Convert
"Fix the foundation before you spend a dollar on traffic."
Convert Process
Convert takes what survived Expose and makes it perform. It fixes every leak from first touch to lifetime value. Tracking gets established first to create benchmarks. Then the funnel is rebuilt, the user journey is mapped using the language and ICP data from Research, and post-sale paths are addressed. You can't test traffic if your funnel is broken - that's testing the leak, not the channel.
Tracking & Benchmarks
Why it matters
Can't prove impact without "before" data. Fix tracking before changing anything so you can show what improved and by how much. Without a baseline, every result is anecdotal.
How to do it
Audit current tracking. List every tool, event, and metric being reported. If nobody can produce this list in 30 minutes, tracking is already broken.
Fix implementation gaps. Ensure events match conversion points, UTMs are consistent across all channels, CRM lead source is accurate, and the attribution model is understood by everyone who reads the reports.
Document baseline metrics for every KPI that matters. This is your "before" snapshot. Conversion rates, cost per acquisition, lead quality scores, pipeline velocity - all of it, written down, dated.
Tracking & Benchmarks Checklist
- Inventoried all tracking tools
List every tool, every event, every metric being reported. If nobody can produce this list in 30 minutes, tracking is broken.
- Verified analytics events match conversions
Events should map to actual conversion points - not just pageviews. Every event needs a purpose.
- Audited UTM consistency across all channels
Standardize parameters across all campaigns. Ad-hoc UTMs created by whoever launches the campaign make attribution impossible.
- Checked CRM lead source accuracy
What percentage is labeled generically as 'Website' or 'Inbound'? Generic labels are useless for understanding what actually works.
- Documented attribution model
Does the team understand what model they're using and what it misses? Default last-click isn't a choice - it's negligence.
- Listed all reports and recipients
For each report: who receives it, and what do they DO with it? Reports nobody acts on shouldn't exist.
- Tested event firing on all key pages
Walk through every conversion path. Click every button. Fill every form. Verify events actually fire and record correctly.
- Fixed duplicate/broken events
Duplicate events inflate numbers. Broken events create gaps. Both produce wrong answers with high confidence.
- Established naming conventions for events and UTMs
Consistency enables analysis. Without naming conventions, every new campaign creates a new data silo.
- Documented baseline metrics for all KPIs
This is your 'before' snapshot. Without it, you can never prove what changed. Write it down. Date it.
Changing the funnel and the tracking simultaneously - now you can't tell which change caused which result. Fix tracking first. Wait. Then change the funnel. Sequential, not parallel.
Funnel Rebuild
Why it matters
Most funnels have 2-3 unnecessary steps that exist because "we've always done it that way." Every unnecessary step is a leak. Every leak costs money. The math is simple: fewer steps = fewer drop-offs = more conversions at the same traffic level.
How to do it
Map every step from ad/search to purchase. Count them. Visualize the path. If it takes more than 30 seconds to draw on a whiteboard, it's too complex for your customers too.
Audit each step. What's the drop-off rate? Does this step serve the objective? Can it be combined, simplified, or removed? Any step with >40% drop-off is a red flag that demands immediate attention.
Rebuild with minimum viable steps. Test aggressively. Every form field, every page transition, every CTA must justify its existence. If it can't, it goes.
Funnel Rebuild Checklist
- Mapped entire funnel from first touch to purchase
Draw every step on a whiteboard. If it takes more than 30 seconds to draw, it's too complex for your customers too.
- Counted total steps in the conversion path
Every step is a potential exit. Fewer steps means fewer exits means more conversions at the same traffic.
- Measured drop-off rate at each step
You can't fix what you can't see. Drop-off rates reveal exactly where money leaks out of your funnel.
- Identified steps with >40% drop-off
Any step losing more than 40% of visitors is a red flag demanding immediate attention.
- Audited every form field (remove if sales can ask later)
Every field reduces completion. The form's job is to convert, not to qualify. Let sales ask after conversion.
- Tested all CTAs for clarity
Does the user know exactly what happens when they click? Ambiguous CTAs create hesitation. Hesitation kills conversions.
- Checked mobile experience at every step
Over 50% of traffic is mobile. If any step is painful on a phone, you're losing half your potential conversions.
- Measured page load times at each step
Every second of load time costs conversions. Measure every page in the path - especially the payment page.
- Removed/combined unnecessary steps
If a step doesn't serve the objective, it serves the exit rate. Remove it or combine it with another step.
- Documented new funnel with expected benchmarks
Write down what you expect. Measure against it. This creates accountability for the rebuild.
Adding "just one more question" to the form. Every field reduces completion. If sales needs the data, let them ask after the conversion. The form's job is to convert, not to qualify.
User Journey Mapping
Why it matters
Content created without a journey map is random. Campaigns targeted without understanding stages waste money reaching people who aren't ready. A journey map turns guesswork into a system - every piece of content has a purpose, every campaign has a target stage.
How to do it
Define user types (segments from Research) and stages (awareness, consideration, decision, retention, expansion). Each type moves through stages at different speeds with different triggers.
Map touchpoints per type/stage. Where do they interact with you? What questions do they have at each stage? Use the language audit from Research - these are the words your customers actually use, not your internal jargon.
Map content and campaigns onto the journey. Flag gaps - where is there no content for a specific type at a specific stage? Those gaps are your content priorities. Stop creating random blog posts; create what the journey demands.
User Journey Mapping Checklist
- Defined all user types from ICP mapping
Segments from Research become user types here. Each type moves through stages at different speeds with different triggers.
- Defined stage definitions with entry/exit criteria
Awareness, consideration, decision, retention, expansion. Each stage needs clear criteria for when someone enters and exits.
- Mapped current touchpoints per type/stage
Where do they interact with you at each stage? What questions do they have? Use the language audit - their words, not yours.
- Identified questions at each stage (from language audit)
What are they searching for? What are they asking peers? These questions become your content priorities.
- Mapped existing content to journey positions
Does your content cover every type at every stage? The gaps are your content priorities.
- Flagged content gaps by type and stage
Stop creating random blog posts. Create what the journey demands. Gaps go to the top of the production queue.
- Mapped campaigns to journey positions
Are you running campaigns for every stage, or just acquisition? Most budgets ignore everything after first touch.
- Identified trigger events between stages
What causes someone to move from awareness to consideration? From consideration to decision? Map the triggers.
- Created visual journey map document
One document the whole team references. Not a wall poster - a working document open during planning meetings.
- Shared with content and campaign teams for reference
If the map isn't used in planning meetings, it doesn't exist. Make it the starting point for every content discussion.
Creating a journey map that looks great on a wall but never gets used. The map must be a working document referenced when creating content, planning campaigns, and evaluating new initiatives. If it's not open during planning meetings, it doesn't exist.
Retention & LTV
Why it matters
Acquiring a new customer costs 5-7x more than retaining one. A $50/month customer who stays 3 years ($1,800 LTV) is worth more than a $500/month customer who churns in 2 months ($1,000 LTV). Most businesses obsess over acquisition and ignore the money already in the building.
How to do it
Why do customers leave? Segment churn by reason, customer type, and timing. First-30-day churn is different from month-12 churn. Different problem, different solution, different urgency.
Where do new customers get stuck? What percentage complete onboarding? Where do they drop off? Every onboarding failure is a customer you paid to acquire and then lost to confusion.
Where's the money left on the table? Which customers are most likely to expand? What triggers expansion? Upsell and cross-sell paths should be mapped and systematized, not left to chance.
Retention & LTV Checklist
- Categorized all churn reasons by segment
Product doesn't fit equals a targeting problem. Onboarding failed is fixable. Different problems need different solutions.
- Identified timing patterns (when do most customers churn?)
First-30-day churn is different from month-12 churn. Different timing means different cause means different fix.
- Measured onboarding completion rate
What percentage of new customers complete onboarding? Every failure is a customer you paid to acquire and lost to confusion.
- Mapped where users get stuck in onboarding
Find the specific step where people stop. That's your highest-leverage fix.
- Calculated LTV by segment
A $50/month customer staying 3 years ($1,800 LTV) beats a $500/month customer churning in 2 months ($1,000 LTV).
- Identified highest-LTV segments
These segments deserve the most acquisition budget and the most retention effort. Math decides priority.
- Built churn risk scoring model
Which behaviors predict churn? Low login frequency, support ticket volume, feature non-adoption - build early warning signals.
- Designed win-back sequence for recoverable churn
Not all churn is permanent. Some customers left for fixable reasons. A targeted win-back sequence recovers revenue.
- Mapped upsell/cross-sell opportunities by segment
Which customers are most likely to expand? What triggers expansion? Systematize it instead of leaving it to chance.
- Tracked expansion revenue as % of total revenue
Healthy businesses grow from within. If expansion revenue is under 15% of total, you're leaving money on the table.
Treating all churn the same. A customer who churns because the product doesn't fit is a targeting problem. A customer who churns because onboarding failed is fixable. Different problem, different solution. Segment first, then solve.
What Convert Produces
Tight Funnel
No leaks, no unnecessary steps. Every page transition and form field justified by data. Conversion rates benchmarked and tracked.
Visual Journey Map
Content and campaign planning document that maps every user type, stage, and touchpoint. Gaps identified. Priorities set.
Retention System
Post-sale revenue captured - onboarding optimized, churn segmented and addressed, expansion paths mapped and systematized.
These outputs feed directly into Optimize, where traffic and campaigns are tested against a foundation that actually works.