Win Report: Less funnel, 26% more revenue

Win Reports help you grow your business by showing our methodology at work. Each Win Report showcases a real-world test, sharing the research, insights, and techniques that led to the win.

In the next two minutes, we’ll show you how skipping a stage from a successful B2C funnel increased revenue by 26% in a highly competitive market.

A/B test comparison showing the original two-choice funnel versus the variation that sends paid traffic straight to in-person booking.

Our client is a major player in the weight-loss subscription market, offering online or in-person services.

Research: Not all conversions are worth the same

Another CRO agency had spent a year tuning the client’s paid traffic funnel, and it was already converting well. Visitors who clicked on an ad went to a landing page and could easily choose between creating an online account or booking an in-person appointment.

The main challenge was that the big wins had slowed. Most of the recent ideas were now closer to meek tweaks than bold tests, so the client asked us to take a fresh look.

Our research showed that customers who booked an in-person appointment converted higher, stayed longer, and got better results than members who subscribed online. In other words, in-person meetings lowered the churn rate and increased the lifetime value (LTV) of subscribers who joined by that route.

Seen through the LTV lens, the landing page was creating a binary decision at a moment of high motivation. Many visitors chose the faster online route, even though the in-person consultation was more likely to deliver better outcomes for both the customer and the business.

If we sent paid traffic directly to the in-person signup page, would the revenue uplift from those “extra” in-person customers outweigh the loss of people who would no longer join online?

The original page (or control)

Here’s a mockup of the original landing page for paid traffic. Visitors who clicked on an ad landed here and could choose between the two enrollment routes. Online enrolment was pitched as the faster option.

The tested page (or variation)

For the variation, we skipped the get-started page and sent paid traffic directly to the in-person booking page:

Wireframe of the variation, which sends paid traffic straight to the in-person booking page. — The variation: Paid traffic skipped the choice screen entirely.

In addition to defaulting to the higher-LTV option, the “new” landing page:

Put the current subscription offer front and center.
Used a proof point by referencing a member’s results with the program.
Future-paced the in-person meeting (with a photo of two smiling people).

None of this was actually new content, of course. We simply made it the landing page for paid traffic. Organic visitors still saw the original funnel.

Result: Revenue increased 26%

During the test, we observed a 26% increase in revenue.

As we had suspected, online subscriptions dropped during the test. However, the increase in in-person subscriptions more than compensated.

Removing a successful (and revenue-generating) user choice might feel extreme, but the existing funnel had reached a ceiling for meek improvements. This win is a useful reminder that CRO doesn’t always mean improving existing pages. Sometimes it means questioning whether they should exist at all.

(For more on this kind of thinking, see What would definitely work if only you were allowed to do it?)

What next?

As usual, we added the test to our proprietary Wins Database, then looked for ways to apply its lessons to other parts of the business, and then to other clients.

If you want us to grow your profits—quickly and efficiently—check if you qualify for a free one-on-one strategy session with one of our CRO consultants.

We’ll only work with you if we believe we can get amazing results together. Our success has come entirely from positive word of mouth, and we plan to keep it that way.

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