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Increasing Engagement & Conversion Rates through User Testing

Carin van Vuuren

CMO, Usablenet

T: @carinvvuuren

E: carin.vanvuuren@usablenet.com

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“Usability only tells half of the story… To makea website that is useful and meaningful, you have to understand the needs and goals of your customers.”

— James Coston (Nomensa)

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89% of companies believe they are not doinga very good job at integrating user testing and analytics

—User Testing Blog (2014)

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Choosing the Right Research Methods

Planning & Execution

KPIs to Measure for Conversion Optimization and User Engagement

Actions to Secure Value Post-Testing

Beyond Usability: Increasing Engagement & Conversions through User Testing

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Choosing the Right Methods

Usability Testing User Testing

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What is User Testing?

PAINS

PLEASURES

CONTEXTS

BEHAVIORS

GOALS

TASKS

ACTIVITIES

EMPATHY

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Measuring Success

Increase User Engagement

How invested is the user?

Maximize emotional associations with product

EX: Increase likelihood of second order

Improve Conversion Rates

Existing KPIs (pre and post testing)

Benchmarks

Available Analytics

EX: Reduce Cart Abandonment

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Why Test?

internal bias

incorrect assumptions

who users are

what users need

YOU ARE NOT THE USER

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Actual Experience

Expected Experience

Why Test?

YOU ARE NOT THE USER

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What Do You Measure?

Internal Motivations

Personal history

Mood

Culture

Education

Perceptions

Emotions

External Factors & Contexts

Locations

Distractions

Movement

Devices

Relationships with Objects (omnichannel interactions)

Relationships with People (network/affinity groups)

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What Research Methods are AvailableBehavioral

Attitudinal

Quantitative

EvaluativeGenerative/Formative

Qualitative

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User Testing Methods

QUALITATIVE Interviews/Ethnography

Contextual Inquiry

Diary Studies

Card Sorting

Surveys (Long Response)

Usability Testing (Over-the-Shoulder)

QUANTITATIVE Surveys (Short Response)

Usability Testing (Remote)

Eye Tracking

Data Analysis

A/B Testing

Preference Testing

Benchmark Studies

Longitudinal Studies

Multichannel/Omnichannel Studies

Best Strategy: Combination of both types provides quality of contextual data and larger scale generalizability

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Before Development During Development Live Design

Goal Exploration Evaluation / Validation Measurement

Focus • User Needs• Current Solutions• Pain Points• Contexts

• What Is Working• Look and Feel• Usability• Communication

• Performance• Optimization• Meeting User

Expectations

Methods • Interviews• Focus Groups• Longitudinal Studies• User Interviews• Competitive Analysis• Benchmark Studies

• Card Sorting• Usability Testing (Remote

and Over-the-Shoulder)• Preference Testing• Prototype Testing

• Usability Testing (Remote and Over-the-Shoulder)

• A/B Testing• Benchmark Studies• Longitudinal Studies• Omnichannel Studies

Product Cycle

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Guiding Principles of UX Research

Peter Morville’s UX Honeycomb

Useful

DesirableUsable

Valuable

AccessibleFinadable

Credible

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Online testing

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Diary StudiesI used the tablet to show my daughter a video on you tube of how to make a rainbow loom bracelet. It is the latest craze with kids and it's a plastic weave that comes with tiny coloured elastic bands that you make into a bracelet. There are loads of videos on you tube that give instructions for making various designs. It's much easier watching someone rather than following the instructions.

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Interactive Prototype Testing (Lab)

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Planning & Execution: What You Need

Plan Lab Prototype Users

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Plan ahead

Consider # of Users

Test for your Target User

Record Your Sessions

Test/Retest Early and Often

Testing early reduces costs

Planning & Execution: Testing Tips

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Measuring Success: Picking KPIs

Increase User Engagement

Alerts

Shares

Favorite Items

Wishlists

Repeat orders

Improve Conversion Rates

Return customers

Bounce Rates

Cart Abandonment

Checkout Rates

Click through

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User research creates empathy for the user and reduces internal bias

The most effective research strategies employ both quantitative and qualitative methods

Research earlier in the development plan can minimize expensive changes later on

More testing means less failure after launch

Greater user engagement and conversion mean a higher return on investment

Key Takeaways

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Questions?