your capex, your cardboard, your dunnage, your workers comp insurance, and even the salary of the HR person you need to manage all those extra employees. Divide by the number of orders you ship each year, and compare to what a 3PL would charge. I think you’ll find it’s not close. It’s the same reason people don’t run their own datacenters anymore and use AWS instead – scale and focus.
Go Deeper: Here’s Brock’s X thread about bringing fulfillment in-house, and here’s Bill’s LinkedIn post about outsourcing.
Improve cash conversion cycles
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This one might be a yeah, no kidding type moment. It also might be a much-needed reminder to consider this again. Ecommerce is capital-intensive and has long cash conversion cycles. Protect yourself with 2 tactics: 1) When launching new products, start with fewer SKUs and colors than you want to. 2) negotiate better terms with suppliers now, not when you need them.
Go Deeper: David Strickland of Popsmith shares these and 8 more hard-earned lessons in this X thread.
Thanks for reading, and see you in 2 weeks.
-Paul
