Optimisation Starts With Better Questions
When conversion rates dip, it’s very tempting to go straight into fixing mode.
Someone says “let’s run an A/B test”. Someone else points at the product page. You open a task board. You make a plan. You feel productive.
Then a few weeks later you realise you’ve improved something, but you’re still not sure you’ve improved the right thing.
CRO without diagnosis is just guesswork.
And it happens a lot. Brands start optimising too late, in the wrong place, or for the wrong reason.
We talked about this with Tim Martin-Harvey, Head of Ecom at The Bottle Club, in episode 1 of our Open Tabs podcast.
The trap of “efficient wrongness”
You can’t optimise your way out of a structural issue. It’s a bit like tweaking the aerodynamics of a car with flat tyres.
You might make progress on paper, but it won’t feel better in the real world.
We’ve seen teams pour time into checkout design when the real problem was delivery pricing. We’ve seen brands rebuild product pages when the bigger blocker was outdated inventory logic.
That’s why “knowing what to optimise, and why” is the real craft of CRO.
It’s not about running more experiments. It’s about asking better questions first.
Start with the right data
When asked what tab he opens first every day, Tim didn’t hesitate:
“We have an app in Shopify called Better Reports… for the way that we built our data, there’s so much in there.”
That tells you a lot.
Not because Better Reports is magic, but because it shows where his head is at. Optimisation doesn’t start with guessing what to test. It starts with operational truth.
What’s happening with stock? What’s moving? What’s not? What’s going on in the warehouse? What’s changed in the last couple of days?
Those answers shape the customer experience more than most “quick wins” ever will.
Data should guide your focus, not run the show.
The tricky bit is that data can also become a comfort blanket. It can feel like progress, even when you’re just circling the same numbers.
This is also why being clear on what to measure before and after changes matters, otherwise you’re just chasing numbers.
Ask the harder questions
The best CRO work starts with a bit of honesty.
Not “let’s rewrite the button”, but:
Is our value proposition clear?
Are we selling to the right people?
Is our price still right?
Does our tech actually support what we promise?
These aren’t design questions. They’re business questions.
But they shape the user experience more than any visual change ever could.
Optimisation as clarity
When CRO works, it’s not because the site looks prettier.
It’s because the story makes more sense. It’s clearer what you sell, who it’s for, why it costs what it costs, and what happens after someone buys.
So before you optimise, you have to understand the problem. Otherwise you’re just polishing noise.
Or as Tim might put it, fix the system before you fix the screen.
This article is part of our Open Tabs series, where we talk to founders about the realities of running an ecommerce business day to day. Watch the full episode with Tim from The Bottle Club here.
