A few years ago, a colleague of mine highlighted a crucial insight: engagement on a button isn't always a reliable measure of success. I know it's hardly an earth-shattering revelation, but it came at a time when KPIs were focusing on engagement, when he and I were looking at testing CTA wording. Should we go for "Buy Now" or "Customise and Buy"? Which is better - "View Details" or "Learn More"? In short, we discovered that the best wording depended on the point in the purchase path, and we had to separate the analysis, because the button that achieved the highest click-through rate (CTR) wasn't always the one that led to the best overall conversion rate.
In simpler terms, success isn't just about shuffling customers to the next page in our online purchase path. While persuasive wording can certainly encourage users to click and advance, we need to critically ask ourselves: does this genuinely help them progress beyond that initial stage, or are we just creating a false sense of momentum? This brings us to what I call the "Click for Free Money" fallacy. You can absolutely get people to click a button, but the subsequent page must deliver on the expectation set by that button's wording. Click for Free Money will certainly get a lot of clicks, but there's no benefit to this approach, as people realise that the next page is actually just more information about our products, and maybe a coupon code to validate the 'free money' offer.
The Promise and the Reality of the Click
Consider the user's mental model. When a button says "Add to Cart," the user fully expects to be taken to their cart fairly quickly. A brief, relevant detour to offer a highly personalized upsell might be acceptable, but anything more, or anything irrelevant, will create friction. Similarly, a "Customize" button should seamlessly lead to customization options, allowing the user to tailor their product without unnecessary distractions. And perhaps most critically, a "Checkout" button must initiate the checkout process. This is not the time for additional upsells, cross-sells, or any other interruptions that could derail a customer who is ready to complete their purchase. Each click builds an expectation, and failing to meet that expectation, even subtly, erodes trust and increases the likelihood of abandonment. A lack of 'free money' will erode trust remarkably quickly, although it will probably be on the 'free money page, not the previous page. Still, if you and your team are prepared to do anything to get users to move forwards from your page, you could deploy this tactic. It depends on what your KPI actually is (and who's looking at the long-term journey).
The Detrimental Cost of Rushing Customers
Pushing customers forward too quickly isn't just inefficient; it can be detrimental to long-term customer relationships and conversion rates. If you don't continually reinforce the value proposition and reassure the user along their journey, they're highly likely to drop out at a later, more critical stage. For instance, if you enticed a user with a 10% discount while they were casually Browse your site, that discount needs to be prominently displayed and automatically applied on the cart page. Hiding it, or making them jump through hoops to redeem it, is a surefire way to lose a sale and disappoint a customer.
It's vital to shift our focus: moving customers towards a purchase isn't as important as guiding them through their journey to choose the best product for them. This is a fundamental difference between a transactional mindset and a customer-centric approach.
Think of it like a pushy sales assistant in a physical store. Imagine walking in, and immediately, an assistant shoves an item into your hands, puts an arm around your shoulder, and starts steering you towards the checkout. When you haltingly ask, "But is this my size?" they might dismissively respond, "Probably, yes." If you inquire, "Will it perform better than my previous widget?" they might curtly say, "Who cares? Cash or card?" Or if you try one more time, "But is it quieter and more efficient than the old model?" they might simply reply, "Yes. Is the shipping address the same as the billing address?"
While this sales assistant might technically "drag" the customer to the start of the checkout process, what was the true cost? A frustrated, confused, and potentially alienated customer who probably won't complete the purchase and certainly won't return (worse still, they'll tell their friends).
Preparing for the Next Step: The True Purpose of the Funnel
Often, all we accomplish by being overly aggressive or deceptive in the early stages of the funnel is simply shifting the exit point to a later stage in the user's journey. The customer still leaves, but now they're more annoyed because they've invested more time and effort. Instead, it's far more important and beneficial to leverage each step of the customer journey to authentically prepare users for what they'll encounter next. Each stage should provide value to the user, clarify information, and build confidence and trust. In a situation where different parts of the journey belong to different developers, teams and managers,
When a user is genuinely informed, reassured, and ready to take the next step—because they understand the value and feel confident in their choice—then and only then, should we make it effortless for them to move forward. This approach fosters trust, reduces abandonment rates, and ultimately leads to more satisfied customers and higher conversion rates in the long run. We may not offer 'free money', but by subtly pushing users forwards in a path that they aren't fully prepared to take - by providing quicker paths or by removing content that is actually useful to users - we will merely persuade them to move forwards from our page into a situation where they're increasingly likely to leave from the next page.
But still, our next-step page flow metrics show a lovely funnel that shows we moved 10% more users to the next step. Our analysis, then needs to show how many users move forwards to the next-next step, and then actually completed the full purchase journey.
Consider a simplified conversion funnel, from a landing page through a website to completing the checkout process.
Similar to the 'did you just code a distraction?' question - we see that users move forwards to the next step at a much higher rate. 950/998 = 95%, compared to 75% for control, and 65% for Recipe B. See, you coded a winner, it just happened to be different than the one you expected!
However, when we look further down the funnel, we find that there's a massive 50% drop-off for Recipe C. We failed to deliver free money, and people left. Unsurprisingly, fewer visitors then reach the lower funnel states, and Recipe B is actually the winner (with Recipe C coming behind control).
And if you think that's far-fetched, then perhaps replace 'Free money' with something more believable... like, perhaps, "Add to Basket." Do customers really get to add the item to basket when they click that button? Or do they have to select a size, a colour, an upgrade, a guarantee, a warranty or something else first?
Or do you promise things with your CTAs that you aren't really delivering? "Find out more" needs to show more product information about the product it's connected to. Getting clicks is easy, but you need to keep an eye on the next step, not just the one you're testing.
Similar posts I've written about online testing
Getting an online testing program off the ground
Building Momentum in Online testing
How many of your tests win?
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