WooConf 2016 took place last week in Austin. The two-day conference featured sessions on all things ecommerce — from subscriptions to improving customer interactions to debugging WooCommerce.
In addition, this year, CEO of Automattic, the now parent company of WooThemes, Matt Mullenweg delivered the first ever State of the Woo, in which he discussed the past, present, and future of WooCommerce.
Let’s take a look at four takeaways.
Big Growth For Woo
Mullenweg emphasized the significant growth WooCommerce has experienced since its launch in 2011. It currently has more than 3,800,000 downloads and installations, and more than 400 site extensions. Plus, a whopping 37 percent of all ecommerce stores currently use WooCommerce.
Though not officially announced, Mullenweg teased of a bundled “Jetpack model” of WooCommerce to come.
When It Comes To Ecommerce, Keep It Simple
Bob Dunn, also known as BobWP, advised that, when you’re just starting out with ecommerce, it is important to keep it simple. “You want to start with the minimum and grow your skills from there,” Dunn said. “You can’t just start out conquering the world.”
With so many plugins and themes out there, Dunn advised users to think outside of the box. Think of all of the different functions that are out there.
Customer Experience Is Key To Ecommerce Success
CEO of WP Engine Heather Brunner says that successful ecommerce companies will put the customer at the center of their digital strategy. Brunner recommended that on the path to customer advocacy, you must first create an individualized relationship with your customers. To achieve customer advocacy, you must go through these three stages first: credibility, respect, and trust.
Treat your fans like gold, says @heatherjbrunner, even if it’s just your top 10 superfans. Make them advocates. #WooConf
— WooCommerce Conf. (@WooConf) April 6, 2016
Conversion Rates May Not Be The Best Metric
Operations Manager at SkyVerge Bekka Rice talked about how, when starting a business, “the conversion rate may not be the best metric to measure.” Instead, she says to focus on things like average order value, average order profit, and customer acquisition cost. This will give you actionable information, which is much more valuable at the early stages of a business.
Beware analysis paralysis, however, Rice warned. “You don’t have to track every metric at once. Improve a few metrics, then move onto others.”
Did you go to WooConf? Share your takeaways in the comments below!
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