New channels let you tap into additional audiences and volume, spurring growth and helping your business through harder times. After all, there’s a reason our parents always told us not to keep all of our eggs in one basket.

We’re big fans of an omnichannel approach, so we talked to a group of experts on the topic to get their thoughts on why and how to navigate it like a pro.

• Sam Selby, Co-founder, COO & President at Used Mobile Homes USA
• Myra Ryder — Director of Brand Strategy at Ka’Chava
• Dustin Kochis — VP of Retail Strategy and Sales, Ka’Chava
• Andy Wang — Managing Partner & CGO, KC HiLiTES

The case for DTC

For many retail products, adding a DTC channel is a surefire way to increase margins and grow your business.

However, adding a DTC channel isn’t just a way to grow revenue and margin. The upsides also include better relationships with your customers and greater insights to help you grow your brand.

Build stronger relationships with your customers

Dustin Kochis, VP of Sales at Ka’Chava, sees DTC as a powerful tool for connecting with customers. “We view DTC as a way to build stronger relationships with our customers. It’s allowed us to educate them on our mission and products in ways that retail can’t.”

Building these relationships via DTC is an approach that even legacy brands can leverage. Take Andy Wang of KC HiLiTES: when Wang acquired the decades-old company, he knew he wanted to take them digital. But it wasn’t just the margins he was after.

Wang had a vision for a new brand identity that he wasn’t satisfied to leave in the hands of retail partners to represent. To emphasize the brand’s quality and heritage, he built an image-driven website that not only sells products but tells the brand story better than retail alone could.

“We went direct to consumer not only because of the revenue and margin, but because it gives us the ability to control our own destiny. If you can build a quality relationship with your customer, that becomes a moat for your business.”

Own your data

While the benefits of DTC on education and relationships are laudable, there’s a notable third-order benefit of having an ecommerce channel that is arguably just as important: owning your data.

“Having a direct customer channel is everything because it allows you to learn about your customers,” says Sam Selby, Co-founder, COO & President at Used Mobile Homes USA.

Wang agrees. “People are too fixated on margin and revenue. There’s a treasure chest of information when users touch your website or interact with your content.”

Once Wang built his DTC arm, the benefits of owned data began to fuel his business in new ways.

“When we went direct to consumer, we got all of the emails and the psychographic details. It’s a huge help in understanding who your customers are. When you go through distribution, that gets lost,” Wang told us. “That’s another really important thing that has become an asset. Using emails, analytics, and attribution models, that is where the gold is.”

The use cases for good data go both ways. When Myra Ryder, Director of Brand Strategy at Ka’Chava, brought on a new VP of sales to help them go into retail, the existing data from DTC channels was critical in helping them to form a go-to-market strategy. “You really need the data,” says Ryder.

7 tips for thoughtfully entering DTC

If you’re sold on its benefits, the next logical step is to do some digging into how to make the transition from retail to DTC painless. Here are seven tips from the experts to help you make it as smooth as possible.

1. Define your DTC value proposition

Launching a DTC channel isn’t just about making your products available. It’s about understanding what unique value you’ll offer customers through this new channel.

According to Selby, to succeed, you need to articulate why someone should buy directly from you versus through retail. “You have to figure out what your unique value is because you’re not going to out-Amazon Amazon, and you’re not going to out-Target Target.”

2. Align your DTC and retail strategies

One common concern for retail-driven brands is how a DTC channel might impact existing retail partnerships.

Dustin Kochis, VP of Retail Strategy and Sales at Ka’Chava, emphasizes the importance of alignment. “Your DTC and retail strategies should complement each other, not compete. We’ve found success by ensuring that our retail presence reinforces the brand while DTC drives education and deeper customer engagement.”

For example, offering exclusive products or bundles online can differentiate your DTC channel without undercutting retail partners on price.

Selby shares, “To capture incremental customers without cannibalizing between channels, make sure you’re not just duplicating what your retail partners already offer.”

3. Establish a clear DTC marketing plan

Most business leaders already know the value of a marketing plan, but when opening a new channel, it becomes even more important.

Myra and Dustin from Ka’Chava say, “Whether it’s through partnerships, Instagram, or other ad campaigns, often there’s a familiarity with the brand once the consumer sees the product in-store. Leverage those educational, top-of-funnel touchpoints to stay ahead and top of mind.”

KC HiLiTES beefed up its digital marketing plans to generate a fast margin when it launched DTC. “We used a series of growth hacks to generate that margin. Then we had money to dump into marketing and could control the brand perception at scale,” said Andy.

4. Know what value your retail partners bring

Selby emphasized the importance of knowing the value of retail partners, measuring their value, and finding ways to optimize the channel so you can make the most of the DTC transition. “You really need to understand how retail is different because that will help you take advantage of DTC most effectively.”

Wang finds insight in the pricing models of retail partners. “If the price is the same anywhere you can find it on the web, at the end of the day, that distributor or dealer has to add some value beyond price. If your brand is powerful enough, it makes it so that that dealer has to add some strategic value.” That could come in extra exposure, a new customer base, or strategic learnings from their other partnerships.

“We only work with the partners that add value to our company as a whole,” finished Andy.

5. Invest in expertise

To thrive in DTC, your website needs to offer a seamless and engaging experience. Myra Ryder, Director of Brand Strategy at Ka’Chava, highlights the role of storytelling and user-centric design; “Customers expect more than just a product listing online. They want an experience that reflects your brand’s story and values. Your website should inspire trust, simplify the buying process, and communicate your unique benefits.”

She adds, “You need to find specialists and give it 110%… don’t divert people and time from other teams.” For Myra, that meant partnering with specialists like Dustin to own retail entry and The Good to optimize their DTC website.

6. Prepare for omnichannel success

Moving to an omnichannel approach comes with logistical and operational complexities. Andy Wang advises brands to prepare for changes in demand and fulfillment.

“When you add a DTC channel, you’re not just adding revenue—you’re adding complexity. From inventory management to customer service, everything needs to scale to meet new demands.”

This can include integrating inventory systems, ensuring consistent pricing, and aligning marketing efforts across channels.

And while channel conflict can set you back, there are plenty of ways to combat it. Even tweaks to the actual product can make your omnichannel strategy more successful. When Ka’Chava entered into retail, for example, they changed the packaging to reflect what DTC customers learned about via the website and shrunk down the retail package to land at a price point that was more palatable for new customers.

7. Don’t fret cannibalization

Kochis says there is “no magic formula” for predicting how a new channel will impact another channel’s sales, and the endeavor is short-sighted anyway.

When brought on to help Ka’Chava enter retail, he warned the team about the possibility of seeing an initial dip in ecommerce sales, but he said not to worry. “It’s a long play,” says Kochis.

Unlock a DTC strategy like the experts

Launching DTC is not a set-it-and-forget-it endeavor. As we established, data is your biggest ally in DTC. Track everything—from website traffic and conversion rates to customer feedback. Use these insights to continually refine your approach.

Expanding into DTC can unlock new opportunities for growth and customer engagement, but it requires careful planning and execution. By defining your value proposition, aligning with retail strategies, optimizing the digital experience, and adapting to omnichannel demands, you can set your brand up for success.

Ready to take the leap? We have many resources on DTC ecommerce from 15+ years of optimizing for brands like yours. Check them out here.

The post 7 Expert Tips On How Retail Brands Can Launch A DTC Ecommerce Channel appeared first on The Good.

While strong user acquisition metrics are traditionally the result of a blend of marketing spend, funnel optimization, and a little luck, building your user base one acquisition at a time can feel daunting—and it’s not the most sustainable way to increase user counts.

On the other end of the spectrum, traditional “sales-led” organizations don’t have to have large user counts to secure revenue. They build their roadmaps based on the needs of enterprises, let the sales team connect, and secure large contracts if all goes well. But sales motions require talent, time, and a host of mechanisms that many SaaS startups aren’t yet ready to tackle—despite the promises of high-value, multi-year contracts.

But stopping short of an enterprise motion, B2C software can struggle to find revenue. Without a way to expand existing accounts, the cost of acquisition (CAC) will remain high, finding new customers will be a pain, and your software product will never achieve the 10-15x multiples common for B2B software.

So, how do we increase revenues and lower CAC while stopping short of chasing the enterprise audience?

Enter: growth loops.

A growth loop is a compounding referral motion that leverages existing users to grow your user base through referrals. Referrals help keep marketing expenses low and increase the potential value of every new user.

In this article, we’ll explore how growth loops work and how to build them for long-term, exponential success.

The Fundamentals of Growth Loops

Growth loops (sometimes called referral loops) offer a fresh perspective on how SaaS products grow sustainably through network effects.

Growth loops work as self-sustaining systems, where the output from one cycle feeds back into the start, creating a compounding effect that drives long-term growth. It’s a repeating cycle of organic growth that creates long-term customer acquisition.

Let’s dig into what makes growth loops so effective.

What are Growth Loops?

Growth loops are self-reinforcing cycles where each action or user interaction within the product generates output that fuels the next growth cycle.

Don’t worry; it’s actually a lot less complicated than it sounds!

Think of a growth loop framework like a flywheel: Once it’s moving, it picks up speed and sustains momentum. For example, a user finds your product, interacts meaningfully, and creates content or engages in a way that attracts other users who repeat this cycle.

This is how products like Canva grow–each user has the potential to attract even more users.

Growth Loops vs. Funnels Key Differences

While marketing funnels have been a classic approach to visualizing growth, they only allow for linear growth.

Funnels break down growth into stages like acquisition, activation, and retention, but they miss reinvestment opportunities. You’re constantly pouring resources into the top, hoping that enough converts at the bottom.

In contrast, a viral growth loop leverages user actions to directly attract new users. This creates a cycle that spreads the product organically.

Let’s walk through how this works in practice with a classic example of one of the most successful growth loops: Dropbox.

1. User signs up: A user signs up for Dropbox to start storing and sharing their files.
2. Incentive to share: Dropbox offers the user an incentive – extra storage space – if they refer friends to join. This incentive not only appeals to initial users but also aligns with Dropbox’s product value (more space to store files).
3. User selects contacts: The user decides who to invite to Dropbox.
4. New user invite: Dropbox sends out referral invites via email or social media. (The platform makes this quick and easy).
5. New user signs up: The friend clicks on the invite link, creates their own Dropbox account, and gets additional storage as a sign-up reward. Now, they can share their own referral link.

Each new user has the same incentive to refer to others. Each participant drives a new cycle of user acquisition. This creates a compounding effect that leads to exponential growth.

Elena Verna, head of Growth at Dropbox, is a staunch advocate for growth loops, saying that “…failing to consider the dire need to connect [users] to a team and a company level value WILL sabotage your future growth.” To Verna, growth loops are critical for acquiring users at a scale more sustainable than selling B2C.

The beauty of a viral growth loop lies in its simplicity – it continuously fuels itself. This drastically reduces the need for costly acquisition channels like paid ads or direct marketing.

Improving Referral Rates with Growth Loops

Growth loops boost referral rates by making user acquisition part of the user journey. Each new user not only becomes a customer but also a potential referrer by making sharing a natural part of the user experience.

But this kind of experience requires three main components:

1. Incentives aligned with product value. Whatever users get in exchange for a referral must relate to the product’s primary value. Otherwise, they won’t be motivated to help.
2. Seamless sharing. Give users simple and clear buttons and links to facilitate sharing in ways that don’t interrupt their experience with the product. It must be effortless!
3. Social proof and visibility. Users need to see their friends and colleagues actively using the product. This visibility drives more referrals.

That being said, growth loops aren’t one-size-fits-all. Each growth loop serves different growth goals for your marketing strategy, and the most successful SaaS companies often identify and build around one or two loops depending on their needs. Here are some examples.

3 Examples of Growth Loops

1. Substack

Substack’s growth loop centers around content creation and subscriber engagement. It’s a highly scalable email marketing system where each subscriber is a method of attracting new subscribers.

Here’s how it works:

1. A writer creates and publishes a newsletter on Substack, either as free or paid content.
2. Active users read, engage with, share, and forward the newsletter to friends.
3. Shared content introduces new readers to the newsletter and to Substack itself. Interested readers subscribe to the newsletter. This grows the subscriber base and generates new opportunities for sharing.
4. As more subscribers engage and share, each user becomes a tool to attract new users.

2. DocuSign

DocuSign’s growth loop leverages the need for digital document signing. Every document sent for a signature serves as an introduction to the platform.

Here’s how it works:

1. A user uploads a document to DocuSign and sends it to recipients for signature.
2. Recipients receive an email with a link to the document. They review and sign without needing an account. This helps them experience the platform’s convenience.
3. Impressed, recipients often sign up for their own accounts to send and manage their own documents, especially if they frequently need to get things signed.
4. As new users send their own documents for signatures, they introduce even more users to the platform. Each document sent by a new user brings in additional recipients.

3. Canva

Here’s how it works:

1. After adding payment information, Canva asks ‘who is on your team?’
2. The user adds members to their team by entering their email address. The user is reminded they can have five users on their team for the price that they will already be paying, with the option to add extra members for $7.00 per person per month.
3. Asking for team members early in the signup increases the subscribers’ dependence on the tool and also introduces new users to Canva.

These three are just a sample of example growth loops in action, but you can see how these referral mechanisms naturally drive new users to the tool through the day-to-day actions of current users.

How to Implement Growth Loops

Building a strong growth loop that works consistently and scales with your company requires careful planning. Let’s take a high-level walk through the process.

1. Identify Your Value Proposition

Growth loops work best when they’re aligned with what makes your product compelling, so your first step is to clarify your offer.

Ask yourself: What core action do users find most valuable? What helps them realize the most value from your product?

2. Define Key User Actions and Outcomes

Next, outline the specific user actions that will drive your loop. These actions should lead to clear outcomes that benefit both the user and the growth loop. Map out each step in the loop to create a natural pathway to more engagement.

For instance, if your loop relies on collaboration, the primary action might be “inviting others to collaborate.” This action clearly benefits both the user and the potential user.

3. Build Incentives for Engagement and Sharing

Incorporate incentives that encourage users to take actions that reinforce the loop. These don’t have to be financial rewards. Sometimes, the product’s value is plenty, like in the case of Dropbox where users get more storage (the product’s primary value) for sharing. Closer alignment to the value will encourage more sharing.

4. Make Sharing Simple and Seamless

One of the most important factors in any growth loop is ease of use. If you want users to invite others or share content, it’s important to simplify the process as much as possible.

Integrate one-click invitations, social sharing options, or personalized links directly within the product. The goal is to reduce friction in the sharing process so it feels like a natural part of the customer journey.

5. Track, Measure, and Optimize

Growth loops seem simple, but they aren’t set-it-and-forget-it systems. They need to be monitored and optimized.

Start by defining your key metrics of the loop, such as referral rates or user activation. Monitor these metrics to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to improve. If a specific action isn’t driving the desired results, you may need to adjust the loop structure, incentives, or user experience.

Sustainable Growth Through Growth Loops

Growth loops aren’t just a trendy framework. They’re the key to creating a solid foundation of continuous growth. Unlike traditional funnel frameworks, growth loops turn each interaction into a chance to draw in new users. They can boost engagement and deepen retention in one continuous cycle.

Most importantly, they can fuel growth without constantly pouring money into acquisition.

Achieving the power of growth loops effectively, however, takes thoughtful planning and optimization. That’s where The Good’s Digital Experience Optimization Program comes in.

With our expertise in growth strategy and user behavior, we can help you identify, build, and fine-tune growth loops that are tailored to your product’s unique strengths and user base. Connect with us, and we’ll help you grow sustainably.

The post How to Improve Referral Rates with Growth Loops appeared first on The Good.

And there is nothing more frustrating to a business than losing out on a sale because their website was optimized for one audience and, in turn, alienated a whole second subset of shoppers.

We see this a lot for ecommerce brands that have a direct-to-consumer and wholesale operation. They are selling to shoppers purchasing for personal use AND to big businesses who are then going to resell their product.

It’s a great opportunity for the brand, expanding its reach and diversifying channels. However, the two audiences are on completely different customer journeys, making it difficult to create a digital experience that delivers to both.

We’ve gone deep into how to manage (and prevent) channel conflict. But, we still feel there is something left unsaid: How can brands specifically optimize their online experience for both a B2B and B2C audience?

In this article, we’ll look at a step-by-step approach for catering to your unique users.

Let’s dive in.

Understand Your Audience

As a business straddling the line between B2B and B2C sales, it can seem impossible to deliver a seamless website experience for both. But that isn’t the case if you take the time before diving into the intricacies of dual-targeting strategies to understand your data.

Note: If you’re a reader of our content, the first step being an analysis of your audience and data shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s a foundation for all of the optimization strategies we’ll recommend later on.

A good first step is to check your Google Analytics. Specifically:

• Review Audience by Page: Take a look at the distribution of your audience across different sections of your website. Analyze page-specific data to identify where both B2B and B2C users are engaging or where one audience may play a bigger role.
• Review Traffic Source by Page: Traffic sources play a pivotal role in shaping user intent. Review how users arrive at specific pages so you can better align the content on your site with their expectations.
• Review Revenue Source by Audience: Identify where the majority of your revenue is coming from so that you can make informed decisions on prioritization and resource allocation for each audience.

Reviewing your ecommerce analytics reports will help you determine the traffic and revenue split between B2B and B2C.

Map The Customer Journey For Each Segment

Once you have an idea of your audiences and how they engage with different parts of your site, you can outline the customer journey of each. This helps you make informed decisions on when to prioritize one audience over the other and put together a unique treatment for each.

A few good questions to answer in this stage are:

Do you have a primary audience?

Establish if one audience generates significantly more revenue than the other. Or if there is one that is always shopping online while the other generally prefers print or in-store. This is a great prioritization tactic.

Where do you need to have messaging and content that speaks to both audiences? Where can you prioritize one audience over the other?

This helps to identify key touchpoints where messaging and content need to resonate with both B2B and B2C audiences. It also gives context so you can strategically prioritize one over the other (where it makes sense) based on the significance of each segment.

Where in the customer journey do you divert B2B traffic to a different section of the site?

Also, as you look at the customer journey, you can pinpoint where diverting B2B traffic makes the most sense. Usually, you can uncover specific touchpoints to redirect the different shoppers for more tailored experiences. This ensures that users encounter content and features relevant to their needs, optimizing their journey and increasing their likelihood to purchase.

Hypothesize Areas for Improvement

With all of your context, you’re set up to start hypothesizing areas for improvement on your website.

We’ve optimized hundreds of millions in revenue for clients and their digital properties, so while strategies will depend on what you uncover, there are some common areas for optimizing the B2B and B2C challenge and a few examples that can help get you started.

Homepage

The homepage serves as a crucial touchpoint for both audiences. Find ways to guide users to their intended website pages with consistent design but unique stories and content that resonate with both.

Here is a great example from Old World Christmas, whose digital team works with The Good to optimize their direct-to-consumer (DTC) site while keeping their robust retailer network in mind.

By reimagining a homepage module that directs users to register as a retailer, they showcase similar messaging and content that both B2B and B2C customers can appreciate, while still providing a clear call-to-action for potential partners.

This creative approach ensures a consumer-friendly presentation while still addressing the vital B2B audience.

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Menu Navigation

Consider menu navigation sections that cater specifically to B2B and B2C users.

Ecommerce companies can learn from SaaS in this regard. Distinct functionalities may be more appealing for each audience type, so SaaS companies reflect this right away in the menu.

QualtricsXM, for example, shares specific use cases for their product right in the menu and also highlights who that use case is best for.

While ecommerce brands will likely choose to take a softer approach, there is value in seeing how a menu can be laid out so users know exactly where to click next to get to the right content for them.

The office supply company, Staples, has a dedicated “For Business” section prominently displayed in their navigation. Clicking on the option expands it and shows users the option to explore wholesale or B2B programs that Staples offers.

Landing Pages

Segmentation is a powerful tool to tailor your website experience for different audiences. Consider creating distinct landing pages based on user profiles.

This allows you to prioritize the segment that contributes the most to your revenue without neglecting the other. On landing pages, you can craft messages that resonate with the distinct needs of B2B and B2C audiences.

Let’s take a look at how tailored messaging can enhance the user experience and align with the goals of each segment.

Take Brooklinen, a brand that caters to DTC and wholesale customers through distinct landing pages, as an example.

For their DTC audience, Brooklinen prioritizes ease of purchase.

Their landing page is representative of a well-designed ecommerce site. A ‘Shop by Category’ option can be found directly under the fold.

They also highlight enticing “Best Sellers” in the next section. Browsing feels effortless, guiding customers toward adding to their carts.

On the B2B side of things, the spotlight shifts from shopping to partnering with Brooklinen.

They do away with product listings on this landing page, focusing instead on their two programs: Trade and Hospitality. Each program is tailored to specific business needs.

CTA buttons are different, with “Apply Now” and “Log In” being the call-to-action on the B2B landing page.

Test and Validate (Or Invalidate) Ideas

Once you’ve hypothesized areas for improvement, you’ll be excited to start improving your website. But, before implementing changes, make sure you test changes with your audiences.

The goal is to collect feedback to validate or invalidate hypotheses and refine your strategies based on real user insights. This is a crucial step in the process that can help your site be more user-centered, save you resources, AND increase conversions.

Depending on your time and the change you’re testing, we would normally recommend A/B testing or a form of rapid testing.

Once you confirm that your ideas will positively impact the user experience you can go ahead and implement them, feeling confident in your decision and how it will improve your online experience.

Improve B2B Sales Without Hindering Online Purchases

The key to improving your B2B sales without hindering online purchases is to make sure each user’s journey is optimized for their unique requirements.

Continuously adapt and refine your strategies, and your business will thrive by catering to the needs of both B2B and B2C audiences.

A few tips to remember before I sign off:

• Prioritize based on revenue but consider the unique needs of each audience.
• Strategically divert B2B traffic at critical touchpoints in the customer journey.
• Tailored messaging and design enhancements can significantly impact user engagement.
• Regular testing and evaluation are essential for refining strategies and ensuring ongoing success.

With that in mind, you can embrace the duality of B2B and B2C sales, viewing it not as a challenge but as an opportunity for growth.

And if you want to start optimizing for both B2B and B2C, contact us.

The post How To Optimize Your Website For Both DTC and Wholesale appeared first on The Good.

“Always looking for the wins doesn’t help you improve. That helps you feel good, but it doesn’t help you make more money. It doesn’t help you serve your customers better.”

That’s Justin Albano, Digital Marketing Manager at IDX. And after a decade of driving results in various marketing and creative roles, he knows it’s better to face an issue than sweep it under the rug. 

“As hard as it is to sit there and have someone say, ‘This is not working’…it’s always so much better to know that and be able to move on than have it not working and maintain the status quo.” 

After all, ‘maintaining status quo’ isn’t how the best companies pull ahead. 

Below, you’ll find out how to adopt experimentation like this company. Justin and IDX admitted room for improvement, signed on for our optimization services, and have seen results like: 

• Homepage tests and implementations that boosted enrollment in their product by 20.37%
• Focus and clarity around exactly what to improve and why 
• An understanding of fundamental conversion truths IDX still uses each week 

Identity theft cases more than doubled from 2019 to 2020

In 2020, combined fraud losses climbed to a staggering $56 billion. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, identity fraud scams account for $43 billion — over 76% — of that cost. 

In a world of “over-sharing,” individuals are an increasingly attractive and vulnerable target.  

IDX, a privacy protection service, is designed to help. They’re out to make the digital world a safer place for vulnerable consumers. 

To do so, their service crawls the dark web to find out if your information (credit, medical, or otherwise) is compromised. If so, they alert you and work on your behalf to restore what was stolen. They cover the costs of doing so, too. 

Simply put, IDX offers easy and robust protection from identity threats. 

But, when we first met them, consumers were struggling to understand that.

How does a historically B2B company resonate with B2C customers? 

Justin Albano, the Digital Marketing Manager at IDX, first came to us in August 2018. 

IDX had spun up a marketing site for their B2C product, MyIDCare — a big step into new territory for the historically B2B company. 

Justin knew success hinged on making a strong connection with customers. “Ultimately, we are trying to connect with our prospective customers out there,” he explained. “It really comes down to how effective are we at resonating with them? How effective are we at speaking to what their real needs, real pain points are?” 

So, Justin knew his end goal — resonating with B2C visitors and converting them into customers. What he didn’t know was how, exactly, to reach that goal. 

They had Google Analytics set up on the site and data coming out of ad platforms, but Justin knew this wasn’t the full picture. And he knew that piecemeal data wouldn’t tell him what, out of his big spreadsheet of ideas, to test — let alone which tests would make a difference in revenue. 

Was it button colors? What about lifestyle imagery? Something else altogether? (Spoiler: the last one.) 

To answer these questions, he needed better data. 

“We needed better data to help us make decisions”

Justin and his team at IDX had assumptions, ideas, and gut leanings. But they knew those inputs weren’t unbiased (or influenced by lunch) and not reliable enough to drive the outputs they wanted to see. 

“It’s easy to think you’re super smart, and you’ve got it all figured out,” Justin noted, “But until you actually test it, until you actually go out and learn how people are perceiving you…you don’t really know.” 

With big competitors in the space, IDX needed to know. But gathering and interpreting the data that’d require? It was an overwhelming thought. As Digital Marketing Manager, Justin had a hundred things on his plate and couldn’t spend all day in these tasks. 

He needed a partner who could both do the work and remove all the guesswork.

“I really needed someone who could come in, do the research, do the analysis, and put in front of me a clear path to success…And that’s exactly what The Good gave me.” — Justin Albano

The search for experts with a clear roadmap

Justin considered hiring a partner internally. But, as a small team, IDX couldn’t bring on an analyst or strategist that could spend all day, every day, on these problems. 

That meant turning to an agency instead. 

Justin had spent over a decade in the digital marketing and creative industry, and he knew plenty of talented optimization professionals. This didn’t make his decision easy. 

In the end, two factors made The Good a good fit for IDX: 

1. A clear roadmap and process 

“I knew upfront what I wanted,” Justin reminisced, “I wanted a clear path.” He wanted to know what low-hanging, high-impact fruit his team could address now and what great ideas his team could tackle later. And he wanted to know exactly how a partner would identify those things. 

While Justin is a huge fan of roadmaps in general, a clear path wasn’t just for him — it was also essential for getting buy-in from stakeholders. To bring in an agency, Justin would need to advocate for rigorous testing and the ROI of doing it. 

“It wasn’t nebulous…they helped me articulate why we needed this, what we’re going to do, and what we’re going to accomplish in a way that I was able to get buy-in.”  — Justin 

2. An emphasis on optimization so strong, it’s in the team’s DNA

IDX didn’t need a team that dabbled in optimization on the weekends. They needed a team that knew it inside and out. That was Justin’s impression of The Good. He recalled, “They talked it, they walked it, they breathed it…It’s in their DNA.” 

IDX needed a partner who’d make their lives easier, not harder. And that meant a partner they didn’t have to second-guess, check in on, or project manage.  “From the start, I knew I wasn’t going to have to manage them,” Justin said, “They were going to do their job and execute.”

“From the first conversations with Natalie and her team, it was really clear they were exceptionally competent and knew what they were doing.” — Justin 

With the decision made, it was time to head into the first project.

Identifying key opportunities through a Digital Experience Optimization Audit   

Note: It’s been three years since we first teamed up with IDX. Since then, we’ve audited their original site, done testing through our Digital Experience Optimization Program, and completed another audit of their latest site. You’ll find highlights from all of that below, starting with the original site audit. 

When we do a Digital Experience Optimization Audit, our process looks like gathering different types of data, identifying problems, and outlining improvements. 

Audits take, on average, 3-4 weeks from start to finish. The steps involve:

• Kickoff with stakeholders
• Research and analysis
• Findings presentation 

Here’s what that looked like for IDX. 

Kickoff with stakeholders: defining goals 

The initial kickoff meeting involved IDX, The Good, and a lot of note taking. We dug into what IDX wanted to accomplish, what questions they had, and other background information. 

Kickoff is also a chance for our clients to get to know their dedicated team. Each of our clients receives a lead optimization strategist and a specialized team. Teams frequently include specialists in consumer behavior, applied psychology, user experience design, and human-computer interaction. (These diverse backgrounds help us form a 360-degree strategy.) 

In terms of outcomes, goal-setting is a big part of these meetings. For IDX, the goals we established at kickoff and validated through research were: 

• Increase site enrollment volume
• Improve customer experience on-site
• Align navigation to user intent
• Decrease funnel abandonment
• Increase email subscriptions so IDX can nurture leads 

Research and analysis: marrying quantitative and qualitative

After the stakeholder discovery, we provided an external and unbiased audit to identify tweaks and improvements. To do so, we went beyond surface-level metrics and gathered both quantitative and qualitative data.

For example, in a typical audit, one specialist will dig through Google Analytics data to answer questions such as:

• Who are the top audiences?
• What pages are they visiting the most?
• What data indicates a problem area or opportunity for impact? 

This quantitative research helps inform what is happening on the site. But to build a full picture, our team also needs to look into why. 

“You have to have the data. You have to have someone who can run through the data for you and be able to analyze it correctly. You need those two working in tandem.” — Justin

So another specialist will then apply qualitative research methods, such as user research, to help answer questions such as:

• Why are people taking certain actions?
• What’s stopping conversions or contributing to abandoned goals?

Altogether, here’s what our team’s methodology included for IDX’s initial audit:

Findings presentation: where to go next 

Once our team gathers and organizes all our findings, we build out a detailed roadmap outlining strengths, weaknesses, and key opportunities for improvement. 

“When they came back and presented their findings to us, that’s when the real magic started to happen. Because now we had a clear roadmap.” — Justin

In the audit review meeting, our team walks through all of the findings, what they mean, and what the client can do next, with plenty of opportunity for Q&A. 

For IDX, this meant a clear path forward. They met us with a pile of assumptions and ideas; now, they knew exactly what to test to improve the experience for users, maximize investments in ad traffic, and generate ROI. 

“We saw an immediate revenue impact.”  — Justin

Experimentation and an improved enrollment experience through the Digital Experience Optimization Program 

Following the audit, IDX began a custom recurring Digital Experience Optimization Program. Their program consisted of research, strategy, and monthly A/B, multivariate, and split testing to reach their goals. 

For IDX, much of our testing revolved around improving enrollment for their platform.  

Here are some highlights of the testing we did: 

The power of asking, “what can we do better?”  

A reason IDX saw these improvements is their willingness to face shortcomings and lean into a proven CRO process. 

In a sense, it would’ve been easier for IDX to pretend as if their site was perfect. But Justin knew that’s not how they’d boost enrollment and revenue. To make meaningful improvements, IDX’s team had to face where things were broken or needed improvement and then make changes. 

So, they leaned into the kind of testing we did above. They knew it was better to address a weakness than bury their heads in the sand and pretend it didn’t exist. 

“The sooner we can identify what hurdles are in place for people…the sooner we can correct them, and the sooner we can improve.” — Justin

This was a mindset alignment between our team and IDX, speaking to one of The Good’s core values to make improvements, not excuses. 

Seeing those hurdles (especially when your team designed them!) can be difficult, but Justin says, “once you get to the end, the reward is pretty sweet.” 

A clear direction for new and future programs 

Since then, we’ve worked with IDX in several ways. Most recently, we partnered with them to audit their new site. 

As IDX had successfully grown their B2B and B2C branches of business, they’d started to fragment their messaging. Yet, both of these audiences wanted to see similar information — product details, pricing, trust signifiers, and so on. Justin said they realized they’d “benefit from a more holistic approach” and opted to roll the two websites they had into one. 

But creating a cohesive site for multiple audiences was no small feat, and they knew there were opportunities to improve messaging, information architecture, and navigation. 

So, they brought it to us for review.  

“You can’t just stick your head in the sand and say, ‘we did this new website.’” — Justin

How acknowledging mistakes can deliver ROI

“You launch a new site, a new campaign, or a new software product, and you’ve put your all into it,” Justin said, “And having someone objectively look at it and point out some pretty obvious things you might have missed…it’s hard to be that vulnerable as a professional.” 

It’d be easier for IDX to launch their new site, celebrate, and move on. 

Easier, not better for more customers or IDX’s bottom line. 

Similar to past projects, Justin knew where he wanted to end up but wasn’t 100% sure how to get there. And he knew it was better to face their blind spots than plow ahead in the dark. 

“Oftentimes, I learn so much more from being proven wrong than I ever would’ve by just assuming that I was right.” — Justin

Similar to our first audit with IDX, we combed through the site using several quantitative and qualitative methods. However, because this site had lower traffic than the initial site we audited, we leaned more heavily on qualitative methods this time around. 

For example, Maggie Paveza, a strategist with an extensive background in user research, used methods such as:

• Remote user research with highly qualified users, to understand the perspective and hurdles for someone new to the site. This revealed what prevented IDX’s target audience from reaching a conversion. 
• Tree testing, a technique for assessing how well users can locate the information they want within a navigation. This illuminated hurdles within the information architecture and opportunities for testing a more intuitive navigation. 

These and other qualitative methods, combined with several quantitative methods, helped us identify several key improvements for IDX, including: 

• Improving lead generation forms with better expectation-setting for time-to-contact, assuring users sensitive information will be handled securely and confidentially, 
• Providing easier access to resources for those at a top of funnel info-gathering stage

Baselines and focused testing efforts going forward   

In the findings presentation, we presented several short-term wins, as well as a roadmap for future improvements and testing. 

These recommendations were beneficial to IDX in three big-picture ways:

• “Best possible” starting point: IDX is building several new programs from scratch. Justin says the site audit is, “helping us build those programs, and build the website to be able to support those programs, in the best way possible to start.” 
• A baseline for impact: Now that IDX has a clear picture of the current state of the website, Justin says they can “start testing and seeing what kind of impact we can drive.” 
• Focused testing efforts: Because of the audit, Justin says “we’re not sitting there wondering what we should be doing.” Instead, IDX knows exactly what steps they need to take.

“It’s giving us a clear focus on what really matters.” — Justin

Immediate conversion improvements and long term mindset shifts 

In the three years we’ve partnered with IDX, they’ve seen many short-term and long-term wins. 

In the short term, their willingness to improve combined with our proven testing methods have resulted in homepage improvements that increased enrollment by 20.37% and “About Us” page improvements that increased enrollment twofold. 

Immediate returns for testing AND improved ROAS

These and similar results meant immediate ROI for IDX — both in terms of our services, as well as in terms of investments they were making in other services, such as return on ad spend (ROAS). How? An optimized website makes the most out of traffic coming to the site, meaning dollars spent in driving traffic are maximized as well.  

Three long-term benefits that aren’t disappearing anytime soon 

In addition to those short-term wins, IDX has experienced several longer-term wins, too.

These are: 

• An understanding of fundamental conversion truths
• Data-backed decision making
• Focus and clarity 

An understanding of fundamental conversion truths

From our very first project together, Justin started to collect fundamental conversion truths that continue to inform every site, landing page, and campaign his team develops. 

“There are some fundamental truths that came out of that first analysis I use on a weekly basis.” — Justin

Take trust-building. Our research indicated building trust with IDX’s audience is critical. Without it, potential customers default to a well-known competitor. This is true for many brands in many industries, but it’s especially important with security. “In order for them to trust us with something that is so scary,” Justin recalls, “they really need to know who we are and know they can trust us.” 

Consumers have to trust you to buy from you — that’s a fundamental conversion truth. And it’s one of many Justin and his team continue to reference in their day-to-day work. 

He emphasized every time they build something, whether it’s an email or a site, they ask questions like, “Do we have trust builders? Do we have member quotes?…can people feel confident they can work with us?” 

“…those truths continue to be guiding lights. Those continue to make an impact not just for me, but for multiple people on my team.” 

Data-backed decision making

“The main result of our work together is that their team makes data-backed decisions,” Natalie Thomas, Director of Strategy, explained. They’re “informed by real user research and behavioral data, rather than making gut-based decisions.” 

Justin and his team suspected they couldn’t rely on guts or biases when it comes to driving results; our work with them solidified this. 

For example, Justin thought optimizing lifestyle imagery was a priority. But through working with us, he discovered IDX’s audience doesn’t “necessarily care about the age and demographic makeup of the person you put in your picture.” In other words, Justin cared about this factor, but consumers didn’t. Turns out, for them, there were more important issues at stake. 

Extensive research, analysis, and testing have helped illuminate which tests matter and which tests don’t. This, in turn, enables Justin’s team to focus on improvements that directly impact revenue and conversions vs. improvements that are trendy or personally driven.  

Focus and clarity 

Knowing which tests matter — and what tests don’t — give Justin’s team clarity and focus. In each project with us, IDX received a clear list and roadmap of high-impact improvements they could implement now, later, and further down the road. 

To zoom out for a moment, this gives IDX a competitive edge in an increasingly dense security market. 

Justin pointed out, “anyone can guess” and trust their gut, and that’s what many teams out there do. But while some competitors are spinning their wheels on ideas that might make a difference, IDX is gaining velocity making high-impact changes they know will move the needle. 

“We are much more targeted and focused on what we can actually do. We’re not sitting there wondering what we should be doing or what’s going to make a difference. We know what we need to do now, and we’re getting after it.” — Justin

Now It’s Your Turn

We harness user insights and unlock digital improvements beyond your conversion rate.

Let’s talk about putting digital experience optimization to work for you.

The post How Experimentation Allowed IDX To Expand From B2B to B2C (& Improve The Enrollment Experience In The Process) appeared first on The Good.

And it’s becoming a big problem. Approximately 30 percent of Americans say they’ve been hit by porch pirates at least once, according to a study done by Xfinity Home.

Cathy Robertson, a shipping and delivery expert with Logistics Trends & Insights in Atlanta, says:

It’s just common sense that along with all the tremendous upsides to ordering online, the downside is things can be stolen… You’ve got something worth 200 bucks being delivered to your home? You better be sitting on your front steps when it arrives.

So what’s the solution? How can the porch pirates be thwarted?

In response, many companies are fighting back by shipping items directly to stores and allowing the consumer to pick them up.

In this article, we’re going to cover:

• How exactly the ship-to-store option works
• Why many stores are using it
• How the rise of “porch pirates” presents a unique opportunity for you
• Why you should consider implementing a ship-to-store option

What Exactly Is the Ship-to-Store Option?

It’s not particularly complicated. If you have a brick-and-mortar store(s), you simply offer consumers the option of picking up their order at your store instead of receiving it at their home.

Numerous “click-and-mortar” retailers have implemented a store pickup option, including:

• Apple
• Walmart
• Macy’s
• Nordstrom
• Target
• Kohl’s
• Dozens of others

Amazon is going to unique lengths to offer a ship-to-store option. In many cities, they have “lockers”, which are a sort of storage unit where customers can pick up their packages.

Taking things a step further, Amazon recently announced what they’re calling “Key In Car” delivery. Using an app, customers can give couriers access to their cars, and the couriers will then place the packages in the cars, significantly reducing the chances of package theft

Writing in The Verge, Andrew Jenkins notes:

After purchasing an item and selecting in-car delivery, Amazon sends a series of notifications to let you know that the package is on its way. At any point, you can choose to change delivery locations or “block access” to the car in the Key app, if for some reason you need to run a quick errand or your car won’t be immediately accessible to the delivery person. Amazon will then default to your backup delivery location if access to the vehicle is blocked.

Clearly, Amazon recognizes the problem of packages being stolen and is going to great lengths to prevent it.

Perhaps it’s time you also considered implementing a customer-focused delivery option with your ecommerce business.

Why Offer Ship-to-Store Shipping?

You may be thinking that implementing ship-to-store shipping sounds complicated. Are there really that many advantages to it? It turns out there are.

First and foremost, it prevents package theft. This in and of itself is a big win, both for you and for your customers. The simple truth is that the threat of package theft is starting to influence the way customers shop online.

In Los Angeles alone, reported package thefts have increased by a staggering 581 percent since 2010. And with most thefts going unreported to the police, it’s a safe bet to say that the number is quite a bit higher.

In a recent study by Shipp, 53 percent of people have actively changed their plans so that they can be home when a package is delivered, and 41 percent of people have avoided purchasing certain items online due to theft concerns. The primary type of item that people have avoided buying? Not surprisingly, it’s electronics.

In the same study by Shipp, 61 percent of people said they felt that online retailers weren’t doing enough to prevent package theft, and a whopping 71 percent said that they would be open to having their packages delivered to an alternative location, such as a locker.

The moral of the story? People want to be sure that their packages won’t be stolen, and if you can offer an alternative delivery method, it’s likely to increase your overall conversion rate and customer satisfaction

But ship-to-store shipping has more advantages than simply offering peace of mind to consumers. It can also increase your in-store conversion rate.

It turns out that when customers come to a store to pick up their package, they tend to make other purchases while they’re there. Some of these purchases are impulse buys, while others are on items already needed.

Writing in Forbes, Bryan Pearson says:

These super-short trips [to pick up packages] can result in higher-proportioned revenue because shoppers who place pickup orders, encouraged by the prospect of a quick in-and-out visit, remain prone to split-second purchase decisions.

“As good as delivery is getting—one-day delivery, sometimes one-hour delivery—that still can’t compete with the one-second immediacy of being in store and picking up that avocado … because I thought about it in that moment,” explained Todd Dipaola, chief executive and founder of InMarket.

The statistics back this up. Every year, customers spend approximately $5,400 on impulse purchases, according to a survey by Slickdeals.net. Eighty-five percent of respondents to the survey said that their impulse purchases were in response to some sort of discount or deal. On top of this, 8 out of 10 impulse purchases are made in brick-and-mortar stores.

This presents a unique opportunity for you as a retailer. By offering in-store pickup, you significantly increase the chances that a customer will make additional purchases once they’re in the store. If you can combine in-store pickup with specific discounts, you may be able to significantly increase your conversion rate on those discounted items.

Riding the Ship-to-Store Bandwagon

48 percent of retailers in the United States are already offering their customers the ability to ship packages directly to the store including 62 percent of the top 50 ecommerce retailers.

Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and other retailers are using the ship-to-store option as a way to compete with Amazon.

And with package theft likely to continue rising, we should expect more retailers to offer their customers a ship-to-store option.

In addition, if you can get customers into your store, there’s a much higher likelihood of them making additional purchases, which will increase your overall conversion rate and revenue.

Yes, implementing a ship-to-store option complicates the shipping process slightly for you. But it’s quickly becoming a non-negotiable move for ecommerce retailers.

So, will you hop on the ship-to-store bandwagon, or will you continue allowing your customers to fall prey to the “porch pirates”?

The post How to Leverage Ship-to-Store for Better Experiences (and Conversions) appeared first on The Good.