Q&A with Olivia (Ross) Taylor, Director of CRO at Directive Consulting

MEDIA 7 | June 25, 2019

Olivia Taylor, Director of CRO at Directive Consulting has 10 years of working experience in graphic designing and has expert knowledge in CRO/UX in landing pages and websites designing.

Olivia was recently nominated for the Orange County Business Journal's Top 25 Women in Business Awards.

MEDIA 7: What’s your superpower?
OLIVIA TAYLOR: I would like to think my superpower is empathy. That’s part of what CRO is: figuring out and understanding what’s going on through people’s minds and finding out what people need and want.

M7: Does it point to user intent, a term generally used in Account Based Marketing?
OT: 
Yes, exactly that. Because I’m able to basically understand where the consumer and the buyer is coming from, I can better optimize my clients’ websites, change that language in the headline and the subhead to relate to the customers’ pain points and better describe the benefits of what my client can provide to them.

M7: Your career spans an impressive 8 years from a Graphic Designer to being a Director of CRO at Directive Consulting. What attracted you to this industry, and how does Directive Consulting fit into your story?
OT:
I became a designer because all other subjects in school were boring. 2+2 will always be 4, but with design, there are so many possibilities - so many different solutions to a problem. Plus, I always loved drawing and creating.
While going to school, I worked as a designer at a few different places. Then upon graduating, I worked at a tech company in-house but it just wasn’t for me. I moved on to an agency that was full-service, but that also was not the right fit. After that job, I ended up at a PPC agency where I learned about CRO. I started there as just a designer and left there as the Director of CRO.

Using the skills I learned there, I was able to join the upstanding company that is Directive where I’m learning so much more, and doing so many more awesome things than I did at any other job and it has been amazing. It’s so wonderful to work at a place that is professional and that takes the work so seriously, only striving to be the best at being different. 


"The best way we can convince the customers is that we need to address what our client does, that no other competitor can do."

M7: Could you tell us about your best practices for creating an ideal customer experience?
OT: 
A functioning website that loads quickly
Easy navigation and user experience
Clear offerings and clear unique value propositions (what is it that you do that no competitor does?)
Great social proof (testimonials and case studies from current clients, awards, etc)

Great customer service: prompt support, regular email check-ins to see how your customer is doing, offer deals and promotions - all of these things keep a customer coming back for more.

M7: While creating a unique value proposition, how do you drive in the utility? In other words, how do you convince the customer about the uniqueness of your service?
OT: 
We definitely have to utilize this through the headline and anywhere in the hero section of the landing page or the homepage because that’s where people are landing first and you need to be able to grab their attention in the first five seconds. So, the best way we can convince the customers, is that we need to address what our client does, that no other competitor can do.

If you can say we’re the only platform that does x, y, and z, that is a great unique selling point. Another thing to consider is backing up your clients with data. If you are offering some sort of platform that will save me time on the implementation of a process, then tell me how much time I’m going to save. If you say, “Cut down your execution time by 90% with our platform” that’s a unique value proposition. That shows the benefit to the user there, and that will entice users to click through and complete the form. So, gaining conversions is usually based around giving real data that explains exactly what value the visitors are going to see or how much money is going to be made or saved, and how much time is going to be saved to solve a problem with this solution. The other side of the coin is “we are the only ones that do x y z” and that will basically set a business apart from their competitors.

M7: How does collaboration and communication come into play in your role?
OT: 
It’s the entire job. I oversee a design team and I need to make sure my team is not only communicating with me but communicating with other departments. PPC, SEO, and CRO must all work together to get the job done and we’re stronger together than apart. I have daily follow-ups on different accounts, weekly meetings, client sync ups - whatever it takes to make sure that I and the rest of the team have complete transparency into what is happening with these accounts so that we can assist in whatever way we can. We want our specialists and account managers to own their strategy, but the directors are responsible for approving the strategy and improving it if needed.


"As designers, we need to remember that form follows function, so we must be sure that this information is easily accessible, that the message is clear."

M7: What are the biggest mistakes you see businesses making when attempting to optimize their site to increase conversions?
OT:
These companies spend tens of thousands of dollars on a rebrand which will be done by a branding agency that has no knowledge of designing a site for increased conversions. Too many times we’ve had clients come in that just had a rebrand done and their conversions plummeted. So we will go in and audit the site to find out what is causing the problem. Too often, design takes over function but we must always remember that form follows function. As an example, the white space in the new site may be beautiful, but none of your visitors can even see what you’re offering until they get halfway down the page. Things like this are the biggest issues we see.

Also, with too many changes implemented at once, it makes it harder to pinpoint what caused the drop in conversions. It’s often times all of the things combined together that caused the problem. If a company is going to focus on increasing conversions, the changes need to be based on data and not on whims or best practices. Data doesn’t lie.

M7: What is the most challenging part of doing a conversion optimization project? What type of resource commitment do you require from your team?
OT:
The most challenging part is that the results cannot be guaranteed. Our tests are based on data but they’re just that: a test, a hypothesis. Nothing is written in stone. 9 out of 10 times I will be right in my hypothesis, but there will always be a test that fails. We still celebrate the failure because we still learn from it. We can find out why the test didn’t work and use it to narrow down on what will work.

As far as resources are concerned, we want to make sure that we’re testing at least a few things each week per client. We use Hotjar for qualitative research as well as Google Optimize for on-page testing, and Instapage/Unbounce for landing page testing. Reporting is a big part of our deliverable so a good amount of our time is spent gathering the data and providing insights to the client.

M7: According to you, what prompts a visitor to scroll down to the bottom of a webpage?
OT: 
Usually you would have to have a message that entices them in the hero section of the landing page. Just like we discussed about the UVPs, we need to show the customer right when they land on the page, that this is the solution for your problem. That will entice them to scroll down. You can sometimes kind of coax people to scroll down: I like to use false CTAs to get more information and if they click that CTA, it will scroll down to the benefit section on the page and that will get people to start scrolling. And from that benefit section you could have a CTA linking to the case studies on the landing page and get them to scroll down even further on the page.

The main issue is people think of redesigning their page to look better and they see horrible conversions because it may be beautiful but it’s not functional. The messaging is vague and does not relate to what it is they do as a company that’s better than anybody else. They don’t adjust the benefits, and they’re too stuck on this flowery and technical language that a lot of SaaS companies like to use. So, the biggest thing is being very upfront with what you do in layman’s terms, making it as clear as possible to the lowest common denominator, so that you have a potentially larger pool of leads versus only having that technical jargon that only a few may understand. This usually relates a lot to B2B and SaaS clients. They get really hung up on their own language that’s very technical but the common man that needs their service doesn’t understand that...just tell them what the benefit is.

So, to summarize that long rant: basically, make sure that the messaging is clear about the benefits right away, then use CTAs on your page to entice people to keep scrolling so they continue to learn more. Keep people engaged and reading, section by section.


"Gaining conversions is based around giving real data that explains what value the visitors are going to see or how much money is going to be made or saved, and how much time is going to be saved."

M7: In a world where anyone can start a web-based business, generating trust is more important than ever before. Considering this, what impact does design have on revenue?
OT: 
It has a huge impact. If you land on a site that is poorly designed - it’s ugly, it’s confusing, you have no idea what they sell - do you think you would stay on that site for long? No, you’d go to a site that has a clear hero image showing the product and how it works, and a headline that explains what sets it apart from any other competitor product. The way information is presented is just as important as what information is being said.




One-size-doesn’t-fit-all and I’ve seen pages that - funny enough - looked horrible but converted better than the redesign we did, just because the form was more readily available. All the information was above the fold and it looked really scrunched. However, the customers got whatever they needed right away and that was what was important. So even when you’re seeing this image of bad vs good, we could argue that maybe the option on the right still won’t convert because it’s not quite explaining any unique value composition. It has a lot of beautiful imagery but it’s not getting to the point. Although these full-width websites with huge images is the trend, I think it needs to be taken with a grain of salt and used sparingly; and it needs to be dialed back a bit when it comes to conversions. You have these big beautiful images and people have to scroll very far just to get down to the first paragraph which is not good for conversions even though it’s trendy. As designers, we need to remember that form follows function, so we must be sure that this information is easily accessible, that the message is clear and if it is, then great! The beauty comes after that, but messaging has to be clear, concise, and easily understood.

M7: Directive Consulting ranks #1 on Google for “SEO Agency”. What SEO strategies and tools does the company leverage to channelize its sales campaigns?
OT: 
On page SEO and targeted guest posting with keyword driven anchor text. Then we continually write content around SEO and internally link back to our core SEO page.

M7: As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
OT:
I wanted to be a speleologist (a cave scientist) for years. I was obsessed with caves, stalactites, and stalagmites. I’ve always been interested in maths and sciences, but there are dangers tied to being a cave scientist so I gave up on that. I still sometimes wonder what would have been if I had gone into the sciences instead of design. Maybe I’ll try it out in a few years!

M7: That sounds interesting! Have you visited caves in your earlier days?
OT: Yes, I did visit just a few caves, nothing big like the Man of the cave or Carlsbad cavern but as a child I was very interested in science – Biology, Zoology, Geology just the world around me and caves are interesting because they��re the dark places that not many people go to. I love history, I love biology so I think caves are kind of that interesting combination of both cause they’re ancient and they have these creatures that are so bizarre you know, like these blind salamanders which is like a different world there. I got very fixated on that for a few years as a child, reading all the books I could about it. I had my mind set, this is what I was going to do and I didn’t take into account the dangers of being a cave scientist. You’ll have to get into tight little spaces and there could be cavemen, you could get lost and stuck. Me being a homebody and kind of a bookworm, I decided, you know, maybe this is not the path for me, but I was also an artistic child. I was drawing all the time and that’s how I ended up in design school instead. So a very different path, but I still love science and history so I might dabble in it later in my life but for now it’s been design.

ABOUT DIRECTIVE CONSULTING

Directive does beautiful search marketing for B2B and enterprise companies that share our values. We redefine the global standard for how marketers work, live, and grow. We are a group of SEO, PPC, and content experts who are passionate about working with the best B2B brands in the world. When we are not executing ROI driven campaigns, you can find us drinking cold brew, volunteering in our community, or playing an intense game of ping-pong.

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Miravo and Searchlight Close Previously Announced Arrangement Plan

Miravo Healthcare | March 16, 2023

Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc., which operates as Miravo Healthcare (Miravo), and Searchlight Pharma Inc., a Canadian specialty firm, have recently announced the closing of the previously announced plan of arrangement of Miravo with Searchlight. As per the arrangement terms, Searchlight acquired all the outstanding common shares of Miravo in exchange for $1.35 per share in cash, and the Miravo common shares will be removed from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Miravo will also apply to cease being a reporting issuer in each of the Canadian provinces. The registered shareholders of Miravo must complete, sign and return the letter of transmittal and share certificate(s) to TSX Trust Company, the depositary, to receive their compensation under the arrangement. Non-registered shareholders will receive their compensation through their intermediary. Before the Arrangement, Searchlight did not possess any Company Shares. Searchlight bought 11,388,282 Company Shares, representing 100% of the issued and outstanding Company Shares, for $1.35 per Company Share in conjunction with the arrangement. Searchlight Pharma Inc., President and CEO, Mark Nawacki, commented, "Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Miravo as it officially combines with Searchlight and continues as a private company." He further emphasized, "Searchlight plus Miravo will be a diversified, large and strong company – based on IQVIA CDH sales data, we will rank in the top three of Canadian specialty pharma companies – and this positions us well to continue to execute our successful business model and to deliver on our leadership objective in the sector. On behalf of the Searchlight team, I express our thanks to all Miravo stakeholders for their cooperation throughout this acquisition process, and I warmly welcome our new Miravo colleagues to the Searchlight family." (Source – Business Wire) About Miravo Healthcare Miravo Healthcare, formerly known as Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc., is a Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company that focuses on developing and commercializing innovative therapies. Its mission is to improve patient's quality of life by providing them with safe and effective treatments for chronic conditions such as pain, inflammation, and addiction. Miravo Healthcare's portfolio includes a range of prescription drugs, over-the-counter products, and medical devices used in various therapeutic areas, including pain management, dermatology, and women's health. The company's flagship product is Pennsaid, a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat knee osteoarthritis. It is committed to sustainability and social responsibility, and the company's initiatives include reducing its environmental footprint, supporting local communities, and promoting diversity and inclusion. With a focus on innovation and patient care, it continues making significant contributions to the pharmaceutical industry in Canada and beyond.

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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMACY MARKET

Shields Health Solutions and Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Partner to Enhance Specialty Pharmacy Services for Pediatric Care

Shields Health Solutions | March 17, 2023

Shields Health Solutions (Shields), the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country, announced that it has partnered with Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware, to collaborate in developing a specialty pharmacy program that will provide patients with complex, chronic conditions access to specialized pharmacy services designed to lower costs, expand treatment options, enhance medication management, and improve overall health. Shields will provide Nemours Children’s Health new support services through its partnership to meet the unique needs of patients with complex chronic conditions. Now, specialty pharmacy liaisons will work with patients on-site in clinics, offices, and pharmacies, among other locations, guiding patients who fill their prescriptions with Nemours Children’s. These liaisons work with teams of experts to assist patients and families with a multitude of tasks, including health insurance prior authorizations or securing financial assistance to help overcome one of the significant barriers to care. These expanded patient support services, combined with access to recently approved and newly available drugs, will give Nemours’ patients greater availability for onsite treatment options. Shields currently partners with nearly 80 health systems around the country and has helped their patients reduce co-pays, promptly receive medication delivery, often within two days, and improved medication adherence greater than 90 percent on average. Nemours Children’s Health is one of the largest multistate pediatric health systems in the country and provides award-winning care to more than 38,000 specialty patients. The complete health system includes two free-standing children's hospitals and a network of more than 70 primary, specialty and urgent care practices. US News & World Report ranked Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware among the 10 best children’s hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic region and recognized Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida for excellence in orthopedics and endocrinology. “Nemours’ commitment to outstanding care for children with chronic diseases aligns with Shields core mission,” said Stephen Davis, Senior Director of Health System Strategy. “Specialty pharmacy services provide challenges for all patient populations, but pediatric patients have unique needs that require tremendous support. We are proud to provide that support for patients at Nemours Children’s Health and help them achieve the best possible health outcomes.” “As Nemours Children’s Health works toward creating the healthiest generations of children, it is imperative to address social determinants of health including access to medications that are affordable, said,” said Robert J. Mullen, BS, PharmD, RPh, Vice President, Patient Operations, Delaware Valley, at Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware. “Specialty pharmacy services can cause many challenges for the complex patients that Nemours Children’s cares for on a daily basis. We are proud to be partnering with Shields Health Solutions to help ease the burden for families acquiring prescription medication for their children and in turn achieve better health outcomes.” About Shields Health Solutions Shields Health Solutions (Shields) is the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country. The Shields Performance Platform, an integrated set of solutions, services and technology, is intentionally designed to elevate payer and drug access for specialty pharmacies, elevate health outcomes for complex patients, and elevate growth throughout the entire health system. As the foremost experts in the health system specialty pharmacy industry, Shields has a proven track record of success including access to over 80 percent of all limited distribution drugs (LDDs) and most (health insurance) payers in the nation; and a clinical model proven to lower total cost of care by 13%. In partnership with more than 70 health systems across the country through national-scale collaboration, Shields has a vested interest in delivering measurable clinical and financial results for health systems.

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RESEARCH, BUSINESS INSIGHTS

Allucent Extends Medidata Clinical Cloud Usage to Expedite New Drug Development

Medidata Solutions | March 13, 2023

Medidata, a leading provider of innovative software solutions for clinical trials that streamline the clinical trial process, reduce time and cost, and accelerate the development of new treatments, recently announced that Allucent, a contract research organization (CRO) that brings innovation to biopharma firms, is expanding the global use of Medidata's Clinical Cloud to enhance its clinical trial operations offering. This agreement extends Allucent's current usage of Medidata's technology, which includes eCOA, Rave EDC, RTSM, and Rave Imaging, supporting crucial development areas such as rare and orphan indications, oncology and cell and gene therapies. As part of the deal, Allucent's team achieved 100% Rave EDC certification, reinforcing their dedication to quality and providing clients with industry-leading technology. Allucent is a sponsor of Medidata NEXT London and will give a presentation on data analytics for early-phase oncology trials. The presentation will cover how working with Medidata has helped them apply visualization techniques and strategies to extract the total value of information for all stakeholders. Medidata is a Dassault Systèmes company poised to drive the digital transformation of life sciences in the age of personalized medicine with its 3DEXPERIENCE platform. This platform is the first end-to-end scientific and business solution, from research to commercialization. Medidata's head of Global Sales, Janet Butler, commented, "Allucent is leveraging the power of the Medidata Clinical Cloud to solidify their position at the forefront of clinical technology." She further emphasized, "Their work with novel therapies requires agile, patient-centric solutions. We are proud to build on our eight-year collaboration to advance the digital transformation of life sciences and deliver clinical innovations to help reach their goals." (Source – Business Wire) About Medidata Solutions Medidata Solutions is a New York-based global provider of cloud-based software solutions for clinical trials. Its platform, the Medidata Clinical Cloud, enables pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device companies, and academic research organizations to manage all aspects of clinical trials, including study design, data capture, management, and analysis. Medidata's platform can capture real-time data from multiple sources, including electronic health records and wearable devices, to monitor patients closely, identify potential safety issues earlier, and make informed decisions about trial design and treatment protocols. The platform also features advanced analytics tools like machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to help researchers analyze and interpret their data. In 2019, Dassault Systèmes, a global leader in 3D design software and simulation solutions, acquired Medidata, further enhancing its platform.

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