CRO at Beter Bed

Beter Bed is one of the most well-known sellers of beds and bedroom accessories in the Netherlands. At Online Dialogue, we are very proud and happy to have been able to work with them for a long time in the area of CRO. We began the collaboration in 2014 and since then, we have made great strides together, carried out interesting tests, and most importantly, gained beautiful insights into Beter Bed’s visitors. In 2022, Beter Bed won the DDMA Dutch CRO Award. According to the jury, Beter Bed clearly demonstrated in the case at that time that truly solving a customer problem can be difficult and time-consuming. The business results were positively influenced by experimenting. The fact that the sleep specialist is open to experimentation aligns with its long-term data-driven vision.

We asked Jaap van den Broek (UX/CRO Lead at Beter Bed) a few questions about this. How has Beter Bed developed in the area of CRO in recent years? What were the obstacles and successes? What does their process look like? And what are the next steps? Read everything about CRO at Beter Bed below!

Jaap van den Broek - UX/CRO lead at Beter Bed

What development has Beter Bed undergone in recent years in the field of CRO?

Jaap: “I started at Beter Bed six years ago in a generalist role as a webshop optimizer. At that time, the e-commerce team consisted of only five people. There was a focus on testing within the team, but the task package was too large for that small group to have a structural character in the organization.

Four years ago, it was decided to expand the online department and to insource expertise. In this, I was given the role of UX/CRO specialist. Initially, I mainly bore that title, but I had to wind down my other tasks to be able to focus on this new role. Now the department is fully staffed and UX/CRO has become a permanent part within the e-commerce team. Over the past years, we have built an increasingly well-structured and secured test culture.”

What do you want to achieve in the coming years?

Jaap: “In a retail organization, the focus is mainly on achieving commercial objectives. Most tests are therefore also aimed at this goal. But there is also much to be gained in improving processes for a better customer journey and efficient working method within our company. We have grown enormously in CRO. From testing ad hoc ideas to a data-driven approach where we let figures determine our priorities.”

What are the successes and how do you celebrate them?

Jaap: “Every test is a success! Even a losing test. We actually celebrate the result of every test we do. We want to know which ideas add value for the customer and the organization. But we are also pleased when losing tests prove us wrong in company blindness. By sharing results internally, we show that even the smallest ideas can lead to great results. Online Dialogue gave us a beautiful gong that we ring with every winning test. So no one can miss this joyful news.”

What are the pitfalls and challenges of CRO at Beter Bed?

Jaap: “A pitfall is that you mirror yourself to the competition and start copying them. This often does not yield the desired result. It is never a waste of time, but if you rely on your own strength you often come up with better ideas. Generating ideas takes time, but it also yields a lot. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, a brainstorming session is sometimes seen as a time-consuming activity. A pity, because it is precisely at such moments that you can make a difference as a company compared to your competition.”

What do you dream of in the field of optimization?

Jaap: “You often focus on the channel on which you test when optimizing. However, it is much more powerful to test your process throughout the chain. This often makes setting up a test a lot more difficult. But that doesn’t mean you should let yourself be deterred from trying. My dream is that CRO is carried out at an even more strategic level, so that we stand out in a market that is increasingly subject to competition.”

Beter Bed headquarters in the Netherlands

To what extent is the organization aware of CRO? And how do you convince colleagues to work data-driven?

Jaap: “Within the e-commerce team and managerial cadre, the value of CRO has long been recognized. In a traditional organization like Beter Bed, you sometimes notice that support, or familiarity further down the chain, is hardly or not at all present. People do not come into direct contact with it, which makes it difficult to empathize with it. Understandable, but that is something we need to work on. Data-driven working happens, but it is inevitable that every now and then the wish becomes the father of the thought. Assumptions, self-interest, and ‘messages from the neighbors’ still sometimes lead to the ‘best idea’ that ‘we must also do’. The data regularly leads us back to the right path.”

What was the reason for collaborating with Online Dialogue?

Jaap: “When I came to Beter Bed, we were already working together. We now have a close bond where we know each other’s ins and outs. This helps enormously in devising and working out ideas. Online Dialogue is familiar with our dependencies and limitations. Conversely, we also know how to best utilize Online Dialogue’s expertise. The working method has changed considerably over the years, but Online Dialogue’s expertise in the field of CRO is and remains very good. They have more than proven their reputation as an authority in the field of CRO.”

How is the collaboration with Online Dialogue progressing?

Jaap: “In the early years of our collaboration, we shared ideas together and Online Dialogue took care of the realization of the tests, from setup to final conclusion. In recent years, we have started to do more and more ourselves. Increasingly, we have built up the expertise on our side with the knowledge of Online Dialogue. At the moment it is a nice mix of hiring expertise from Online Dialogue while we do most of the executive tasks ourselves.”

What would you advise other organizations that also want to take their CRO program to a higher level?

Jaap: “I think many parties should start a CRO program anyway. Start testing! See what works for your target group. And learn! Once up and running, it is important to guarantee CRO in your processes and in your company culture. Start small, seek and find low-hanging fruit, prove your value, and gradually expand the CRO program further. CRO is also thinking beyond the chain. Dare to take on these challenges!”

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