Nic English has worked at the intersection of digital data, analytics, strategy, and media for about 12 years. He started his career in a soccer statistics startup focused on visualizing football data for fans, then moved to an advertising strategy role at Adam and Eve DDB, and most recently has been working at Nike. His primary focus at Nike has been on testing, experimentation, and conversion rate optimization (CRO) within their Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) business.
Key Takeaways:
1. Role and Experience at Nike: Nic discussed his journey at Nike, and the company's culture of experimentation. His role focused on rolling out an experimentation program in the EMEA markets, tackling challenges like setting up processes, defining test metrics, and advising on test strategy.
2. Challenges in Experimentation: We discussed some operational difficulties of running tests across nearly 30 markets, including setting up a solid foundation for tests, ensuring the accuracy of data flow, and communicating results back to the business in a meaningful way.
3. Importance of Stakeholder Buy-In: Buy-in from various stakeholders, especially in a large, matrixed organization like Nike is incredibly important. We talked about setting realistic expectations about the outcomes of tests and what that might look like.
4. Embracing Bold Changes: How can we encourage taking significant risks in experimentation to drive substantial results? Explore the strategy of making bold changes to see big impacts, understanding that high failure rates can still lead to significant wins when successful tests are scaled.
5. Learning from Failures: Nic shared insights from his past failures, stressing the value of taking risks and learning from negative results. He underscored the importance of bold testing and the role of non-data perspectives in validating test results.
In this episode, we cover:
(00:04) Introduction and Nic English’s Background
(02:25) Path to Digital Analytics and CRO
(03:56) Experimentation Culture at Nike
(08:05) Operational Challenges in Experimentation
(09:04) Getting Buy-In and Tipping Points
(11:42) Organizational Structure and Cross-Functional Teams
(15:06) Evangelizing Experimentation at Nike
(17:19) Managing Stakeholder Expectations
(18:59) Communicating Test Results
(26:03) Key Metrics and KPIs
(30:01) Aligning Business and Test Metrics
(33:50) Tips for New Experimentation Programs
(39:44) Learning from Failures
(42:26) Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks
🎙️ Interested in elevating your personal brand and thought leadership?
Join one of three available formats: 1:1 interviews with top leaders in experimentation, micro-interviews designed for those just starting their thought leadership journey, and intimate roundtable discussions for 2-3 established in-house brands seeking peer-to-peer insights. Ready to take the next step? Send me a message on LinkedIn to explore how you can get involved.
Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
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2. Conversion Research: Stop guessing and start converting. Our CRO service uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative UX research, including digital analytics and usability tests, to find what works best for your audience. I’ve helped brands like Capella University and Verizon Wireless achieve more with their existing traffic.
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About the Host
I’m Brian Poe, Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Mammoth Insights, where we specialize in helping companies enhance their digital strategies through Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and experimentation. With over 15 years of personal experience in the marketing industry, we have a deep passion for uncovering hidden opportunities in data to drive significant improvements in overall business performance. At Mammoth Insights, we offer affordable CRO services, including quant/qual research, market analysis, UX and copy research, A/B testing, and more, tailored specifically for mid-sized to enterprise companies. Our mission is to make complex CRO concepts easy to understand and implement at an affordable price without sacrificing expertise or quality.
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