Opinion column: What CRO organization makes the difference?

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For many years, we have worked with dozens (hundreds) of brands to help them meet their CRO challenges.
My observation is often the same: the success of a CRO program and the results that follow are often linked to 2 points:

• Organizational maturity.
• Team organization.

As you can see, we're going to focus today on point 2!

Yes, the CRO has changed!

(Just a thought for all those who continue to sell CRO as a miracle recipe that would enable them to earn millions in sales by accumulating projected uplifts from A/B tests...🔫)

It was an obvious entry point at a time when brands were investing lavishly in acquisition, and when only the ROI of media campaigns and the conversion rate were important.

But fortunately, practices have evolved and we've been able to take a step back!

Because yes, CRO has changed!

When I started out in CRO, we mainly talked about A/B testing, on the web, focusing on conversion. That was CRO:

• Perform a data, ux,
• Draw up a prioritized roadmap
• Run A/B tests, preferably winning ones, to demonstrate the program's value.

However, the ecosystem has greatly matured, and so have practices.
The short-termist strategies that brought CRO to the fore in France no longer meet the challenges facing brands.

Today, we talk much more about discovery and experimentation, and this goes far beyond simply changing the color of a CTA. KPIs are more global, and we're no longer just talking about conversions, but also about engagement, cLTV, churn rate, % revisit, NPS etc...

The tools are also more global, and this clearly changes everything, since the use cases now touch different teams. (CRO, CRM, Content, Acquisition, IT...). These experiments are also app-based and multi-channel.

In short, we've gone from a "basic" approach to one that takes a step up and gets closer to the product teams! We are now seeking to enter into a "derisekage" mechanism, with the help of data, benchmarks, A/B tests, user interviews...

It is therefore becoming imperative to rethink the organization so that it responds to these challenges, and this largely involves a new vision and a new positioning of the CRO teams.

We have therefore isolated an essential question, particularly in relation to the product teams:

"Which organization makes it possible to merge the two roadmaps and thus ensure the CRO's impact on the product?"

And so seeing this image 👆 do you think it's more with a classic CRO approach or with a product experimentation approach?

Yes yes, it's a rhetorical question 🫣

So what's the ideal organization?

Unfortunately, there are no ready-made answers, and part of the work we do for our customers involves working on these issues:

• During our CRO support, we work to develop the various processes and links between teams.
• During specific missions dedicated to the CRO orga.

Based on our experience, however, we have isolated 3 main organization formats, which we can see on the market:

1. The Coaching format
2. Squad format
3. The Team format

As you can see, each format has its advantages and disadvantages. We've done the work of assessing the pluses and minuses, but if you'd like to talk about them in more detail, please don't hesitate to contact me 😉

Contact me!

To give you some perspective, the vast majority of the brands we work with are in a "team format". This format, although effective, is now showing its limitations, and our job is generally to help our customers move towards "coaching" or "squad" formats.

This is a job that takes time (several months/years), and there is an alignment to be made between the different teams, particularly in terms of aligning methodologies and objectives. You have to understand what's at stake for everyone, and how it can be articulated.

What's in it for us and why is it essential?

By aligning teams around a common vision, brands can maximize the impact of their optimization strategies. This translates not only into improved conversion rates, but also into enhanced customer loyalty and retention. Why? Quite simply because the user experience is at the heart of everything we do!

With a shift from a more standard model with a lone CRO team to a more integrated and collaborative approach, brands are able to "de-risk" their investments in product and innovation. This means making more informed decisions based on data and experimental results, reducing costly failures and increasing efficiency 🚀

It's a great way of aligning all teams towards a common goal too. (PM, PO, CRO, UX/UI, UXR, Dev...)

Finally, in an ever-changing competitive environment, being able to adapt quickly to new trends and consumer expectations is crucial. A flexible, well-structured CRO organization will react much more quickly to market changes.

In my opinion, optimizing the organization of CRO teams is not just an option, but a necessity for any company wishing to sustain its growth and maintain its leading position! (Or become one 😇)

Conclusion:

As you'll understand, we believe this transformation can have a major impact on brands. It's a strategic approach that enables companies to position themselves competitively in an increasingly complex and demanding digital landscape. By integrating approaches such as the coaching format or the squad format, brands can open up new opportunities for growth.

Beware, this is not a job that can be done in a snap of the fingers! Above all, it's essential to have an in-house c-level sponsor who will support the project, and you'll need to take your time, advancing step by step to build the organization that meets your challenges.

By developing a culture of global experimentation, brands are preparing for a future where continuous improvement is not an end in itself, but a process that evolves to meet users' needs with the utmost precision.

Do you have any questions or would you like to find out more? Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss and explore together the best approach for your organization.