CRO Gurus

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of Beach Bum Club

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We create swimwear for beach bums of all shapes and sizes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire CRO Gurus to accomplish?

• How to increase my web performance
• Optimize customer journey

SOLUTION

How did you find CRO Gurus?

Online Search

Why did you select CRO Gurus over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from CRO Gurus were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The CRO project focused on optimizing website performance to increase conversion rates and improve user experience. Key deliverables included a detailed site audit, user behavior analysis, and research-driven hypotheses. A/B testing and design updates were implemented to address conversion bottlenecks. Final results were delivered through a comprehensive report highlighting metrics, insights, and recommendations, along with training for ongoing optimization. The project successfully enhanced user engagement and streamlined the customer journey. Conduct a full audit of the website, landing pages, and user flows.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The project provided a comprehensive review of the website, identifying key opportunities for improving conversion rates and user experience. While no changes were implemented, the deliverables included a detailed audit, data-driven insights into user behavior, and prioritized recommendations for optimizing navigation, CTAs, and mobile responsiveness. The analysis highlighted areas to reduce bounce rates, improve checkout flows, and enhance content alignment with target audience needs, offering a clear roadmap for future implementation to drive measurable improvements.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The team executed the project in a timely manner, shared their progress with me continuously, and scheduled a prompt meeting to go over their findings and recommendations. Their work was detailed and covered so many key opportunities for growth.

What was your primary form of communication with CRO Gurus?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What stood out most about this company was their depth of analysis and data-driven approach. Their ability to deliver highly detailed, actionable insights without implementing changes demonstrated a strong understanding of user behavior and website optimization. Additionally, their prioritization of recommendations showed a clear focus on maximizing impact, making the review not only thorough but also highly practical for future improvements.

Are there any areas for improvement or something CRO Gurus could have done differently?

NA

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Growth of Overnight Caskets / Signature Headstones

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Overnight Caskets is changing how America shops for funeral products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire CRO Gurus to accomplish?

• Optimize the user experience for improved conversion rates.
• Debug the entire buying process.
• Custom web development.

SOLUTION

How did you find CRO Gurus?

Online Search

Why did you select CRO Gurus over others?

immediate insights

How many teammates from CRO Gurus were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Our engagement with CROG is ongoing. In 2023, we relaunched www.signatureheadstones.com on a new e-commerce platform. We quickly realized that our conversion rate was negatively impacted by issues that went deeper than the usual issues associated with a site relaunch. We needed a multi-disciplined team to help us from basic user experience to sophisticated custom web dev.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our conversions are increasing as we optimize our site with CROG.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We have weekly meetings organized by a dynamic project management doc managed by CROG. We are addressing both long-term strategic initiatives as well as items with immediate impact.

What was your primary form of communication with CRO Gurus?

Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Technical competence, strategic insights, and professional project management. They address our punch list of wants and needs and come to the table with proactive suggestions that they have developed with other clients. We're continuously benefitting from their body of work.

Are there any areas for improvement or something CRO Gurus could have done differently?

None. They make sure time zones do not affect our engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of the Canadian Mining Report. We are a news aggregator, and offer educational content about companies and their projects within the mining industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CRO Gurus?

Our original site was built seven years ago, and although we liked the brand and design, we recognized a lot of weaknesses in terms of the UX on mobile devices, sales funnels, and the quality of landing pages. We hired CRO Gurus to help us optimize our website and fix those issues.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Almost immediately, they set up sprints and started gathering information on our competitors. They have access to Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and they use Microsoft Clarity. CRO Gurus are monitoring the site performance, loading speed, and baseline performance indicators in addition to the analytics. 

CRO Gurus uses Google Data Studio to aggregate the data from different sources and present it in a more easily digestible format. They also use various tools to analyze readability. Around 95% of our content is read on mobile devices, and they analyze our content to understand how a piece will perform based on subheadings, image location, and page breaks. 

For the content that we write that is more analytical, CRO Gurus helps us break down articles to keep readers interested, even when the paragraphs are longer and more difficult to keep users engaged. 

We have recorded biweekly sprints, and those calls usually last about an hour. CRO Gurus presents us with data and things they’ve observed on the site like formatting that is off, or things that are broken on the site. They also take this time to suggest more proactive solutions, like ways to update designs on pages. 

All the pieces brought forward in these meetings are recorded in a log so that we can easily find the issues when our internal team goes to fix them. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Samuel (Founder), a project manager who leads our meetings, and there is usually a copywriter. 

How did you come to work with CRO Gurus?

We put an advertisement on Upwork, and based on certain filters and specifications, we narrowed the list down to about 20 companies. We went through a long process of interviewing and vetting different conversion rate optimization agencies, but eventually landed with CRO Gurus. We were impressed with how Samuel communicated with us about how everything would work. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested over $10,000 with CRO Gurus. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Our average reading time on the website, especially for our mobile site, has improved. Our sign-ups for free content have also increased, and they’ve provided suggestions for some of our landing pages that have increased the time on those pages and our sales to a degree. We see many positive indicators even though the work is still ongoing. 

How did CRO Gurus perform from a project management standpoint?

They provide excellent project management for us. We have a good working cadence, and they make everything very simple for our team to fix things. They’re incredibly organized and send out agendas before every call; they also allow us to adjust anything beforehand. The calls are always very productive, and they stay on topic the whole time.

We communicate via Zoom and email, and use Google Drive for all our documents and recording log.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do a fantastic job of communicating strengths and weaknesses with us and how they will approach something. They have deep technical knowledge and are very talented at copywriting, design, and tech stacks. They have a lot of experience in different fields, and they bring valuable expertise to the table. 

CRO Gurus understands the differences between desktop and mobile and how to effectively create each one so that they are easily consumable for our readers. They understand the UX experience and know what it will take to keep an audience engaged. Overall, it has been an extremely wonderful experience.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

We would like to directly integrate them more into our system to expedite the process and put them in contact with the right people more efficiently, but that is more on our end than theirs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Running a small eCommerce focused digital advertising agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CRO Gurus, and what were your goals?

I had some clients that really needed help with their websites before it would make sense to drive paid traffic to their sites. I used these services strategically to help our clients make the right changes to their sites before I invested large amounts of client funds to traffic. Our goal was to get our merchants to a point where paid traffic was an option for them.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I followed their work and results closely on both Linkedin & Youtube and then spoke to them about this potential collaboration. They listened carefully and were able to suggest a solution that was both cost-effective and impactful.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

I needed actionable change plans for these eCommerce stores so I came up with an agreement for them to audit these stores on our behalf and then the clients would fix the issues with their developers. The audits included front-end changes, comprehensive reasoning behind those changes, as well as examples when needed. The deliverables were PDF listings of recommendations usually 20-30 pages long telling developers what to do. We mostly used Asana for communication (both tasks and Asana chat).

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I had the initial call with Samuel (Founder) and then worked directly with Tudor (Consultant) from there. So I was in touch with one person after the agreement was finished.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The deliverables were very well made & professional. They explained things thoroughly every time & I rarely had any questions about the suggestions. The results were difficult to measure from the data perspective since I started advertising right away. With all of these clients though I was very comfortable with the sites that I was now guiding traffic to (something that wasn’t the case beforehand).

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I always got what was promised (although often last minute but still). They have very solid processes in creating these services while still producing custom & valuable work. I always got all my questions answered within 24 hours.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their consistency and deep knowledge of e-commerce CRO really stood out to us. Usually, small companies tend to be a bit unstructured but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a company that cared so much about the details and had honed their reports to this degree.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No, not really. At least nothing worth pointing out.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of Candlelit Memory

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are candle company that focuses on providing sensory experiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire CRO Gurus to accomplish?

• Conversion Optimization suggestions
• landing page design/implementation

SOLUTION

How did you find CRO Gurus?

Online Search

Why did you select CRO Gurus over others?

• High ratings
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from CRO Gurus were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Key Deliverables:
Audit and Strategy Development:

Conduct a comprehensive audit of the website to identify barriers to conversion.
Outline actionable steps for implementing CRO expert suggestions in alignment with brand goals.
Website Updates:

Optimize landing page layouts to streamline navigation and reduce bounce rates.
Improve product page designs by enhancing product imagery, descriptions, and the call-to-action (CTA).
Add urgency triggers, such as countdown timers or low-stock alerts, to incentivize purchases.
Mobile Optimization:

Ensure all site elements are fully responsive and functional on mobile devices.
Simplify the checkout process for mobile users to reduce cart abandonment.
Checkout Process Enhancements:

Implement a progressive checkout flow with fewer steps.
Add multiple payment options (e.g., PayPal, credit cards, or Buy Now, Pay Later).
Incorporate trust badges and testimonials at critical decision-making points.
Data Tracking and Analytics:

Set up heatmaps to analyze user behavior on key pages.
Configure tracking for micro-conversions (e.g., add-to-carts, form submissions) in Google Analytics or Facebook Pixel.
A/B Testing:

Test multiple versions of headlines, CTAs, and layouts to identify the most effective designs.
Experiment with ad copy and creative tailored to different audience segments.
Social Proof Integration:

Add customer reviews and testimonials to build trust.
Implement a user-generated content (UGC) gallery showcasing customers using the product.
Load Time Optimization:

Improve page speed by compressing images, minifying CSS/JavaScript, and leveraging caching tools.
Email Capture and Retargeting:

Add exit-intent pop-ups to capture emails for retargeting campaigns.
Integrate abandoned cart email flows with personalized product recommendations.
Reporting and Iteration:

Provide weekly progress reports highlighting improvements and results.
Adjust and refine CRO strategies based on data insights.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Key Measurable Outcomes
Conversion Rate Increase:

Before vs. After Comparison: The percentage of visitors who complete a purchase should increase. For example, if the initial conversion rate was 1.5%, a successful project might raise it to 2.5% or higher.
Revenue Growth:

Track total revenue generated from online sales. A successful project should show an upward trend in daily, weekly, or monthly sales.
Cart Abandonment Rate Reduction:

Compare pre- and post-implementation abandonment rates. For example, a reduction from 70% to 55% would indicate a clear improvement.
Average Order Value (AOV) Increase:

Measure the average spend per transaction. If the CRO strategies include upselling or bundling, you should see an increase in AOV (e.g., from $88 to $110).
Bounce Rate Reduction:

A decrease in the percentage of users who leave the site without interacting indicates improved landing page design and engagement.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) Improvement:

Higher CTRs on buttons, CTAs, or product links demonstrate that the new designs and copy are resonating with users.
Mobile Conversion Rate Growth:

If mobile optimization was a focus, track mobile-specific metrics. For example, mobile conversions might grow from 0.8% to 1.5%.
Checkout Completion Rate:

Measure the percentage of users who start and complete the checkout process. An increase here is a key indicator of a streamlined checkout flow.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS):

Measure how much revenue is generated for every dollar spent on ads. Improvements in site experience often lead to better ROAS.
Email Sign-Ups or Leads Captured:

If pop-ups or email capture tools were added, track the increase in leads collected for email marketing campaigns.
Customer Feedback:

Analyze reviews, surveys, or direct feedback to measure improvements in user satisfaction.
Time on Page and Pages per Session:

Increased time spent on the website or browsing more pages per session indicates better engagement.
Adoption of New Features:

Metrics like clicks on urgency triggers (e.g., "Only 5 left!") or user-generated content engagement (e.g., uploads or shares) highlight the success of new elements.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

yes, they were very good at communication and delivering on time.

What was your primary form of communication with CRO Gurus?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What stands out most about CRO Gurus is their data-driven and results-oriented approach to conversion rate optimization. They leverage a blend of deep analytics, user behavior insights, and A/B testing strategies to deliver measurable outcomes. Their ability to tailor solutions for unique business needs, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all method, is particularly impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something CRO Gurus could have done differently?

None at this time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the President of an ecommerce company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Acessories Ecomm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire CRO Gurus to accomplish?

• Improve Conversion Rates
• Improves UX
• Boost Revenue per visitor

SOLUTION

How did you find CRO Gurus?

• Online Search
• Upwork

Why did you select CRO Gurus over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from CRO Gurus were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Implementation of CRO recommendations on webpage

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We engaged a consultant to boost our conversion rates and improve UX, but the results were disappointing. The consultant relied heavily on their team, leading to a decline in performance and conversion rates, which adversely affected our revenue. Despite raising concerns, no constructive suggestions were provided, and blame was shifted to other factors. We spent a large sum of money and ended up with a negative ROI.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Our goals weren't met.

What was your primary form of communication with CRO Gurus?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Ability to put good face with producing bad results

Are there any areas for improvement or something CRO Gurus could have done differently?

Not outsource the work

Company Responses

The service provider responded on August 7, 2024.
This review is from a client that we started with a CRO audit; here is their first review: https://share.crogurus.com/OAuZ1Kob 
The client was delighted with our work and chose to continue working with us. This second engagement lasted four months (I'm wondering why they chose to stay if we truly were such a terrible partner).

Nothing was promised regarding the results and we mentioned that with a seasonal business like hers, we cannot promise results will constantly go up every month. We can validate them with A/B testing since many other variables are at play than just CRO. However, we cannot fully control the exact revenue outcomes as we only affect a piece of the sales funnel.

We did a test with all the recommended changes, seeing a 21% improvement in sales (excellent for a 7-figure store and well covers our engagement fees). Of course, this was a short test, and it stopped when the client was happy to launch the variant. 
This is the test result shows our variant performing significantly better:
https://share.crogurus.com/nOu26Yey

Given all this, I believe this is more about her recent performance (after our engagement) and emotional issues, as she was struggling with her store and needed someone else to blame for her problems; we're concluding this as the review was provided on July 9th, two months after our engagement ended.

I cannot understand how she can make a 21% A/B-tested improvement to be such a disappointing result. I am very critical of project delivery, and we have incredibly high standards (as evidenced by all the positive reviews). 
So, our conscience regarding this case is clear, and we still sleep well knowing that we do excellent work for our clients. Unfortunately, despite getting good, measurable, and proven results, we still got an unfair review like this.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Manager of Reserve Wines

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Award-winning independent wine merchant in Manchester with 4 hybrid retail and bars, 1 concession store and a growing online presence stocking the best wine and spirits from around the world. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire CRO Gurus to accomplish?

• Improve Conversion Rate closer to industry average

SOLUTION

How did you find CRO Gurus?

Referral

Why did you select CRO Gurus over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from CRO Gurus were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To help us improve converstion rate optimisation for our Shopify store - base case 40% improvement. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Since the project has finalised, we have already seen big improvements to our CR. 

Last year, CR sat at 1.58% - 6 YOY. 

In the last two months (since the changes were pushed live), our CR is sitting at 1.88% +27% YOY. We have only recently gone live with phase 2 optimisations, I'm confident this number will continue to increase. MTD shows a more accurate picture - CR sitting at 2.29% +20% YOY. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Project management was very efficient and managed through Asana, with monthly check ins to keep track of project and approve anything necessary. 

All of the deliverables (and a few extras I added in at the start of the project), were all delivered as promised. 

Thank you for all of your hard work on this project! 

What was your primary form of communication with CRO Gurus?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The project management side of things really helped me and took the load off my plate - something which really helps when managing a small team. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something CRO Gurus could have done differently?

Slightly better communication surrounding the go live day with improvements and being more responsive to queries and questions during this time. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Owner of a retail company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We sell unique apparel items online and through retail. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire CRO Gurus to accomplish?

• Improve Conversion Rates
• Optimize Online Store Layout

SOLUTION

How did you find CRO Gurus?

Online Search

Why did you select CRO Gurus over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from CRO Gurus were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Review existing site
• Suggest improvements
• Implement improvements
• Continued optimization
• A/B testing
• Support
• Development
• Project Management

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Increased Conversion Rates
• Visually Appealing site
• Optimized and Skillfull Site Development
• Amazing communication
• Top-notch orginzation skills and transparency

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

• Highly Efficient
• Highly Organized
• Fast Acting
• Prepared and Professional 
• The team is always friendly and helpful.

What was your primary form of communication with CRO Gurus?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

• Professionalism
• Price to value ratio
• Efficiency 
• Quality

Are there any areas for improvement or something CRO Gurus could have done differently?

No, there's nothing they need to improve on.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the CMO of a beauty & cosmetics company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

DTC Wellness collections of brands including skincare, haircare, and supplements.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire CRO Gurus to accomplish?

• CRO Landing Pages
• Increased Subscription Rate
• Enhaced engagement

SOLUTION

How did you find CRO Gurus?

Online Search

Why did you select CRO Gurus over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from CRO Gurus were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We partnered with CRO Gurus because we need CRO enhancements on our landing pages as well as increased subscription rates that will yield higher CLV's.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

To date, we have seen increases in engagement, revenue/visitor, AOV, and overall conversion rate.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The CRO team is incredibly responsive and very structured with their approach to deliverables. They are always available and Samuel is highly dedicated to ensure client satisfaction.

What was your primary form of communication with CRO Gurus?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The most impressive aspect is their attention to detail and meticulous, methodical approach to execution.

Are there any areas for improvement or something CRO Gurus could have done differently?

I wish we had more projects for them to improve!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-founder of Kina Tam

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We sell women's clothing

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire CRO Gurus to accomplish?

• To do a CRO audit and give us suggestions on how we can improve our conversion rate

SOLUTION

How did you find CRO Gurus?

Referral

Why did you select CRO Gurus over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from CRO Gurus were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Scope of work includes research and data analysis, audit the website and identify and explain the conversion issues with solutions, creating roadmap for the recommendation priority. Deliverables include an optimization plan that is 50-60 pages containing at least 30 suggestions that cover google analytics, site speed, competitor analysis, copywriting, general theme Issues & recommendations, issues and recommendations for every page including cart and checkout, upsell suggestions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

5/5 Would Highly Recommend! We are very happy with the exceptional CRO audit provided by the team! Since starting to implement the recommended changes, we've already seen a remarkable improvement in our conversion rate - and this has stayed consistent for us. Previously, our conversion rate was not only disappointingly low but also fluctuated unpredictably. 
However, thanks to the insightful suggestions aimed at improving our website's browsability and streamlining the customer journey, we've witnessed a significant positive shift. The audit not only offered a clear roadmap for action but also gave us the confidence to move forward by clearly identifying and addressing pain points effectively backed up my statistic and numbers. 
We're very excited to continue implementing these changes and further enhance our conversion rate. Thank you Samuel and team!

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Samuel and his team delivered our project right on schedule, and was super responsive to our needs throughout the entire project. During our onboarding call, he went above and beyond to understand our requirements and really get to the root of our pain points to make sure that his service is the right fit for us. 
After we received the audit, Samuel hopped back on a call with us to go through every single question we had. He patiently addressed each one and even threw in some broader CRO recommendations, which was very helpful. We highly recommend their services!

What was your primary form of communication with CRO Gurus?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We're most impressed by the team's ability to offer such extensive suggestions in a way that's easy to grasp and implement. They truly excel at breaking down complex data into simple, actionable insights. Their guidance not only helped us understand our numbers better but also provided clear, laid-out solutions. The level of hand-holding they provided was incredibly helpful. Highly recommend their services for anyone looking to gain clarity and improve their conversion rates!

Are there any areas for improvement or something CRO Gurus could have done differently?

While it would have been beneficial to receive even more insights into our size charts and their usage, especially considering their importance in the fashion industry, this was a minor aspect that we didn't even bring up during our discussions.