An online casual gaming company was testing a new piece of functionality. It did a standard A/B test where half of the players saw variant A and half saw variant B. The test concluded that variant A improved a critical element of the site’s conversion rate with a high degree of confidence, and the business moved all of their players to the winning variant. Unfortunately, revenue immediately started to decline. Only when the business looked further did it make a critical discovery. What is typical in casual gaming apps is that often only 1% of the visitor base spends any money. So, while variant A performed better overall, variant B performed much better for visitors who actually spent money.
3 Core Principles of Digital Customer Experience
A look at what often goes wrong — and how companies can get it right.
March 09, 2023
Brian Stauffer
Summary.
Successful businesses focus on three core principles of their customer experience: They put the digital experience in the business context. They recognize that customers are not created equal. And they make zero-based decisions. Continuous improvement is fine, but it’s important to be willing to think from first principles, and to re-examine and justify what you are doing and what you could do differently. This helps ensure that the digital roadmap is prioritized and focused on the highest impact actions.
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HBR Learning
Customer Focus Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Customer Focus. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to keep your customers—and their most important needs—front and center.
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New!
HBR Learning
HBR Learning
Customer Focus Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Customer Focus. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to keep your customers—and their most important needs—front and center.