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A well-crafted digital experience can be the difference between building positive relationships with B2B customers and scaring them off to competitors. Having a fancy-looking website and insta-worthy ads isn’t always enough to draw prospects in and keep them hooked.
We recently turned our attention to this topic when Webeo’s CEO, Kirsty Dawe, sat down with The Good’s Director of Strategy, Natalie Thomas, on our show, The B2B Conversion Podcast. Kirsty and Natalie discussed the importance of improving the whole digital experience to drive conversion and revenue, and the intersection where conversion rate optimization (CRO) and digital experience optimization (DXO) overlap.
What’s the difference between CRO and digital experience optimization?
DXO and CRO are complementary strategies that enhance website performance. DXO provides the foundation for a memorable user experience, while CRO identifies and optimizes specific conversion points within that experience. There are a few key differences between the two:
As our podcast guest Natalie discussed, understanding DXO is just like grabbing a hot cup of Joe. “If you’ve ever worked in specialty coffee, you know that every day is a lesson in optimization. For example, signs tell people where to queue and where to order. Then, the staff experiments with language, trying to be efficient and pleasant yet direct to help people get what they need in a timely manner.”
Digital experience optimization in action
Natalie explained that the best example of DXO in action is something called the taco test, which she said, “really opened my eyes to the business case for user experience design.” We asked Natalie to tell us the story…
Stage one: The website
Once upon a time, Taco Bell was working on a new website that was “kind of inspired by Instagram. They were trying to make a website that felt very relatable and less formal, with images of food that look a bit more messy and handheld.” After launching the site, Taco Bell ran an experiment.
Stage two: The experiment
The experiment tested the purchase experience, and what format would be best for add-ons when customers buy a taco or a burrito on the website. The Taco Bell test wanted to figure out if they would get more customers with a particular UX option.
The experiment pitted two options against each other:
A dropdown to display the add-ons vs. a visual spread that organized add-ons by topping type.
Taco Bell realized that “in the dropdown version, folks were more direct. They were quicker to choose their add-ons and then proceed to the next step of their purchase journey. But, in the visual orientation version, customers purchased more.”
Stage 3: The result
Customers chose their add-ons a lot faster via the dropdown. Therefore, someone in the B2B world may get excited by this result, thinking that “we’re getting way more MQLs or SQLs. Let’s switch everything across to that! But, upon reflection, the dropdown ultimately wasn’t the thing that led to more revenue because we’ve got to take the bigger picture into account.”
Natalie explained that “it has to be about what will not just drive more of those instantaneous sales, but the most valuable conversions.” The quality of the lead really matters, and DXO helps you identify these opportunities.
Is CRO past its peak?
To say that DXO is totally taking over from CRO is a dramatic statement—instead, let’s view it as a new partnership. Natalie summarized the importance of both CRO and DXO on our podcast:
“CRO is the thing right now in B2B, and everybody feels like it’s the new opportunity that’s going to get them the biggest leads. […] But we can only tweak so many factors on the website to improve the experience. Once you’ve decided that CRO is right for you, [DXO] is a case of understanding what you can do within CRO.”
Our expert team predicts that CRO is far from past its peak. In fact, DXO has entered the conversation to join forces with your CRO strategies, helping you keep adapting to customer expectations and the ever-changing digital landscape.
Here’s an example of how DXO and CRO work together:
- Use DXO strategies to redesign your website for better navigation and to personalize content recommendations.
- Then, use CRO strategies to test different variations of CTA buttons to increase click-through rates.
Website personalization for DXO and CRO
Website personalization bridges the gap between DXO and CRO by improving both the user experience and conversion rates. Personalized experiences are more likely to capture and hold the attention of your website visitors, enabling you to deliver the right messaging at the right time in their customer journey.
By presenting relevant messaging, product recommendations, and CTAs at the right time using personalization, you can make prospects feel understood and valued—and more likely to hit the “contact us” button. It’s a win-win for their digital experience and your conversion rate metrics.
Webeo is the most powerful way to increase website conversion and drive revenue from your B2B website. Webeo helps you harness personalization to wow your audiences and give your visitors the right information based on where they are in the B2B buyer journey. Invest in your DXO and CRO strategies with Webeo.
Test-drive personalization on your website by booking a demo with our expert team.
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