EQOM has focused tremendously on CRO in recent years. EQOM is the European market leader in erotic products. They consist of several online consumer stores, such as EasyToys, Amorelie and Beate Uhse. EQOM is committed to sexual wellness out of the shadows and into the light.

Before the collaboration between EQOM and OD began, the CRO team consisted of one CRO specialist and one UX designer. These two picked up the entire process at the time, so it was up to them to prove its value internally and grow the team. And this has certainly succeeded! Currently, the team has grown and they run many more tests from which they gain many learnings. Here Joost van Hillo, CRO specialist at EQOM, is happy to tell you more.

The current CRO trajectory

The team has grown tremendously recently. Currently, the team consists of two CRO managers, a data analyst, two UX designers and a front-end developer. The process at EQOM is an ongoing one consisting of 5 different steps:

• Data analysis and research: In this phase, CRO managers analyze existing data with tools such as Google Analytics, Clarity and other analytics tools to understand user behavior and bottlenecks in the current funnel.

• Qualitative research: In addition to quantitative data, qualitative research is also conducted. This can include user interviews and usability testing, which helps to understand users' motivations and frustrations.

• Hypothesis formation: Based on the data collected, hypotheses are formulated about what can be improved. Each hypothesis is substantiated with both qualitative and quantitative insights.

• A/B testing and experimentation: A/B tests are then set up to test the hypotheses. This can range from small changes in the call-to-action buttons to larger adjustments across pages. The UX designers can then translate the hypothesis into a design, after which the front-ender converts the design back to an actual test.

• Analyze and optimize: After the testing phase, the results are analyzed to see which changes produced a significant improvement. Based on this, a decision is made whether or not to implement this on the platform. After this, the learnings are also shared with our stakeholders.

Experimentation Culture

Within the company, EQOM provides a lot of room for all the different teams to try out and experiment a lot. Often this does go with a gut feeling, Joost admits. “In fact, the challenge within EQOM is to turn it around to data-driven hypotheses. The CRO team takes the lead in this and has an example function because of this.”

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The formula to success

Joost explains that scaling up the CRO process was a success because of several things. For example, Online Dialogue stood beside us in the process and served as a role model. From this the team was able to lean on. It also gave us good insight into which roles we absolutely need to have connected in our team in order to scale up.”

Also, while scaling up, EQOM really learned that having a good process is the key is! “Everyone knows exactly what she or he is responsible for, which allows us to gain learnings very quickly.”

Last but not least, Joost emphasizes how important the buy-in from the board was. “They saw the value and gave us the space, with good critical questions throughout the process, to scale up.”

Not to go unnoticed

When we ask Joost what he is most proud of, he doesn't think twice about this: growth! In a relatively short period of time, EQOM has tripled the team and thus also increased the number of tests fivefold. Within the team, there is now a real understanding of how to work experimentally. “We've learned how to gain learnings together and how to build on them.” And this growth has certainly not gone unnoticed. In fact, in 2023, EQOM was nominated for the ‘Rising Star’ category at the Experimentation Culture Awards.

The collaboration with OD

Since May 2022, OD and EQOM have been working together to optimize their CRO process. We actually stepped into their existing process. EQOM's team knew the right questions to ask and this allowed us to easily improve the process. Joost is very satisfied with this. “The cooperation was a very nice mix of an awesome bucket of substantive knowledge, plus a nice informal friendly cooperation.” In addition, we were able to help EQOM with questions from stakeholders which allowed us to serve as a fine sounding board. “Also, the invitations for the DiDo and Conversion Hotel helped us gain even more knowledge.”

The future of CRO

Joost expects that the role of CRO specialists may change. “CRO specialists, as jack-of-all-trades that they often are now, won't exist in the future.” He thinks they will be part of product teams and make sure they can experiment in a thorough way. Or they will act as a center of excellence, where product teams can pick up their knowledge.

The latest tips

Joost's final tip for other organizations to make as much success of their CRO department is to find a good mix. “Work on a good foundation for your CRO process that you can scale, but at the same time work on quick-wins. Those quick-wins will help in your organization to get buy-in.”

Want to know more about our partnership or perhaps you are interested in working together? Feel free to contact with us.

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