Scotts Miracle-Gro and UserTesting: 9 customer experience takeaways

Scotts Miracle-Gro is focused on a three-year strategy aimed at driving 3% annual growth by expanding its retail presence and growing its direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels.

Constellation Research analyst Liz Miller recently caught up with Scotts Miracle-Gro leaders Hailey Schraer, lead user experience researcher at Scotts Miracle-Gro, and Jess Bailey, senior manager of digital experience at Scotts Miracle-Gro, to talk customer experience (CX). I followed up with a look at how those Scotts Miracle-Gro efforts align to the broader corporate strategy laid out by CEO Jim Hagedorn.

Scotts Miracle-Gro: How CX and UserTesting Drive Omnichannel Revenue

Here's a look at the takeaways:

1. CX is critical: CX plays a vital role in driving omnichannel revenue and continuous testing is the path to success. Scotts Miracle-Gro emphasizes building consumer confidence through education and content, which leads to increased purchase likelihood and repeat visits.
2. Real-time feedback's role: Scotts Miracle-Gro uses UserTesting to capture customer feedback in real-time. UserTesting enables continuous optimization of user experience (UX) by identifying pain points and improving interfaces based on consumer reactions.
3. Data drives decision-making: The integration of feedback loops, A/B testing, and analytics allows Scotts Miracle-Gro to make data-driven decisions, optimizing content, and improving conversion rates. UX and CX teams work collaborate to enhance the consumer's path to purchase.
4. Efficiency and ROI through CX: Leveraging UserTesting has resulted in measurable benefits, including a 33% increase in webpage views, 60% faster project completion, and a 477% projected ROI due to CX improvements.
5. Conversion through education: Scotts Miracle-Gro focuses on educating consumers about lawn and garden care across its digital platforms. The approach builds consumer confidence, enhances engagement and drives conversions directly to Scotts Miracle-Gro or retail partners.
6. Omnichannel connective tissue: By combining efforts across sales, marketing, and supply chain, Scotts Miracle-Gro ensures consistency in CX and aligns with business goals. Retail partnerships are enhanced through joint marketing efforts, which drive traffic both in-store and online.
7. Aligning CX metrics: Key metrics such as engagement, brand perception, and overall brand health are tracked across channels. These metrics guide the broader business objectives, ensuring that CX initiatives directly impact sales and revenue growth.
8. Agility: Scotts Miracle-Gro can turn around user studies in less than 24 hours, enabling a responsive and agile approach to customer feedback. Insights from UserTesting are shared across teams so they can influence strategic decisions at the executive level.
9. Managing seasonality and promotions: The company’s sales strategies are highly influenced by planting seasons, with spring being their most critical period. Promotional activities and CX during key retail times are crucial for driving sales and negotiating retailer partnerships.