Exclusive Interview with Victor Chukwudolue

1. Can you share a bit about your background and how you became a conversion people?

I first came across Shopify years ago and had tried it out so I was familiar with the platform. My eCommerce started building Shopify stores then moved into custom Shopify theme development. This time was useful to get an in-depth knowledge of how eCommerce works & also how big of a role a website plays in the success of an online store.

I wanted to have a big positive impact on all the clients I worked with. This means being able to lift key metrics like Revenue, AOV and conversion rate. I quickly became fascinated by the differences between stores doing well and stores that weren’t.

In pursuit of how to lift these metrics, I was introduced to the world of CRO.

2. In your opinion, what are the most common mistakes businesses make that reduce their conversion rates?

- Not actioning customer feedback from live chat and support
- Poor product pages
- Poor product images
- Only making store updates every few months
- Not showing enough social proof
- Missing/hard-to-find shipping/delivery/return information
- Not A/B testing

3. What role do data analytics and Google Analytics play in your conversion optimization process?

Analytics is the lifeblood of CRO really. Data is what (or what should) drive decisions. There’s SO MUCH quantitative data on Google Analytics alone. You can then take this data and give it meaning through analysis. The secret to good analysis is segmenting data.

For example, this could mean looking at the differences of users who are on different devices (desktop, tablet, phone). From spotting trends, similarities or anomalies you learn more about customer behaviour. Then from these observations, you can make a hypothesis which you can split test.

4. What strategies or tactics do you find most effective in increasing website conversions?

There are a ton of different tactics you can use but not all of them will work for your specific store. Before blindly actioning the advice of a random person, test it instead.

I’d recommend creating a culture around A/B testing & continuous improvement. From customer service to the product team to middle management, aim to keep everyone excited and full of suggestions on things to improve.

5. What advice would you give to businesses looking to improve their email collection strategies without being intrusive?

The best way to NOT collect emails is to show popups on page load. Brands should stop doing this. It’s extremely annoying. People are already forced to close your cookie banner & attend to your country selector popup, your popup being shown on page load will be the 3rd casualty to be quickly closed without thought.

Show popups when they have been on the page X seconds (like 15s+) or scrolled 50% of the page or just on product pages or on exit-intent or a combination of these. This will lift the conversion rate on the popups.

Give people a good reason to give you their email address. Offering a discount code in an email is still a great offer. They will instantly receive a code which incentivises them to shop with you (by giving them a deal) in return for the email. Both parties win here.

6. How do you view the significance of customer surveys in the context of conversion optimization, and how do you use them?

One of the best sources of qualitative customers. In CRO, you should be excited at any potential point-of-contact with customers.

7. How do you balance between collecting emails and not overwhelming visitors with too many pop-ups?

I guess the real BEST way to NOT collect emails is to not ask for them at all. While there is an argument to be made as to whether an intrusive popup is better off not shown at all, make sure to at least have some way to let customers opt-in.

8. Finally, what advice would you offer to online stores that are seeking to enhance their conversion rates and overall performance, especially from the perspective of someone who has extensive experience in conversion optimization?

Some basic preliminary things to fix could be:
1. Finding/fixing website bugs (go through the store as a customer & look for things from a UX point-of-view which can be improved)
2. Speed optimisation (this is an easy win)
3. Review Ads/Emails/SEO (no traffic being sent to broken links, email flows are working fine and blogs are easy to find)
4. Create a competitor analysis
5. Create a customer persona (this should come from surveys/interviews - not your own thoughts)
6. Install a heatmap tool

Victor Chukwudolue