increasing conversion rates
Improving landing page conversion rates four weeks before a startup's crowdfunding campaign.
client
role
tools
methods
Zero Co.
UX Designer Researcher
Silverback, Google Docs, pencil and paper
Comparison Testing, guerrilla-style user testing, lo-fi sketches
summary & problem
Zero Co is a new company that strives to help people eliminate single-use plastic from their kitchen, laundry and bathroom by providing a zero waste delivery refill service. In order to launch their first batch of products, Zero Co needed to build interest for its crowdfunding campaign by engaging its potential customers through its website and encouraging them to subscribe before launching the following month. My role was to test two different versions of the pre-crowdfunding website and deliver insights and recommendations on how to improve conversion rates. This project was limited to just over 2 weeks. I worked independently and communicated with Kate Stapleton (Marketing Manager) and Mike Smith (Founder) directly.
preparation
Because Zero Co was in its pre-launch stages, it was imperative that their website was attractive to and converted as many potential “early adopters” as possible. Therefore, I familiarised myself with Zero Co’s target audience, mainly young families and progressive couples that fit into the environmentally mindful / somewhat mindful category, as well as the two different landing page versions, in order to understand who the study participants would be and to best design my research questionnaire.
questionnaire
I then designed an interview questionnaire that would take no more than 5-7 minutes to run through and included a/b comparison questions for the two website versions (one with a 1.5minute video on its landing page and one without) in order to both screen potential participants and ensure interview coherence across participants.
participant recruitment
I recruited participants using strict inclusion criteria in order to ensure relevance and appropriateness of the results. Due to the low budget and short time frame for this project, I approached potential participants out and about in my local area who appeared to meet study criteria and started a conversation. I focused primarily on women with small children and young professionals carrying a reusable water bottle or keepcup.
user testing
Once participants were deemed suitable, I offered them a coffee for a few minutes of their time and proceeded with further screening and interview questions if they were agreeable. Screening included asking questions related to their thoughts on plastic and their consumption habits. Interviews followed a pre-established questionnaire and were recorded on Silverback (with interviewee permission) in order to obtain reliable results and have a good basis for comparison of data.
results and recommendations
I went over my notes and interview recordings and extracted useful user feedback in order to formulate appropriate recommendations for Zero Co to increase website conversion rates. Research results and recommendations were compiled in a Google Doc that was shared with the client with no bells and whistles for prompt implementation.
mockup sketches
To assist Zero Co with implementation, I designed and delivered low fidelity paper mockups of potential website blocks and CTA’s that reflected study results and recommendations.
research insights
- Users are very unlikely to read text on the landing page, at the most they skim through. Reducing the need for "skimming" maintains user interest for longer.
- Authenticity is gold. Some users may be driven by this and may want to know who is behind the project straight away - top right hand links may offer them the option of reading about Mike and Alyssa's (the founder’s) journey straight away and show the real humans behind Zero Co.
- Offering clear value propositions with as little wording as possible on the landing page may be the gateway to more CR's.
- Users may sign up / provide their emails for very different reasons. Multiple differentiated CTA's will capture a range of users. CTA's that differentiate between “staying in the loop” (joining a mailing list), pre-purchase / purchase sign up, joining crowdfunding campaign. Recommend flexible landing page that addresses a range of possible visitor needs with varied and clear CTA's.
- Colour can be used to attract attention and hierarchically organise elements. Use of colour to catch people's attention. Black and white is very slik but colour works wonders to catch people's attention.
- Unique selling points (USP) that are relayed promptly increase weight of value proposition. An easy to follow diagram showing the Zero Co process would help with this.
to sum it up
I learned that it is paramount for CTA’s to be specific in what they ask of the user. This, in combination with a variety of CTA’s, has great potential to increase conversion rates by building a more intimate relationship with the user and resonating with a wider audience. CTA specificity also provides the user with the security of knowing what they are signing up for.
I was surprised to find in my research that users were just as likely to watch the video as they were to state that they would skip past it. As appealing a feature as video can be it is not for everyone, or every situation (i.e: work or other silent environment).
One of the challenging aspects of this project was approaching people and engaging them in the research.
While the whole project was a great learning experience, I especially enjoyed converting insights into sketched mockups as it gave me the opportunity to remove ambiguity from my recommendations and provided the client with actionable possibilities.
Prior to starting on this project, the Zero Co landing page / website was converging at 21%. Unfortunately, there was no way of measuring if conversion rates increased as a result of the recommendations in the two weeks leading up to the Kickstarter campaign. Nonetheless, some of the recommendations were implemented in the design of their post Kickstarter website.
other work
corporate wellbeing
