Explore every episode of the podcast From A to B
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lessons from a Battle Tested VP ft. Mallory Randall | 12 Aug 2026 | 00:38:05 | |
This is a bit of a unique episode - not your usual "how to build a culture of experimentation" type episode. And you shouldn't skip this episode because 'it's not experimentation so i don't care' - this episode is SUPER important for anyone in an individual contributor role to hear her wisdom. Mallory "Take the Mantle" Randall is a seasoned veteran who's gone through all of the different stages in her career. And she's learned super valuable career growth things, moving from individual contributor, to managing a small team, to managing MANY teams as VP. So many CROs and experimentation people fixate too much on their program, they don't realize there are people outside of the organization with different goals, trying to accomplish different things. This is why her POV is so important. We got into: - When you start your job, understanding your peers is just as important (if not more important) than actually getting your program off the ground - Peers need you to push back - understanding HOW to push back, thoughtfully (and respectfully) is key. And picking and choosing your battles will help you grow in your career and get more things done - There are limitations to 'being right' - just because you're right, doesn't mean people will listen to you. Go follow Mallory on LinkedIn (we told her she's going to post more though leadership now, so stay tuned for amazing content coming from her): https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorysiler/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| Moving From Data to Action ft. Josh Silverbauer | 01 Jul 2026 | 00:35:54 | |
We are temporarily renaming this podcast From D to A - From Data to Action. Because data is almost useless unless you do something meaningful with it. Josh "One of a Kind" Silverbauer hopped on the pod to dig deeper into the 'analytics' and 'data' part of product building. Identifying better ways to tell the 'data' story, and better ways to communicate that data so you actually can get shit done. We got into: - Josh's Pro Tip for consultants and agencies (it blew my mind, I'm serious) - How 'data' isn't enough, and how presenting trust and authority is critical to how you communicate with data - What data engineers critically need to do when communicating data - His honest views on dashboards (is it beyond theater...?) Go follow Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsilverbauer/ AND HIS BAND....?! https://open.spotify.com/artist/7ek3eQ8HOLZgtE8FgAy0G2 Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| (Special Episode) B2B After Dark: What the Knicks Championship Taught Me About B2B | 22 Jun 2026 | 00:43:49 | |
In this episode, Shiva Manjunath and Slobodan Manić go over the important lessons the Knicks (winning in 5) taught us about B2B. It's a super serious episode and we go in depth with a LOT of important things you need to learn, and know, about B2B. | |||
| Ethics of Fake Door Testing ft. Jon Crowder | 03 Jun 2026 | 00:41:10 | |
Are fake door tests ethical? We are super purposefully kinda misleading people to see if something is worth building.... (cue Wile E. Coyote reference). Jon "Metal as Fuck" Crowder had a SUPER interesting post about the ethics of fake door testing, which I had to have him on the pod to discuss this topic. But we also got into a more broader conversation around ethics of A/B testing too! We got into: - Are fake door tests truly ethical? (Or legal...?) - Should there be a 'board of ethics' for A/B testing? (yes. kinda) - Jon's philosophy around CRO (and how it's influenced by his ethics) Go follow Jon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jc-awip/ And check out his website: https://www.anotherwebispossible.co.uk/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| How LLMs Change Your Website Strategy ft. Juliana Jackson | 13 May 2026 | 00:40:39 | |
Juliana "Run the Jewels" Jackson is someone who I consider a thought leader in the AI/digital marketing space, and I needed her POV on how to understand the impact of LLMs to user behavior. So I had her on the pod. And she shared some insightful information into how LLMs actually work, how it's meaningfully (or maybe not so meaningfully) changing behavior, and what you should be doing about it. (PS vote for me for a thought leadership award for Kameleoon https://tinyurl.com/voteforshiva) We got into: - How LLMs are evolving user behavior on your site, and what you really should be focusing on (spoiler: it's not what you think...) - Are we putting too much confidence in AI? (and how do we right-size it) - How LLMs are free research for you (and how to utilize it better) Go follow Juliana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliana-jackson/ And subscribe to her newsletter (it's amazing): https://julianajackson.substack.com/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| Building Testing Culture Beyond A/B Testing ft. Jenni Bruckman | 15 Apr 2026 | 00:37:37 | |
Are manipulation and bribery the keys to building a culture of experimentation? No. (Well, maybe) Jenni "Broadway" Bruckman (Director of Digital Product at YETI) joined this week to help broad the topic of building "cultures" which foster data-driven thinking and experimentation. It's different than focusing on explicitly building a culture of experimentation, in that your goal is to basically build a culture of fun, transparency, and engagement. The testing and data comes naturally from there! We got into: - Tips on navigating stakeholders (especially in a remote-first workplace) - Better ways to run meetings and tell stories with data -The value of your personal brand in scaling testing programs Go follow Jenni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennibruckman/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| Testing Tools: Build? Or Buy? ft. Jonas Alves | 18 Mar 2026 | 00:39:37 | |
A/B testing tools - all they do is randomize traffic. So why are we spending thousands of dollars for it? Jonas "Elvis" Alves (of AB Smartly) joined the pod to discuss some of the major challenges in building A/B testing tools. It kinda started in a way I had no idea it would - that you're not buying a testing tool, but buying a... trust platform? Jonas throws some shade at other testing tools, but I bleep it out, don't worry ;) . (And thankfully, he doesn't sales pitch at all. ) We got into: - Jonas makes the case for BOTH building in-house and buying an external tool - How to earn back trust once it's broken, through data or experimentation - Booking.com ran A/B tests on A/B testers (it's super meta and super cool) Go follow Jonas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonasalves/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| Where Are The Ethics In Experimentation?! ft. AJ Long | 11 Feb 2026 | 00:35:43 | |
Is 'ethics' something we've undervaluing when it comes to experimentation? Should we actually care about this nerd stuff of 'ethics'?! Well, yes. Obviously. AJ "Does No Wrong" Long joined Shiva to chat about this specifically, as someone who works in the fantasy sports realm of things, ethics can be a contentious subject. We got into: - Why "users first" is really the only way to foolproof ethnical experimentation (and low-key, the only great way to run a business long term) - How PrizePicks fosters 'responsibility' in fantasy sports (really cool things they're doing there) - How to set (and enforce) guardrails in programs. Which is stupidly important in experimentation, when people want to break it down and hack it as much as possible Go follow AJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angusjlong/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| How to Remove Emotion from Data Analysis ft. Gerda Thomas | 14 Jan 2026 | 00:42:09 | |
Emotion in data analysis, from what we've been told, should never happen. But the kicker - humans are humans. We use emotions in literally everything we do. So how do we channel it best to make sure we are positively impacting the business? Gerda "The koala" Thomas joined Shiva to chat about this topic. Where does it make sense to channel emotion? In getting EXCITEMENT about testing, and ideas! But maybe we park it when actually analyzing tests, because that can lead to bad analysis. We got into: - The good (and bad) about data. Because sometimes a hyper-fixation on certain data leads to dark patterns and bad UX - Emotion can actually be GOOD in building a culture of experimentation (well, some emotions....sometimes) - Is 'hiring culture' really THAT important to getting people involved in data? (yes....yes it is) Go follow Gerda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerdathomas/ Go check out her company, Koalatative: https://koalatative.com/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| Will Trust in AI Die in 2026? ft. Slobodan Manić (CRO After Dark) | 19 Dec 2025 | 00:43:45 | |
Slobodan Manić and Shiva Manjunath join another episode of #CRO after dark to discuss their trends in 2026, what will die, what will live, and how Better Call Saul is definitely better than Breaking Bad Go check out his second best podcast No Hacks (https://www.nohackspod.com/) | |||
| Experimentation and CRO - Simplified ft. Rommil Santiago | 10 Dec 2025 | 00:53:35 | |
Don't know what the hell CRO and experimentation is? Trying to understand the basic concepts and process? We gotchu. Rommil "The Thrill" Santiago and Shiva Manjunath went into all the common topics, and we can even help you explain this to others who might not fully understand what you do in CRO. Please passive aggressively share this episode to people who don't understand CRO. I will fall on my sword for you. We got into: - Why CRO is seen as a Hail Mary (and why it SHOULDN'T be....) - CROs shouldn't exist. Because everyone should be doing CRO in some way - What the hell MDE really even is? And do you even need it? (Yes....yes you do) Go follow Rommil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rommil/ Go check out his book: https://www.experimentnation.com/prove-it-or-lose-it Sign up for Experiment Nation (I'm there... he's there too I guess): https://www.experimentnation.com/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| What CMOs Really Care About ft. Kelly Hopping | 12 Nov 2025 | 00:45:35 | |
Have you ever struggled to get buy in from senior leadership? Never in your entire life, right? Well I've faced it. A lot. And I wanted to get in the mind of a super seasoned CMO to truly understand what makes them tick. What they care about. What they DON'T care about. Who better than Kelly Hopping, CMO at Demandbase. And y'all, this one is CHOCK FULL of amazing insights from her to better understand how to communicate what you're doing to senior leadership. This was the first episode I listened to twice, just to make sure I got everything down. We got into: - How to translate OKRs into what you do in experimentation / product (to help you actually get buy in) - What CMOs (and senior leadership) ACTUALLY cares about (and what you're messaging to them is irrelevant to them) - AMAZING career advice from her on how to pivot in your career appropriately - Why leadership challenges A/B testing Go follow Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyhopping/ Go check out her podcast "NextGen CMO": https://www.demandbase.com/podcasts/nexgen-cmo/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| Tips for Getting Clients Who Don't Suck ft. Tas Bober | 01 Oct 2025 | 00:51:53 | |
Finding clients is hard enough - finding GOOD ones? Feels damn near impossible. I enlisted the help of Tas Bober to help navigate this complex field of getting client work, and explored topics related to CRO/client work as well! We got into: - Bringing confidence to the client relationship (you don’t always have to cave in to EVERY little freaking thing they want you to do) - Running from bad clients when they don’t pass the vibe check (and how to find shitty clients BEFORE they pay you) - How to talk to clients (and stakeholders) appropriately without talking DOWN at them (hint: treat them like they’re children. It works.) Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 4:12 Detecting Client Red Flags BEFORE Signing A Contract With Them 8:46 What To Do When A Client Gives You The ‘Ick’ 16:07 Importance of Setting (And Enforcing) Boundaries 20:30 Setting Success Metrics for Engagement Upfront 29:46 When “Leading With Data” Doesn’t Make Make Sense…? 46:20 Tas’ BIGGEST Pro Tip (Don’t Just Skip To This Timestamp Ya Leetches) Go follow Tas Bober on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober/ Go check out her podcast "Notorious B2B": https://www.linkedin.com/company/notorious-b2b/posts/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ | |||
| People Are Finding Websites Manipulative ft. David Mannheim | 27 Aug 2025 | 00:54:29 | |
People are finding websites more and more manipulative. And we don't mean this word lightly. Why is this the case? In large part, it's because of the shitty tactics people are using on sites. But really, it's because websites care far more about short term sales and metrics instead of focusing on LTV. And that leads to hacks, not long term gains. Made With Intent released a REALLY great report which went into detail on this, and I had the man, myth, and legend David "Zedd" Mannheim on the pod to chop it up to discuss that report (among other things). We got into: - Why People Feel Like Websites are Manipulative - How Popular 'Best Practice' Tactics Are Probably Hurting You Way More Than Helping - Tips and Tricks on Maximizing Your Popups (WITH DATA) Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 5:05 People Feel Websites Are Too Manipulative 11:12 Websites Seem to Prefer Sales Over CX 14:40 What Are Pop Ups Getting Wrong 19:02 Marketers Are More Focused On Numbers Than Humans 26:56 Does Social Proof Still Work In 2025 31:18 Scarcity Messaging 35:55 Discounting Isn’t A Strategy 42:02 Segmentation Is One Of The Most Important Things To Focus On Go follow David Mannheim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidleemannheim/ Download the full report here (it's a REALLY good read): https://www.madewithintent.ai/the-intent-gap-report Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! | |||
| Exploring Velocity vs. Quality in Experimentation ft. Emma Travis | 13 Aug 2025 | 00:52:28 | |
We back out here with the amazing Emma Travis to dig into 'quality vs. quantity' when it comes to experimentation programs. The conversation Ben Labay keeps trying to force, but a bit more nuance to it. There is a time and place for quality. But there is a time and place for velocity and scaling your program up in terms of number of tests run. How do you know when to do it? And what are triggers to get you .... ahem.... From A to B. Emma "Biscuits and Gravy" Travis joined me on this episode to go DEEP into this topic. Emma was sick and still trooped through this episode - give her all the flowers!!!
- When to focus on velocity vs. when to focus on ‘quality’ of experiment - Tips on auditing your program to know if you’re too focused on quality vs. quantity - Smart ways to focus on research when resources are limited Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 3:57 Is Velocity Appropriate In Tracking Metric For Experimentation Maturity? 9:23 Velocity Increase Doesn't Always Mean A Decline In Quality 11:51 Experimentation Velocity Is Like Flying A Plane 19:19 When To Scale Velocity Vs. When To Focus On Quality 24:33 Run A Heuristic Audit Of Your Cro Program (*Bonus Points For Doing It In Miro) 28:00 What Defines "Quality" In A Test? 36:35 How Do You Communicate A Decline In Velocity Knowing You're Increasing Quality? 40:35 Good Ways To Use Ai To Help You Speed Up Research Go follow Emma Travis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-travis/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! | |||
| Conducting Better Heuristic Audits ft. Rishi Rawat | 02 Jul 2025 | 00:43:07 | |
How many of you have seen a website teardown and thought “Dude you literally have 0 data, this is just a vibes analysis?” I have that thought regularly. And it got me thinking about heuristic audits as a whole, and trying to understand what makes a good heuristic audit good, and a bad heuristic audit bad. I enlisted the help of my mortal enemy Rishi Rawat to explore this. Vibes were immaculate, and he actually said some smart things in this episode (shocker - I know).
- The critical missing ingredients to take your heuristic from ‘shit’ to not only trustworthy, BUT valuable - Where many heuristic audits fail to be meaningfully impactful (despite being positioned as such) - An exploration of “expert” vs “non-expert” heuristic audits (and why both are incredibly valuable) Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 2:08 What Is a Heuristic Audit (With Help from Ryan Thomas) 8:53 Good Heuristic Audits Are Systematic in Nature 12:22 The "Goal" of the Heuristic Audit May Be More Important Than the Process 16:20 The Importance Of Data to Informing The Heuristic Audit 22:01 Rishi Actually Says Something Smart 27:07 Heuristic Audits Should Highlight BOTH The Good AND The Bad 35:29 Many Heuristic Audits Don't Simulate Emotion (Yet They Should....) Go follow Rishi Rawat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rawatrishi/ Go check out the homie Ryan Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancharlesthomas/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! And go get your free ticket for the Women in Experimentation - you might even be entered to win some From A to B merch! : https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-WIE | |||
| Run Heuristic Audits on YOUR Stakeholders ft. Finn McKenty | 18 Jun 2025 | 00:53:22 | |
Problematic stakeholders could be convinced if they... just got data. Right? Nope. Sometimes it's deeper than that. You gotta understand what makes them tick. Is it data? Is it optics? Maybe you should be running heuristic audits on your stakeholders instead of your website... In the second time EVER, someone else has changed my mind on something. Leave it to "Kingpin" Finn McKenty, who's apparently gone from Punk Rock MBA to Finn McKenty PhD, to change my mind.
- How YouTubers are more data driven than your own CEO (lol) - Why you should be running heuristic audits not JUST on your website, but on the stakeholders you interact with (and tips to do so effectively) - Finn gives some general life advice on learning to let go (important when many product and CROs don't have autonomy to actually impact anything) Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 2:46 The analogy of CRO and "Gym" goes so deep 6:25 Even YouTubers are data driven 11:20 People who don’t buy into “experimentation” just optimize for different metrics than you 14:28 Psychology of UXers vs. Product/CRO (Finn low key is a psychologist now) 20:01 Running heuristic audits on… stakeholders? (yes - it’s a good idea) 25:07 Optimization sometimes means optimizing for ‘helping people’ (not metrics) 30:16 Sometimes, CROs gotta play the politics game 35:13 Finn offers sage advice in learning how to let go (CROs need to hear this) 49:06 Preach: Samuele Mazzanti Go follow Finn McKenty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnmckenty/ And go subscribe to his newsletter: https://finnmckenty.beehiiv.com/ Go check out Samuele Mazzanti's post too: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Samuele Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! And go get your free ticket for the Women in Experimentation - you might even be entered to win some From A to B merch! : https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-WIE | |||
| Cookies, GDPR, and More... Simplified! ft. Eddie Aguilar | 04 Jun 2025 | 00:48:41 | |
Do you REALLY know what cookies are? Like really, REALLY know? What about GDPR? What about PII? I know the words. But what do they REALLY mean? I enlisted the help of Eddie "The Techie" Aguilar to help me simplify some of these complex topics, and help me create meaningful next steps on how to address PII concerns and other marketing-related issues in data collection.
- Simplified definitions of cookies, data collection, GDPR, etc. (I'm stupid and like hearing things simplified from smart people) - First vs. Third part cookies (and what it means to your marketing program) - A/B testing and the importance of NOT collecting PII in your testing tools Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 2:31 What is a Cookie? 7:41 How Cookies Have Been Used Maliciously (Lack of Consent) 9:51 First Party vs. Third Party Data 13:11 Opting Out of Cookies (Explained) 14:45 GDPR 28:20 A/B Testing and Cookies 37:30 PII and A/B testing Go follow Eddie Aguilar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whoiseddie/ Also go follow Shiva Manjunath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! And go get your free ticket for the Women in Experimentation - you might even be entered to win some From A to B merch! : https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-WIE | |||
| How To Stand Out On Templated Websites ft. Linda Bustos | 21 May 2025 | 00:44:18 | |
It happens rarely, but somehow Linda was able to change Shiva's mind this podcast. And we got it ON THE RECORD. What did she change his mind on? Linda "The Winna" Bustos brought some compelling conversation to the fact that company CAN differentiate in 'cookie cutter' websites (e.g. Shopify) in really, really creative ways.
- The importance of copy when you're using a generic 'cookie cutter site' (e.g. Shopify templates) - Letting your brand shine through to help you differentiate (including some hilarious examples of how some brands have accomplished this) - Cool trends Linda has been seeing in ecom space Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 2:58 Shopify Is Basically A "Paint By Numbers" Website Generator 7:41 Using Shopify When Your Product Truly Is Unique 9:53 Tips On Stand Out From The Crowd On Product Pages 12:40 Mattresses Is An Industry To Keep An Eye On 18:56 Shiva Glazing Liquid Death (For A Good Reason Though) 21:23 Other Creative/Creative Brands Which Have Done Cool Shit 27:44 Make Your Copy Memorable (And Palace Has Amazing Copy) 30:30 How Do Luxury Brands Differentiate? 36:01 Product Finders Can Be A Differentiator 41:03 Do Better Competitor Comparison Charts Go follow Linda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindabustos/ And check out her website Ecom Ideas: https://ecomideas.com/ Also go follow Shiva on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| What Are We Getting Wrong About UX? ft. Kate Moran | 07 May 2025 | 00:49:51 | |
Do product/CRO people REALLY know well? There may be some Dunning Kruger happening, and maybe we really don't get why they keep complaining about our initiatives. Spoiler: Many times, they have a VERY legitimate point! Who better than the freaking VP of Nielsen Norman Group "Checkmate" Kate Moran to come dish all the things we're getting wrong about UX, and how to better work together.
- What product teams/CRO can learn from UX, and vice versa - Why product teams really need to focus on longer term relationships with the customer (and not chasing short term gains) - Amazing (and not so amazing) use cases for AI in UX Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 1:52 How Does UX View Experimentation / CRO? 6:51 What Are The Biggest Problems UX Faces As An Industry? 13:03 What Can CROs/Product Learn from UX (And Vice Versa) 17:22 UX/Product Share This In Common: No One Knows What The Fuck We Do 20:55 AI in UX - DON’T (!!!) Blindly Trust It 26:56 What Is “Google Gullibility”? 30:51 Context Matters in UX 38:05 Shiva Is Kinda Agegist (My Bad lol) Go follow Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-m-moran/ And check out Nielsen Norman's new live online courses! https://www.nngroup.com/training/live-courses/ Also go follow Shiva on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Tips for Introverts Attending In-Person Conferences ft. André Morys | 23 Apr 2025 | 00:59:18 | |
How many of y'all feel a bit nervous about going to in-person conferences / networking events? André Morys and I have been there before. Would you believe that "Sensei" André is actually an introvert?! Could've fooled me 👀 I wanted to get feedback from someone who RUNS conferences to figure out what tips and tricks we can utilize to get the most out of in-person events, ESPECIALLY coming from two people who are actually pretty introverted (if you can believe it...) We got into: - Tips for introverts to "get out of your own head" at conferences / in-person events - Feeling imposter syndrome at conferences (and how to break the nasty mental hold it has on you) - Being curious about everyone and everything is probably the BIGGEST tip you can take away Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 3:32 Rules for Conferences (NOT Tips - obey these always) 9:01 How to Be Your Authentic Self At Conferences 12:54 Tips for Introverts at In-Person Events / Conferences 18:24 Feeling Imposter Syndrome at Conferences 27:05 Don't Overthink - Just Be Curious (When Interacting With Humans lol) 29:32 More Tips for Introverts (And Extroverts - It’s Your Job to Help Introverts) 37:40 How Do You Shut People Up Who Just Keep Flexing / Selling 50:00 Pace Yourself - The Value of Conferences Happens AFTER The Talks Go follow André on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-morys/ And if you're interested in signing up for the GMS conference (using the promo code André shared in the episode, which to remind y'all I get 0 kickbacks or dollars from lol) - go buy a discounted ticket! https://www.growthmindedsuperheroes.com/home Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! Also go follow Shiva on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| The Impact Leadership Has In The Growth of Experimentation ft. Lukas Vermeer | 09 Apr 2025 | 00:57:34 | |
What REALLY is the impact of leadership in growing an experimentation? And is "stable leadership" something which may actually be messing up your ability to grow your program? This was something I wanted to enlist the thoughts from the "Taco King" himself, Lukas Vermeer. We went into some great thoughts and conversations around building trust, being perceived as a credible person to help you grow your experimentation program, and other important things related to leadership and experimentation. We got into: - How Lukas REALLY built anti-fragile experimentation at Booking.com (and how some parts MAY have been influenced by the ... Dutch Mafia?!) - The impacts of working from home to building and scaling experimentation (spoiler: it DOES make shit harder) - "Trust" and "Credibility" are two VERY important things in growing experimentation - how you actually GET those, well Lukas and Shiva have thoughts Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 3:02 The Leadership at Booking.com (and how it WAS stable) 8:57 Which Impacts Experimentation More? Stability or Trust? 14:54 The Impact of Working From Home to Growing an Experimentation Program 24:39 Making Experimentation Anti-Fragile (Along With A Fun Lukas Story About It) 40:20 What CAN CRO Do When Leadership is Unstable 47:29 How to be Credible Without Being Annoying 51:03 “PREACH” : Manuel De Costa Go follow Lukas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukasvermeer/ And go follow Manuel on LinkedIn as well! https://www.linkedin.com/in/manueldacosta/ Also go follow Shiva on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiva-manjunath/If you like this content, go nominate us for a community award at: https://experimentationcultureawards.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Tips on Running a Solo CRO Program ft. Erika Sentz | 26 Mar 2025 | 00:47:39 | |
"Running a Solo CRO program is easy" - No one ever, in the history of the world Erika Sentz (nicknamed "pancakes" for a very good reason...) and Shiva Manjunath have seen their fair share of Solo CRO programs, and wanted to go into tangible tips and tricks you can take away to action TODAY to help you have less stress and get more done as the only person managing that program. We got into: - The importance of building and maintaining relationships as you scale your program. And how exactly to do this! - Where "delegation" can actually be a core unlock to maintaining your sanity AND improving the quality of experimentation - Communication is maybe the most important thing when you're all alone lol - CRO is like.... making pancakes?! Yes. Yes it is. Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 3:00 The Hardest Thing About Being a Solo CRO 8:17 Auditing Your Own Program Is Key 11:34 Importance of Expectation Setting with Stakeholders 17:16 Erika Keeps Talking About Pancakes 21:12 Topic Detour: A/B testing PEOPLE on Websites 22:51 Communication as a Solo CRO 32:26 Building Relationships is The Biggest Unlock 42:09 “PREACH” : Natalie A. Thomas Go follow Erika on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikasentz/ And go show Natalie some love on her LinkedIn Post: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBNatalie If you like this content, go nominate us for a community award at: https://experimentationcultureawards.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Addressing Legitimate Pushback to Experimentation ft. Ton Wesseling | 12 Mar 2025 | 00:46:28 | |
Do people have legitimate pushback to A/B testing? I mean, some don't. They just hate being proven wrong. But there are others who DO have legitimate pushback. How do we address this? Ton "The Don" Wesseling offered a ton of helpful thoughts on how we could actually push back on "logical" (but incorrect) reasons why people don't want to A/B test. We got into: - Pushing back on "not all tests win" without sounding like an asshole - Pick your battles wisely, and invest time in those who WANT to test (while don't prioritize those who DON'T want to test... for your own sanity) - Legitimize their concern. Don't talk down to them like they're wrong, because that doesn't help you, nor does it not help them Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 04:08 Pushing Back on "The Test May Not Win" 09:50 Navigating Concerns on Testing Redesigns 16:11 Addressing Pushback When It's One vs. Many People (to A/B testing) 25:00 Someone Created Your CRO Role - Go Figure Out How To Be Helpful 32:35 When "Winners" Don't Affect Your Bottom Line Go follow Ton on LinkedIn, and go nominate people who you think deserve Experimentation Culture awards run by Ton and others! (and feel free to nominate us there….) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonwesseling/ - https://experimentationcultureawards.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Your Hypotheses Suck ft. Juliana Jackson | 26 Feb 2025 | 00:42:22 | |
Pretty simple to make a hypothesis, right? If/Then statement, and boom, done. I already did most of the hard work in just having the framework. Not quite. A lot of work (and pre-work) SHOULD go into making a hypothesis, so that it can go from a "meh" but functional hypothesis, to a hypothesis that not only drives results, but trust in your experimentation program too! And bonus: Juliana "Run the Jewels" Jackson offers 2 columns / buckets of info you probably never considered which should be available for stakeholders to improve on the presentation of the hypothesis and test doc as a whole. We got into: - What exactly IS a hypothesis (good AND bad) - Why your hypotheses actually suck (and how to make it better) - Going beyond the hypothesis to make sure your test ideas are matching what stakeholders are looking for Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 07:24 Hypotheses Need to Reflect What the Business Truly Cares About 12:54 Example of a GOOD Hypothesis 20:21 Do Hypotheses Need to Be MORE Tactical? Or More Strategic? (In Their Wording?) 27:18 Juliana's Two "Can't Miss" Buckets of Information You MUST Have for Every Test 34:31 Shit You Need to Know: Haley Carpenter Go follow Juliana on LinkedIn, and check out her amazing “Standard Deviation Podcast” too! - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliana-jackson/ - https://www.linkedin.com/company/standard-deviation-podcast/ Make sure you go follow Haley and check out her post too! https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBHaley Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Is There Value in Spaghetti Testing? ft. Ryan Lucht | 12 Feb 2025 | 00:48:05 | |
Why are we wasting spaghetti? It's delicious! We shouldn't be throwing it at the wall... Well Ryan "Big Brain" Lucht definitely is a big time lover of playing with food. And he makes a compelling argument for spaghetti testing, which delved into conversations into prioritization frameworks, should we TRY to "test everything," and other topics. We got into: -Spaghetti testing (Should you do it? Or nah?) - Pure experimentation jobs are hard. And you’ll have to fight a LOT. But Ryan and Shiva have tips to help you on this journey - What we can (and can’t) learn from big companies who have mature testing programs Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 02:31 What Is Spaghetti Testing? 09:33 Ryan Argues More "At Bats" (Tests) Needs To Be Priority (And He May Have A Point...) 19:30 There Are Some Major Things We Can Learn From Mature Experimentation Programs 26:10 Ryan Explains Experimentation Roles Can Be Frustrating and Demoralizing (WE KNOW RYAN....WE KNOW) 33:44 More Exploration to Things We Can Learn from Mature Experimentation Programs 43:51 Shit You Need to Know: David Bland Go follow Ryan Lucht on LinkedIn. - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlucht/ And check out some of the cool thought leadership on Experimentation hosted by Eppo: - https://www.geteppo.com/outperform Make sure you go follow David Bland and check out his post too! - https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-David Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Should CROs Use Intuition...More? ft Bhav Patel | 29 Jan 2025 | 00:50:18 | |
What does it ACTUALLY mean to be "data driven", and are #CROs adequately data driven? Should we be MORE data driven? Are there some opportunities for us to actually leverage intuition more? Will Shiva keep asking Bhavik "The Sick" loaded questions? Short answer? Yes. Bhavik "The Sick" Patel and Shiva Manjunath discuss this pretty interesting topic, which may seem controversial, but there is actually a decent amount of truth to it. We got into: -What it ACTUALLY means to be data driven. Spoiler: the bar is pretty freaking high - Where are the legitimate (and not so legitimate) ways to utilize "intuition" in the CRO process - Your coworkers with domain expertise MAY have a point to override (some) data. As long as it's not entirely ego driven, we should hear them out! To be clear - we definitely aren't saying "throw away all data and never use it - trust intuition always forever for everything". There is some middle ground to be had, with some very legitimate reasons (some practical, some not) to introducing 'expertise' into the conversation IN ADDITION with data. There is always some middle ground 🙈 Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 02:39 Picking The Wrong Metrics = Not Data Driven 6:25 Being "Data Driven" is a High Bar to Clear 13:09 Do CROs NEED to be... TOO Data Driven? 19:13 When the Results Don't Align With Basic Intuition (e.g. Twyman's law) 24:22 Post-Production Shiva Clarifies what HARKing Really Means 33:13 A Good CRO Has A Healthy Amount of Skepticism - Even When The Results Make Sense 43:03 Shit You Need to Know: Nils Stotz Go follow Bhavik LinkedIn. - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dodonerd/ Make sure you go follow Nils Stotz and check out his post too! https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBNils Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| What's the Difference between Product Manager and CRO?! ft. Matt Green and Moshe Mikanovsky | 15 Jan 2025 | 00:51:18 | |
If you squint your eyes really hard, there is something to the fact that CROs are simply Product Managers in "stats" clothing.... right? What ARE the actual differences between Product Managers and CROs? And how can CROs leverage these differences? Or how can CROs work more efficiently with Product teams? I enlisted the help of Matt and Moshe (M&M), the experts in Product Management, to explore more of this (in addition to... MUTINY?! 🏴☠️) We got into: - Messaging matters. How CROs communicate, and work, with product managers dictates the outcomes. Be nice? Communicate well? Watch the relationship flourish and outcomes turn fantastic - How can CROs gain the trust from product? And how much of 'lack of trust' is on product to... well, do better? - Can we actually learn something from sociopaths in how we work / manage stakeholders? (Yes... yes we can) Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 05:18 CROs are effectively... product managers. Right?! 13:55 How CROs HELP product managers by taking their tasks 18:51 Many product managers simply don't know HOW to A/B test.... (and that's OK) 25:17 How can CROs and PMs work together then... 34:45 The old "tell me how a test will do before we run it" conversation 45:27 Shit You Need to Know: Khalid Saleh Go follow Matt and Moshe on LinkedIn. And DEFINITELY go check out their "Product for Product" podcast too: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgreenproduct/ - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikanovsky/ - https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-for-product-podcast/ Make sure you go follow Khalid Saleh and check out his post too! https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBKhalid Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Signs You're A Problematic CRO ft. Michael Aagaard | 11 Dec 2024 | 00:40:23 | |
CROs are infallible. We believe data! We trust science over opinions! We are LITERALLY never wrong, right? Well, sometimes we may be right, but we can still be rude about it. 🫣 And no one wants to work with that one guy who, while they may be right, has to let everyone know how right they are EVERY. DAMN. TIME. I enlisted the help of Michael Aagaard, nicknamed "Shrek" (for very good reasons...) to explore how it is that some #CROs may actually be problematic. And how their own behavior may actually be the reason why CRO and experimentation isn't being adopted or used in an organization. We got into: - Messaging and tone matters. You may be right, but HOW you say it may be the difference between "let's run that test" and "I fucking hate that idea" - You're in the wrong industry if you are "testing to be right" - Balancing "confidence" without being "arrogant" as a CRO Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 04:46 Soft Skills Which Indicate You May Be a Bad CRO 13:05 Collaboration is Key - SEEKING Out That Collaboration Is King 18:26 It's Not What You Say - It's How You Say It 26:05 Risk Tolerance IS Different for Everyone - Don't Project YOUR Risk Tolerance for Others 33:25 Shit You Need to Know: Jason Haddock (How Layoffs Impact CRO) Go follow Michael Aagaard on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michalaagaard/)! And go check out Jason's post too! (https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBJason) Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Tactical vs Strategic CRO ft. Talia Wolf | 20 Nov 2024 | 00:44:33 | |
Are you doing 'strategic #CRO' ? What the hell even is strategic CRO? And how do you get there? Well, Talia Wolf had a post previously that triggered this discussion, so I had her on to better flesh out this idea. If you want to learn how to get from tactical to strategic experimentation, this is a can't miss episode. Plus - we went into some spicy convo about website carousels..... We got into: - What rituals define 'tactical' vs. 'strategic CRO - What is better to start with: qualitative or quantitative research? - Tips on breaking out of the 'tactical' hamster wheel to get you into strategic experimentation Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 07:10 Shiva Triggers Talia (Bad Definitions of CRO Box CRO into Tactics) 11:40 What ARE Tactics vs. Strategy? 18:43 Qualitative Data Should Be First - NOT Quantitative 26:41 Ways to Identify If Your Program is Tactical vs. Strategic 35:04 Shit You Need to Know: Carousels... CAN you actually use them? Go follow Talia Wolf on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliagw/)! Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Are UX and CRO Just The Same Thing? ft. Victoria Sakal | 06 Nov 2024 | 00:46:44 | |
In many ways, CRO and UX have overlap. But how different are they? And how does UX view CRO? We enlisted the help of Victoria Sakal to go deep into this conversation to understand this from a UXer's perspective. Victoria 'The Warrior' Sakal shared some VERY interesting perspectives which can help CROs and UX collaborate more deeply, among other golden nuggets of information.... We got into: - How UXers view CROs (rightly, or wrongly...) - Where UX and CRO actually overlaps (spoiler: they share many things in common) - Ways for UX and CRO to strengthen their collaboration Timestamps: 00:00 Episode Start 02:08 What IS CRO To UXers? How Do Others in the UX Space View CROs? 08:51 UX Seems to Look An Awful Lot Like What CRO Is.... 14:20 UXers Should Embody CRO Principles 17:40 Why Do (Some) UXers Ignore Data? 22:37 How to Talk To Defensive UXers 31:45 There is a Need For A Shared Database of Insights Across UX / CRO 40:21 Shit You Need to Know: Sandip Amlani Go follow Victoria Sakal on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriasakal/)! Also make sure you guys are following Sandip Amlani on LinkedIn - link to his post here: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Sandip Subscribe to our newsletter for more memes, clips, and awesome content! https://fromatob.beehiiv.com/ If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Why Your Tests Are Getting Blocked ft. Gertrud Vahtra | 23 Oct 2024 | 00:42:42 | |
Your tests keep on getting blocked. You're frustrated, shaking your fist at the screen, calling everyone a doo-doo head. We've all been there. It sucks. But on the heels of Gertrud Vahtra giving a talk at Experiment Nation on how to help getting alignment on testing by running workshops, I HAD to have her on the podcast to go deeper into this topic. We got into: - Are your test approval rates too high? Too low? What does that mean for your experimentation program? - How to appropriately redirect stakeholders to not disrupt current tests in-flight while also keeping them engaged in the process - Where being passive aggressive CAN be helpful (and Gertrud DEFINITELY approves of this, and Shiva isn't making it up) Timestamps: 00:00 Start of Episode 1:38 Shit You Need to Know: Gerda Vogt-Thomas 8:34 Is Lack of Business Alignment on CROs to Fix...? 14:00 How Do You Balance Many Stakeholders Without Having TOO Many "Cooks in the Kitchen" 20:51 Your CRO Program Management Lacks Meta-Data, Which Impacts Transparency and Trust in Your Program 27:53 Does Your "Idea to Experiment Run" Ratio Need Improvement...? 33:01 Establishing Clear "Drivers" Helps Reduce Blocking in Experimentation Approvals Go follow Gertrud Vahtra on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gertrudvahtra/)! And check out her Experiment Nation talk too! (out soon) Also make sure you guys are following Gerda Vogt-Thomas on LinkedIn - link to her (super triggering) post here: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Gerda If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Why Leadership Hates Experimentation ft. Nima Yassini | 09 Oct 2024 | 00:43:17 | |
Leadership KEEPS ON fighting you on running basic tests. They don't care about data. Your ideas "suck" (to them at least).
We got into: - What it is that leadership REALLY wants. And why CROs aren't necessarily delivering on that promise (primarily in messaging, not in actual body of work) - Why consultants are somehow more trustworthy than in-house experts (even if they're saying the same shit...) - Should experimentation really just be re-classified as 'research'? Timestamps: 00:00 Start of Episode 2:15 Common Reasons Why Leadership Hate Experimentation 7:01 Leadership (For Some Reason...) Values Consultants Over In-House Opinions 10:20 Experimentation Needs Cross-Functional Help - We Can't Do It Alone 15:50 Creating a "Culture of Experimentation" Should Equally Focus on "Culture" - Not Just "Experimentation" 21:00 Leadership's Drive for Impact (Inadvertently) Leads to Snakeoil / Lack of Experimentation 28:16 Messaging Matters in How You Communicate What We Do 35:49 Shit You Need to Know: Michal Eisik Go follow Nima Yassini on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimayassini/)! And check out this article he referenced in the podcast: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-NimaArticle Also make sure you guys are following Michal Eisik on LinkedIn - link to her post here: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Michal If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Addressing Burnout in CRO ft. André Morys | 25 Sep 2024 | 00:45:18 | |
Are you burned out in your #CRO job? Many of us are. Or have been. Or continue to be. Or... will be in the future. André Morys (CEO and founder of konversionsKRAFT) and Shiva Manjunath discussed this topic in this episode. We got into: - Signs you may be burned out in your CRO career - André's thoughts on why CROs burn out more easily than in other jobs (and he's 100% right...) - Tactical ways to address the burnout you're having without fully quitting (though... quitting IS always an option) We also got into a pretty interesting debate around using AI users in research for this week's "Shit You Need to Know".... Timestamps: 00:00 Start of Episode 2:30 Signs You Might Be Burned Out In Your CRO Job (Or Career...) 8:51 André's Theory to Why CROs Burn Out More Than Others (...And He's Right) 15:14 CRO Is Objectively A Tough Industry to Be in 16:38 Other Major Reasons Why CROs Ultimately Get Burned Out 22:17 Your Burnout May Be More On "Dealing with Politics" Rather Than Actually CRO-Related 24:04 Tips on Dealing with Your Burnout 33:56 Shit You Need to Know: Kate Moran (Using "AI Research" - this one got a little spicy...) Go follow André Morys on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-morys/)! And if any of y'all are feeling burnout, you are all free to DM either one of us so we can try to help y'all work through it. Also, consider signing up for Experiment Nation's (free) "CRO Therapy" talks, moderated by the OG certified home Tracy Laranjo. Also make sure you guys are following Kate Moran on LinkedIn - link to her post here: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Kate If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Don't Be Afraid of Your First A/B Test ft. Kelly Wortham | 11 Sep 2024 | 00:45:51 | |
Terrified of running your first A/B test? We've all been there. While it may be super intimidating... you CAN do it! And we're here to help! Shiva Manjunath and Kelly "The TLC" Wortham. recorded an episode to help you reduce that anxiety of running your first test. We got into: - Asking the CRO community their first A/B tests - Things to not care about in your first A/B test - Some easy, and quick, A/B tests for you to run as your first We also got into some interesting debate around using ROI calculations to calculate revenue for A/B tests in the "Shit You Need to Know" section... Timestamps: 00:00 Start of Episode
Go follow Kelly Wortham on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellywortham/), and go sign up for the TLC community - it's free, and SUPER fun. (https://testandlearn.community/). And go check out Experimentation Island, a conference on experimentation in February 2024 (https://experimentationisland.com/) Also make sure you guys are following MJ Smith on LinkedIn - link to her post here: https://tinyurl.com/MJ-FromAtoB If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Is B2B CRO REALLY Different than B2C? ft. Carlos Trujillo | 28 Aug 2024 | 00:40:05 | |
How should optimizers approach experimentation in B2B vs. B2C? Is it truly that different, where it's a skillset that is specialized? Or is there a standard process that can be adopted across both.... with SOME nuance, but really you can be an expert in both at the same time. Shiva Manjunath enlisted the help of Carlos "The Selfie King" Trujillo, who JUST taught a course on CRO for Ecommerce Growth, to discuss this. We netted out basically saying "there aren't any major differences in process." However, there are some nuances worth exploring which can strengthen how you approach B2B vs B2C in CRO, specifically around psychology of users, differences in metrics (and test success), and research methods used. If you listen to the whole episode, I drop an exclusive promo code for a hefty amount of $$$ off a ticket for EXL. (Disclaimer: I get no kickbacks or dollars for anyone who uses the code - I just want to meet as many certified homies at EXL! Plus, if you come, you can get a selfie with the selfie king himself!) Timestamps: 00:00 Start of Episode
Go follow Carlos Trujillo on Linkedin, and check out his course taught at CXL (https://cxl.com/institute/online-course/cro-for-ecommerce/) Also make sure you guys are following James Carbary on LinkedIn - link to his post here: https://tinyurl.com/JamesAtoB If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Nailing Your CRO Interview ft. Ben Labay | 14 Aug 2024 | 00:46:36 | |
Knowing the job market is hard as hell recently, Shiva Manjunath decided to enlist the help of Ben "The Zen" Labay, CEO at Speero, to help you nail that CRO interview. Ben Labay has a TON of experience hiring at Speero - he even hired Shiva at some point, which he quoted as "my best hire at Speero ever." They discussed a number of things, including: CROs should present as product owners, discuss the things you've shipped as much as possible, and demonstrate critical thinking as best as you can during the process of interviewing (especially in any CRO case studies you discuss). Even though we all hate Ben, we can't deny he says some smart things sometimes. Thankfully every smart thing he's ever said, I captured in this episode. Plus, if you listen to the whole episode, I drop an exclusive promo code for a hefty amount of $$$ off a ticket for EXL, courtesy of Ben. Disclaimer: I get no kickbacks or dollars for anyone who uses the code - I just want to meet as many certified homies at EXL! Timestamps: 00:00 Start of Episode
Go follow Ben Labay on LinkedIn, and check out some awesome blueprints on the Speero website to learn more about experimentation things. Also make sure you guys are following Trina Moitra on LinkedIn - she's a certified homie!!! If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| Detecting Snakeoil in CRO ft. Slobodan Manić | 31 Jul 2024 | 00:46:12 | |
Slobodan "The Maniac" Manić joined Shiva to rap about snakeoil in CRO. From understanding the importance of process-focused methodologies, recognizing red flags in case studies, and emphasizing research over results, this episode equips you with the tools needed to avoid being deceived by CRO scams. This is important, because many times people will call themselves 'CROs' and, unfortunately, it ends up cheapening our reputation when bad faith actors use our name to peddle bullsh*t. Slobodan is the homie, and this was a banger podcast. Vibes were immaculate. Timestamps: 00:00 Start of Episode
Go follow Slobodan on LinkedIn, and subscribe to his show at https://www.nohacks.show/ Also make sure you guys are following Tim Mehta on LinkedIn - he posts great content! If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured too! | |||
| UX Principles: Useful? Or Useless? ft. Erin Weigel | 17 Jul 2024 | 00:44:07 | |
Erin "All She Does Is Win" Weigel joined Shiva to discuss UX principles / UX patterns, and how close they can be to supposed "best practices." Erin gave some pretty helpful tips on how to properly extrapolate UX patterns, and where they have downsides, but how you can still use them properly to optimize user experiences. Erin doesn't like playing by ANYBODY'S rules... so be forewarned. Vibes were immaculate in this one.
00:00 Start of Episode
Go follow Erin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/erindoesthings/ ) - and go buy her book (https://erindoesthings.com/design-for-impact/) If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured like the OG Certified Homie Sam Barber! | |||
| What Can CROs Do About Politics ft. Gerda Vogt-Thomas | 03 Jul 2024 | 00:36:56 | |
Gerda "The Koala" Vogt-Thomas joined Shiva to discuss a number of things related to politics in CRO and experimentation. A number of politic-related things are discussed, including in-house vs. agency-side politicking, and even removing "emotion" from the decision-making process to help get more buy in / reduce your own personal stress in CRO. Also, Shiva somehow comes up with an analogy that CRO is like Jenga... and it low-key kinda works?
00:00 Start of Episode
Go follow Gerda on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerda-vogt-thomas/) - and check out her company, Koalatative (https://koalatative.com/) And go check out Hristian Kambourov's post: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Hristian | |||
| Are CROs Just Growth Marketers? ft. Tara Robertson | 19 Jun 2024 | 00:35:11 | |
Are CROs secretly just growth marketers? Maybe... but how do they work better with growth marketers? Shiva decided to understand this better by talking to marketing expert, and head of Demand Gen at Chili Piper, Tara "Ice Spice" Robertson. In this episode, we discuss some pretty tactical activities on what makes Growth Marketers tick, and what things they care about (or don't care about). In addition, we look at things that are important to them, and how CROs can work better to solve their problems and create lasting, and fruitful, relationships with demand gen marketers. Plus, Tara shares maybe the worst test idea Shiva's ever heard of.
00:00 Start of Episode
Go follow Tara on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/) - she posts A+++ content! And go check out Emily Kramer's post: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Emily | |||
| Are SEOs and CROs Mortal Enemies? ft. Sam "The SEO Guy" Dunning | 05 Jun 2024 | 00:39:25 | |
Sam "The SEO Guy" and Shiva Manjunath discuss all things SEO and content in this episode of From A to B. Why is it that SEOs and CROs are fighting for resources... when in reality, they should be SHARING resources under a shared goal! In addition, they discuss things why page intent matters, and how CROs should be focused on this just as much as SEOs.
00:00 Show Kickoff
Go check out everything Sam does on his website, (https://www.breakingb2b.com/) and go check out his podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/1rJ7NqYMMsULgeIN9rjdG0) | |||
| Scaling Low Maturity CRO Programs ft. Stewart “The GOAT” Ehoff | 22 May 2024 | 00:47:06 | |
In this episode of 'From A to B,' Shiva Manjunath and Stewart “The GOAT” Ehoff discuss how hard as hell it is to build CRO programs from scratch. They delve into the challenges faced by organizations at various stages, from initiating the first test to scaling up to 30 tests and beyond. They explore factors like company culture, data infrastructure, trust in the program, and resource allocation.
00:00 Show Kickoff
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| CROs Aren't Using Video Content Effectively ft. Finn McKenty | 08 May 2024 | 00:34:50 | |
Shiva hosts "Kingpin" Finn McKenty, a YouTuber with over 700,000 subscribers and 120 million views, to discuss the effective use of video in website optimization. Finn has extensive experience in product, but also knows how to geek it up with other CROers. Finn and Shiva discuss a number of topics, including how to track video success/quality on website, in addition to actually utilizing video properly. (00:00) Episode Start (5:35) What KPIs should we look at to determine video quality? (11:54) Video wrappers need to do a better job of 'setting expectations' to improve their success (19:11) Why can't B2B companies actually have fun in their marketing? (28:10) Shit You Need to Know (Saeed K. ) Go check out Finn's website here to get in contact with : https://www.finnmckenty.com/ And go check out Saeed K.'s post here: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBSaeed | |||
| Are "Best Practices" In CRO Worth it? ft. Talia Wolf | 24 Apr 2024 | 00:37:05 | |
Are "best practices" in experimentation and CRO overrated? Or is there a legitimate use case for them? Talia "The wolf" Wolf and Shiva Manjunath discuss where 'best practices' fail, but also where can perhaps 'good' practices be utilized properly. In addition, are 'best practices' going the opposite direction of 'personalization'? This episode was a banger. (00:00) Episode Start (2:45) What IS a "best practice"? (8:40) Why do "best practices" exist? (13:04) Are 'Shopify templates' just 'best practices'? Are they even valuable? (23:15) Are 'best practices' anti-personalization? (28:33) Shit You Need to Know (Moe Ali) Go check out Talia's company here: https://getuplift.co/ Go check out all the CRO best practices here: https://crobestpractices.com/ And go check out Moe Ali's post here: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBMoe | |||
| Where to Automate in CRO ft. Shawn David | 10 Apr 2024 | 00:39:31 | |
Shawn "The Brawn" David joins Shiva to discuss all things bots in CRO and Experimentation. Specifically, what exactly is the difference between AI and Automation, what is exaggerated in AI/CRO, and where can we intelligently use the bots to give CROs' exoskeletons'. Plus, what are some red flags in vendors who sell AI CRO, and how to suss out if their tools are legit, or shit. (00:00) Episode Start (04:39) Exploring the Limits and Potential of AI in CRO (13:05) AI in CRO - What is Hype, What is Reality? (20:27) Harnessing AI for Efficiency, Not Replacement (34:07) Shit You Need to Know (Chad Sanderson) Go check out Shawn's company here: https://automatetowin.com/ Go check out all the CRO best practices here: https://crobestpractices.com/ And go check out Chad Sanderson's post here: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBChad | |||
| Is Copy Important to the CRO Process? ft. Eden Bidani | 27 Mar 2024 | 00:33:41 | |
In this episode, Shiva and Eden Bidani discuss copy. Is it important?
(01:50) Fun Examples of Bad Copy (07:13) The Role of Experimentation in Copy Optimization (18:35) The Emotional Impact of Copy (22:20) Eden Defends Her Stance of "Too Much Data Can Be Bad" (29:05) Shit You Need to Know (David Gerhardt)
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| Where Does Research Fit into A/B Testing? ft. Els Aerts | 13 Mar 2024 | 00:33:44 | |
In this episode of From A to B, Shiva and Els "Bells" Aerts explore the balance between conducting research and running A/B tests in optimization efforts. Not everything SHOULD be tested, and in fact, research can play a critical role in companies trying to improve on their site optimization when testing isn't available, due to cost, or traffic volume. Finally, they discuss in this weeks "Shit You Need to Know" section... usability testing with older adults, emphasizing the importance of accessibility and consideration for various user demographics in optimization strategies.
Go find Els here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elsaertsuserresearch/ This weeks "shit you need to know" comes courtesy of the Nielsen Norman Group - check out the link to their post here: https://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-NN | |||
| Are Prioritization Frameworks Overrated? ft. Bhav Patel | 28 Feb 2024 | 00:32:01 | |
In the episode, Shiva and Bhavik "The Sick" Patel discuss prioritization frameworks. Theoretically, they are a fantastic mechanism for ensuring you have a testing program which focuses on high ROI tests - especially when resources are limited. However, they do have some drawbacks worth discussing, including subjectivity in scoring. (00:00) Episode Start This week's "Shit You Need to Know" comes courtesy of Ben Labay - check out his post here! http://tinyurl.com/FromAtoBBen | |||
| You're Doing Personalization Wrong ft. David Mannheim | 14 Feb 2024 | 00:31:38 | |
In this episode, Shiva has David 'Zedd' Mannheim to discuss personalization, and how 'stages' (user's intent) is more important than optimizing for pages on your website. Plus, David has a spicy take on "social proof" ... 00:00 Introduction 02:08 Concept of 'Stages not Pages' 10:38 Social proof is... not good? 21:38 Optimizing for Users vs Pages 22:51 LinkedIn Post of the Week (Eden Bidani) Check out Eden's post here! http://tinyurl.com/FromAtoB-Eden And check out David Mannheim's cool shit: Made with Intent (his company), "The person in Personalisation" (his book), and go follow him on LinkedIn! | |||