From dream… to reality. It’s the CRO Roundtable Roundup!
Thanks to Matt Beischel, Iqbal Ali, Gnanagurubaran Venkatesvaran, Syed Nizamuddin, and Craig Sullivan for joining us.
Want to get in on the action and talk with cool CRO people like this?
One Sentence Takeaway
I’m a busy person; give me the TL:DR
Reframing experimentation as a decision-making tool helps overcome resistance and demonstrate long-term value.
The Notes
What we discussed this week
- Reframing Experimentation in Organizations
- Stop talking about tests and start talking about decisions
- Language can influence executive buy-in significantly
- Framing helps align experimentation with business outcomes
- People need to feel safe to run “bad” tests
- Highlight learning value even from inconclusive results
- Focus less on ROI, more on process improvement
- Executive Communication Challenges
- Avoid analytics jargon for better clarity
- Stakeholders need help seeing the “so what” of results
- Use simple metaphors like speedometers to explain impact
- Explain value with analogies, not just math
- Perceived impact often matters more than actual
- Common Pitfalls in CRO Work
- Over-optimization traps can lead to stagnation
- Testing without strategy turns into random tweaking
- Misinterpreting statistical noise as signals
- Agency vs In-house Perspectives
- In-house work allows for deeper strategic alignment
- Agencies face pressure to deliver quick wins
- Trust and patience differ across settings
- Tools and Tactical Considerations
- MVTs often add complexity without return
- Tools shouldn’t drive methodology or priorities
- Keep the tech stack simple when possible
- CRO Tactics for Lower Traffic Sites
- Use proxies when direct revenue metrics aren’t available
- Focus on the point of change, not the bottom of the funnel
- Focus on qualitative research methods instead of experimentation
- Bigger, riskier changes can provide statistically measurable results
The Quotes
Standout quips from this week
- “You have to stop calling it testing and start calling it decision-making.” – Iqbal
- “I used to fight the ROI question, now I reframe it.” – Iqbal
Book Club
Relevant reads recommended this week
- No books this week, sorry!
CRO Link Digest
Useful and thought-provoking content shared this week
- Meta Ad Library – Meta’s official, searchable database of all currently running ads on their platforms
- Google Ads Transparency Center – Google’s official, searchable database of all published ads on their platforms
- Octoparse – no-coding solution for web scraping
- 21 Things I Wish I Had Known when Starting Out – LinkedIn post by Craig Sullivan
- Toastmasters – Public speaking and leadership development club with international chapters
- Test & Learn Community – An online community for experimenters to teach, learn, and converse
Off-Topic Sidebars
Experimentation isn’t the only thing we talk about at the CRO Roundtable. There’s often a healthy dose of discussion on shared interests, personal passions, and hobbies.
- Weather and Location Chatter
- 32°C days in Craig’s area
- Enjoying fresh air outdoors
- Gnanagurubaran has been living in Dubai for over seven years
- Matt is on his annual June retreat in Charleston, SC
- Headphone Malfunctions
- Swapping earbuds to fix audio issues
- $5 earbuds are not expected to perform well
- The Not-so-Secret Origins of the CRO Roundtable
- Started in 2020 by Manuel Da Costa because of Covid
- Matt & Iqbal usurped power in 2021 (actually, Manuel got too busy and asked us to)
- Everyone that attends is a super-cool awesome person
- LinkedIn Visibility Woes
- Seeing more and more high impressions despite low interaction
- Personal messages and longform content performing a bit better
Sidebar Shareables
Amusing sidebar content shared this week
- No sidebar shareables this week, sorry!