Description
The purpose of the Micro Conversion Framework is to help identify and measure the granular customer behaviours that contribute to a larger business objective. Micro Conversions refer to actions that customers take that benefit a brand and lead to a larger goal – the Macro Conversion. These actions may be Process Milestones which are actions that a customer takes to progress towards the Macro Conversion, such as adding a product to a cart before completing an online transaction. Micro Conversions may also be Secondary Actions which are actions customers take that are proxies for marketing success, such as sharing brand content in social media. Micro Conversions are frequently used by marketers for website and app Conversion Rate Optimization efforts.
Questions
The Micro Conversion Framework helps to answer marketing questions like:
Where are customers or prospects dropping off in our marketing funnel?
What actions or tasks do we want more of our website and app users to complete?
How are we going to measure the impact of changes to our website or app?
Steps
Identify the relevant Macro Conversion for your brand. This is the larger business objective that you want more of your prospects and customers to ultimately achieve. Only select one Macro Conversion.
Identify the phases a customer progresses through towards your Macro Conversion, framed from their perspective. New phases start when a customer completes an action that leads to a new need or focus area.
Identify all of the Process Milestones that correspond with each phase. These are actions that a customer must take to progress towards the Macro Conversion. These actions must be measurable.
Identify all of Secondary Actions relating to your Macro Conversion. These actions do not necessarily correspond with separate phases but do contribute positively to the Macro Conversion.
Based on the completed Micro Conversion Framework, build Conversion funnels that measure the volume of customers that progress towards your Macro Conversion at each stage of their journey.
Considerations
Ensure that all Micro Conversions can be measured in a way that is accurate, timely, and precise.
Prioritize Process Milestones over Secondary Actions as they have a stronger direct impact on Macro Conversions
Prioritize Micro Conversions that you are able to more directly impact through your marketing
References
Kaushik, A. Web Analytics 2.0 – The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity: Sybex, 2009.