10 Tips to Increase Conversions on Beauty Recommendations

This is a comprehensive guide on optimizing your product recommendations at the end of a beauty quiz. By the end of this post, you'll have a clear understanding of optimization tactics and their significance. Moreover, you'll discover effective strategies to increase your site's conversion rate and ultimately, foster the growth of your beauty ecommerce business.

What is a Conversion?

Conversion refers to the action taken by a visitor on your website, fulfilling a specific goal like completing a purchase or filling out a form. The percentage of visitors who accomplish this desired goal is known as the conversion rate. Depending on the objectives of your site or business, conversions can take various forms, such as online sales, leads, email signups, or form completions for data collection.

To effectively monitor and measure conversions, conversion rates, and the cost per conversion, it is essential to implement conversion tracking on your website.

At Skin Match Technology and in the product finders we can only see quiz completions (Profiles) and clicks on the provided call-to-actions. Everything that happens after we are unable to track, so it is important that you setup the according tracking on your website as well.

What is Conversion Rate Optimization?

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) involves enhancing the conversion rate on your website. One of the valuable techniques employed for this purpose is A/B testing or split testing. This method allows you to compare and evaluate the performance of different landing pages or advertisements to determine which elements contribute most to optimizing your online conversion rate. For instance, you may test different headlines, buttons, calls to action, or images on your landing pages to identify which variations yield higher conversion rates. By utilizing A/B testing, you can refine and improve your website's elements to encourage more conversions.

TIP: Is your test result significant? Does it have enough power? Use this calculator to see which of your strategies was more successful. https://abtestguide.com/calc/

A/B Testing is the only accurate way of testing what works better. But as this takes a lot of effort and a complex technical setup, this might not be feasible for every business. Especially as a startup or young business, you might not have the traffic yet to reach significant A/B Testing results. So here are a few other ways that might indicate what works better made:

• Data Analysis
  Define a hypothesis and analyze your data to see if your hypothesis is correct. A hypothesis is a testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables. The common format is:
  If [CAUSE], then [EFFECT], because [RATIONALE].
  In the world of conversion optimization, strong hypotheses consist of three distinct parts: a definition of the problem, a proposed solution, and a result.
  
  Let’s get into an example. A hypothesis might be that “If users are taking the product finder, they convert higher because they get a personal product recommendation.” So in this case your group one would be users who completed the product finder vs. users that did not and their respective conversion rates. In this comparison, you will most likely see an average conversion rate of approx. 3-5% for users who did not use the product finder and a conversion rate of approx. 10-30% for users who did. So the conclusion is, that users who are going through the quiz convert up to 6 times better than others.
  
  

• Time Comparision
  Note the time you implemented a change and let it run for 1-3 months. Then compare the conversion rate from the time before implementation to the time it was implemented. This could give you an indication of what worked better. However, keep in mind that this is not an accurate way of testing at all. There might be a lot of external factors influencing the conversion rate. For example, in the previous time period, you had a sale and therefore good conversions and in the current time period there were a lot of public holidays with
  
  

• Consumer Interviews
  Consumer interviews are a great way to get instant feedback from your customers. It can also spark ideas for improvements and give a clear indication of what causes friction in the sales funnel. But again, take all feedback with caution and confirm your theory with numbers. What we think we want does not always reflect our actual behavior.
  
  As an example; based on consumer feedback that they would like to get recommendations based on their budget we created the budget question where consumers can pick a maximum amount they would like to spend on products. We implemented this question with two different retailers selling different products in different countries. After a couple of months, we did a data analysis on conversions. We looked at the different profiles selecting a budget vs. the ones that did not and their clicks on “add-to-cart”. For retailer one, the conversion actually increased, whereas for retailer two the conversion for people selecting a budget went down - we immediately deleted the budget selection or retailer two again as it did not work for their business.

  
  This example shows how consumer interviews are great for indications of improvement. and inspiration, but are not a 100% reflection of actual behavior.

Is Conversion Optimization important? (YES!)

Conversion optimization is when you critically examine every aspect of your click funnel and then experiment with changes that could increase conversions and sales.

Optimization aims to earn more value from each visitor who already visits your website or in this case completes the beauty quiz. For example, if you have 1’000 quiz completions a month with a 30% conversion rate, you would have 300 purchases per month just through the quiz. In comparison to your regular conversion rate this is most likely 6x times higher!

If you optimized your product recommendations to a 35% conversion rate, you would now have up to 2 extra purchases per day. Without even touching your advertisements, this hypothetical situation would increase your conversion rate by 16%. In turn, your revenue would also increase by about around 16%.

Isn’t optimization powerful?

10 conversion optimization techniques for your beauty quiz

1) Have the right call-to-actions

• Add-to-Cart / Add-Routine-to-Cart
  The add-to-cart button is your most valuable button on the results page. Approximately 40% directly add a product to the basket from the recommendation. If you have a full routine recommendation you should consider adding the option of directly purchasing the full routine so customers do not have to add each individual item to the basket.

• View Product Button
  Almost 58% want to view the product detail page before buying to get more information on ingredients, clean beauty information, consistency, application of the product, and other information. We recommend giving this option but visually providing it as a secondary button option.

• Add-to-Wishlist
  Last but not least, 2% need a bit more time to think and will save their product to a wishlist. Even though it is not a direct conversion, it is still a valuable call to action to keep your customer locked.

2) Show the correct price including discounts

50% of users say the price is a must-know before purchasing. So it is of utmost importance that prices on the result page are accurate and available discounts are visibly applied. You can manually update pricing in the questionnaire for each product at any time. For more information on how to do it visit: Adding Products to the Questionnaire
You also have the option to connect a product feed to update product information automatically. Read more about it in this article.

3) Personalize product benefits

45% of consumers say they need a list of benefits per product to make a final decision of purchase. Our algorithm automatically generates a full list of personalized reason-whys for each product explaining to the customer why each product was recommended and which product benefits are tailored to their specific needs.

4) Do not recommend out-of-stock items

When customers come to an e-commerce platform, they expect to find products they can purchase immediately. Recommending out-of-stock items can lead to frustration and disappointment, as customers may have their hopes raised only to find that they cannot make the purchase. Recommending products that are out-of-stock means missed sales opportunities. Instead of encouraging purchases, the platform is essentially promoting disappointment.

You can manually update your products in the questionnaire at any time. For more information on how to do it visit: Adding Products to the Questionnaire
You also have the option to connect a product feed to update product information automatically and disable out-of-stock items. Read more about it in this article.

5) Up-Selling a Hero Product

Guide customers to the questionnaire to find a hero product - the one most used product they need. For Skin Care this would be a day cream and for makeup, it would be the base foundation. In the result however you are offering a well-curated selection of complementary products that can enhance the customer's overall experience. It shows that the platform understands their needs and is committed to helping them achieve the best routine possible. Upselling encourages customers to add complementary products to their purchase, increasing the overall value of each order. By suggesting additional products that enhance the benefits of the main item, the AOV can be significantly improved.

Overall, combining upselling techniques with personalized product recommendations in the skincare industry can lead to increased sales, improved customer satisfaction, and a stronger brand-customer relationship. By addressing the diverse needs of customers who either want to see the top products or a full routine, the e-commerce platform can cater to a broader audience and maximize revenue potential.

6) Showcase clean beauty information

With 35% of consumers interested in environmentally friendly products and 43% preferring animal-friendly options, providing clean beauty information meets the growing demand for sustainable and ethical cosmetics. Transparency about clean beauty practices builds trust with consumers. When companies disclose their commitment to environmentally friendly and animal-friendly practices, it shows that they are accountable and responsible in their production processes. This trust can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.

7) Consistency Video

36% labeled the product consistency as a MUST Know before purchase. Why not add a button that opens up a pop-up with a video of the consistency?

8) Best Sellers, Team Picks

56% trust the recommendations of experts and beauty professionals and 11% of store personnel. But the most important one is friends with 50% and other users reviews with 41% . Highlight products with icons on the product image that are Staff-Picks, Client-Favorites or Best-Rated.

9) Incentivize with a promotional discount code

With the average shopping cart abandonment rate at about 75%, you should assume that your visitors are also potentially reviewing their cart and perhaps considering adding / removing some items or even abandoning altogether. Fortunately, you can increase your conversion rate by:

• Offering first-time shoppers a discount or free shipping

• Redisplaying a redeemed coupon on the checkout page

• Displaying a popup lightbox with a coupon if the visitor abandons their cart or exits your site
  

  Here are some statistics that should inspire you to use coupons:

• 55% of Millennials use their computers to look for coupons and discounts. Source: eMarketer

• 55% of US internet users will redeem a digital coupon or code at least once per year. Source: eMarketer

• 53% of adults living in high-income households (earning $200,000 a year or more) are willing to switch brands for the sake of using a coupon. Source: Business Wire

• 78% of consumers are influenced to buy a brand they wouldn’t typically buy due to a coupon. Source: Valassi

• 57.4% of consumers claim they are more likely to buy a product from a retailer’s site when the retailer emails them a discount code. Source: Cue Connect

• 80% of participants signed up for email offers specifically to receive discounts. Source: PRRI

10) Keep it simple and frictionless

Creating a frictionless beauty quiz that maximizes completion rates and therefore conversions, should be your number one priority. Here are a few simple guidelines to achieve it:

1. Keep It Short: Limit the quiz to a maximum of 6 questions. Shorter quizzes are less intimidating and encourage more users to participate.

2. Focus on Preferences: Instead of asking for personal information or picture upload, center the quiz around beauty preferences. For example, inquire about needs, colors, skin/hair type, or desired beauty outcomes.

3. Skip Personal Questions: Avoid asking about personal attributes that users might be uncomfortable sharing. Stick to questions related to beauty choices and preferences.

4. Mobile-Friendly Design: Ensure that the quiz is optimized for mobile devices, as many users access quizzes on their smartphones. A mobile-friendly design enhances the user experience and reduces the risk of abandonment.

5. No Account Creation: Avoid requiring users to create an account to take the quiz. Forcing users to register may deter participation. Instead, make the quiz accessible without any sign-in requirements.

6. Minimal Data Collection: Only collect the necessary data to provide quiz results if you are optimizing for conversion. Avoid asking for unnecessary personal information, and ensure users are aware of the data you're collecting and how it will be used. Display a clear and concise privacy policy that outlines how user data will be handled. This instills trust and addresses privacy concerns.