Understanding your customer’s path to conversion is tricky. Conversion in the ample sense of the word. Conversion is the completion of a particular goal we need our users to accomplish. Some things that I find useful in the process of understanding said path.
Nurture your beginner’s mind.
The moment you write a line of code you are trapped. Or mocking a UX interface, or design a prototype. Pick your poison. You become a prisoner of your views about the product/service/feature.
There is a difference between being opinionated about your product. You better be. And being open to exploring possibilities and options. The best product people I know can play both. Looking at things with a beginner’s mind will help you understand potential blockers. Identifying knowledge gaps. Differences in expectations. All aspects that might be ruining your conversion rate.
Internalize that the conversion happens not at a point, but as a result of a path
It is the outcome of a process that starts way before. More often than not, it begins outside of your platform. Mapping your user journeys and the diverse challenges they face is essential. Go back as far as you can go. You might have a nice set-up available for that. Depending on the sophistication of your operation of course. Explore your analytics tools. Learn about the different attribution models. How they might be impacting your data. Using qualitative research and educated guesses should always complement your data.
Understand HOW your customers reach you.
The circumstances of that customer ending up in contact with your product do matter. One example. Users landing on your site from Search Engines (non-brand queries) lack context. They probably know nothing about the years you have been in the business. They ignore how your solution ranks against competitors. Know nothing about all your great points. The safe assumption is they don’t. Plan accordingly.
Ask yourself. What is your customer context? How does it impact their experience? what can I do to improve it? how can I increase the level of trust? How can I remove friction? Do the same exercise for all your acquisition channels or particular segments.
Become familiar with your customer expectations
The purchase criteria might be already defined in your customer’s mind. Way before the customer is even aware of your brand existence. Talk with your marketing team. Talk with your sales guys, or the founder (depending on the structure you are working on). Become an expert on your brand positioning. What is the category mapping the potential customers have in mind. Find out where EXACTLY they place your product.
Share your knowledge across your team.
Deepen the team’s understanding of the customer path to conversion. at various stages of customer marketing and product lifecycle through education and mentorship. Document your findings. Discuss your insights. Share nuggets of the interviews. Proof of the epiphany moments that helped you discover those insights.
In summary, be open and flexible with a learning mindset always on. Obsess over your customers. Become an expert in their perception of your product and their experience. Leverage that knowledge. Make sure everybody in your team is in the same page. Learn what is your customer’s journey, characteristics, needs and wants.