name: cro-methodology

description: 'Audit websites and landing pages for conversion issues and design evidence-based A/B tests. Use when the user mentions "landing page isnt converting", "conversion rate", "A/B test", "why visitors leave", "objection handling", "bounce rate", "split testing", or "conversion funnel". Also trigger when diagnosing why signups are low, designing experiment hypotheses, or auditing checkout flows for friction points. Covers funnel mapping, persuasion assets, and objection/counter-objection frameworks. For overall marketing strategy, see one-page-marketing. For usability issues, see ux-heuristics.'

license: MIT

metadata:

author: wondelai

version: "1.3.0"

CRO Methodology

Scientific, customer-centric approach to conversion rate optimization based on the CRE Methodology(TM). Extraordinary improvements come from understanding WHY visitors don't convert, not from copying competitors or applying generic tips.

Core Principle

Don't guess -- discover. Every visitor who doesn't convert has a reason. Discover those reasons through research, then systematically eliminate them with evidence and proof. This evidence-based approach consistently outperforms "best practices", intuition, competitor copying, and expert opinion.

Scoring

Goal: 10/10. Rate any landing page, funnel, or conversion flow 0-10 against the principles below. Report the current score and the specific improvements needed to reach 10/10.

The CRO Frameworks

1. The CRO Process

Core concept: A systematic 9-step process moving from defining success metrics through research and experimentation to scaling wins across the business.

Why it works: Random optimization skips research. The process forces you to understand visitors before changing anything, so every change rests on evidence, not opinion.

Key insights:

• Define success metrics aligned with business KPIs before touching any page
• Map the entire funnel to find "blocked arteries" (high-traffic underperforming paths) and "missing links" (absent funnel stages)
• Research visitors in three dimensions: who they are, what blocks them (UX problems), what stops them (objections)
• Gather market intelligence from competitors, reviews, and other industries
• Prioritize ideas with ICE scoring; design bold experiments, not "meek tweaks"
• Run experiments with statistical rigor (95% confidence minimum, full business cycles), then scale wins across the business

Product applications:

Copy patterns:

• "What's preventing you from [action] today?" (exit survey to discover objections)
• "Here's what [X] customers found..." (counter-objection with social proof)
• Hypothesis template: "If we [change X], then [metric Y] will improve because [reason from research]"

Ethical boundary: Never manipulate test results or cherry-pick data; report all tests, including failures.

See: testing-methodology.md for ICE scoring, A/B vs. multivariate guidance, and statistical rigor.

2. Customer Research & Objections

Core concept: Visitors fail to convert for specific, discoverable reasons. Exit surveys, chat logs, support tickets, sales calls, and reviews reveal the "voice of the customer" and their real objections.

Why it works: Teams' guesses about why visitors leave are almost always wrong. Research uncovers objections no one anticipated, and the customer's own language out-persuades any copywriter's invention.

Key insights:

• Primary sources (exit surveys, live chat, tickets, sales calls) give direct visitor language; secondary sources (reviews, social media, competitors) reveal industry-wide objections
• The "Big 5" universal objections: Trust, Price, Fit, Timing, Effort
• Quantitative research (analytics, heatmaps) shows WHERE problems are; qualitative (surveys, interviews) shows WHY
• Non-converter surveys should ask ONE question for maximum response; post-purchase surveys ("What almost stopped you from buying?") reveal the objections that matter most

Product applications:

Copy patterns:

• Use exact customer language in headlines and body copy -- it outperforms polished marketing copy