So, you’ve learned about the Growth-Driven Design (GDD) methodology to web design and had that Eureka moment? Believe me; you’re not alone!
Businesses in every industry are finding it increasingly challenging to connect with and engage their buyers in an online sphere flooded with competing proposals. So, how do you differentiate your B2B business online?
The GDD approach of applying the scientific method (hypothesising – testing – improving) to web design provides the key to doing better than your assumptions of what-website-users-want.
Not only does it pave the way to improved online marketing results (read: more traffic, more leads, and more customers), but it overcomes the major challenge of traditional web design: making a huge once-off investment without any hedging against the risk of incorrect assumptions.
5 DIY tactics for test driving GDD
Are you eager to get a taste of what GDD could do for your website’s traffic, lead generation and overall conversion rate?
Before we begin with some tactics for test-driving the GDD process in your own digital marketing campaigns, a cautionary message:
GDD, like the scientific process of invention, is not a journey to embark on half-heartedly or haphazardly. Improving your results through experimentation requires a systematic approach to ensure that key learnings are documented and evaluated. To get the full benefits of this approach for your digital marketing, it’s highly recommended to employ the experience of a specialist GDD agency or team.
1. Grow your audience with the 20/80 principle
The first sign that your website is on the right track to delivering ROI is when it draws a consistent and predictable flow of new visitors every month. The ideal type of audience growth is buildup that is generated organically and self-sustaining.
Focus your efforts on the three leading indicators of audience growth: search engine ranking, number and quality of blog posts and inbound links. Monitor your audience growth as you work on improving these metrics to identify those actions that require 20% of your efforts to drive 80% of your audience growth. Then, increase your efforts in these areas and see your audience grow.
2. Spring clean your website
A cluttered website is bound to confuse and annoy your visitors. Spring clean your website by evaluating every page, feature, widget, content piece and image. Take a look at each item and ask yourself: Which of my persona’s pain points does this solve? If you can’t answer the question, bin it!
3. Simplify the conversion funnel
The conversion path is paved with task completion. These tasks could be downloading a piece of content, subscribing to your blog, requesting a demo or filling in a contact form.
Evaluate each of your conversion steps and calculate the percentage of users who have successfully completed the task. Are there any tasks that lag behind? Simplify and shorten the conversion path to make it easier for users to complete these specific tasks. This could mean creating shorter submission forms, smart forms tailored for mobile users or providing an automated referral option.
4. Personalise your content
Identify two to three of your highest priority buyer personas and personalise your website content and features to fit their needs best. Website personalisation has been proven to boost CTA conversion rate by 42%, and is easy to do using tools such as HubSpot’s Smart Content, which displays unique content for each of your user segments.
5. Illustrate the value of your offering
Identify the various headaches that drive your users crazy and create a tool to solve one of these problems. Is it possible to design a website asset that saves your users time or money? Test the usefulness of your idea by creating a minimum viable version of the tool and measuring your users' response.
This could be as simple as asking users to sign-up for a future webinar, to pre-order an ebook, or to vote for a new feature. Measure the response of your audience and let it guide you in creating the assets that your users will find most valuable. Then, make it available to your users for free!
GDD: The key to Digital Marketing ROI
So, what did you think of these tips? If you’re ready to dig a bit, make sure you download our free ebook to learn more about how Growth-Driven Design can boost your website’s performance.
