SUCCESS STORY
How to Reduce Friction and Improve User Experience With Microsoft Clarity
A TravelBoom Marketing Case Study on Intown Suites
With 196 locations across 22 states, InTown Suites is a group of affordable extended stay properties in the United States.
The notable hotel chain was looking to increase stay renewals via their website.
TravelBoom Marketing set out to identify opportunities to improve user experience online through the use of Microsoft Clarity, a free user behavior analytics tool that helps hoteliers understand how users are interacting with their website.
The result? Reduced friction leading to an increase in renewals.
Situation and Background
Extending a stay allows InTown Suites to generate additional revenue and increase their bottom line. By implementing and employing the user recording systems within Microsoft Clarity, TravelBoom Marketing was able to identify opportunities that would remove unnecessary clicks and improve the conversion funnel.
After analyzing InTown Suites’ website data, TravelBoom Marketing found that more than 75% of users visited the site via a mobile device. These mobile site visitors were separated into two groups:
- Those looking to book a new stay
- Those looking to renew (or extend) an existing stay
The two user types were found to follow different paths to conversion.
Methodology
Microsoft Clarity tool allowed our expert marketing team to segment users who visited the site on a mobile device and entered the renewal process. Through an in-depth analysis of recordings, we were able to identify an opportunity to reduce friction, making it easier for guests to renew a stay digitally. We did this by:
- Reducing scrolling
- Reducing the required number of clicks
- Improving CTA visibility
People ignore design that ignores people.
– Frank Chimero, Designer
Results and Analysis
TravelBoom Marketing found that 3.5 clicks were required to enter the renewal process. Our expert hotel website design and development team added two large user-friendly calls to action above the mobile navigation. This addition decreased the number of clicks required to enter the renewal process by 20%, which resulted in an overall increase in clicks to extend a stay.
Summary
Ensuring that your website offers a friendly user experience is critical to online success. User testing and other online heat mapping tools are a reliable method for discovering digital opportunities to improve both user experience and your bottom line.