Two sections moved, 63 percent more conversions.
IMD is a business school with top executive education programmes, and it wanted more leads for its MBA programme, with a brochure download as the primary call to action. We wireframed and built the page on Unbounce, then used Crazy Egg heatmaps to decide what to test. Moving the video testimonials and the About Us section higher took the conversion rate from 3.91 percent to 6.38 percent, a 63 percent increase in conversions.
- Conversions+63%more conversions after the A/B test
- Before3.91%conversion rate of the first live version
- After6.38%conversion rate of the optimised version
- The first live version against the optimised variant.As published October 2024.
- Client
- IMDBusiness school, executive education programmes
- Sector
- Business schoolEducation
- Platform
- UnbounceBuilt, then A/B tested
- Scope
- Landing page, heatmaps, A/B testWireframe, Unbounce build, two hypotheses
- Measured
- October 2024As the case study reports it
- Services
- Conversion rate optimisationCase study · October 2024
An MBA programme that needed more brochure downloads
IMD came to us to build the MBA landing page from the ground up. The objective was leads, measured by brochure downloads, and the page had three jobs beyond that.
More brochure downloads from prospective students
The primary call to action was to download a brochure. Everything on the page had to push towards that one action, and the conversion rate on it was the number the project would be judged by.
Different visitors needing different messages
Prospective MBA students do not arrive with the same questions. The page had to target different personas with the right messaging and a content hierarchy that put the answers each group wanted where they would find them.
A page that could be tested, not guessed at
IMD wanted the page tested and optimised after launch rather than left as designed. That meant a platform that could run variants, and a way to see how visitors actually used the page once it was live.
Boost lead generation for the MBA programme with a high-converting landing page, with the primary call to action being to download a brochure.The objective, as the case study states it
What we built, and what the heatmaps changed
The page was built first and tested second. The two changes that moved the number came from watching how visitors used the first version.
A wireframe built around one call to action
We started with a wireframe for the MBA landing page, focused on lead generation, with a clear call to action and the elements placed to guide visitors down the page towards it. Once IMD approved the wireframe we moved to the mockup, keeping the layout aligned with IMD's branding.
Mockup approved, then built on Unbounce
The page was developed on Unbounce, chosen because it makes building landing pages and testing variants straightforward. The first version led with clear calls to action, strong visuals and a concise explanation of the MBA programme's value. Live, it converted at 3.91 percent. That was the baseline for everything that followed.
Crazy Egg showed where visitors actually clicked
With the page live, we ran Crazy Egg heatmaps to see where visitors clicked and how they interacted with each section of the page. The data pointed to the areas that mattered most, and it gave us two hypotheses to test rather than a list of opinions about what might work.
Video testimonials moved higher for earlier proof
The alumni video testimonials sat low on the page. The first hypothesis was that moving them higher would increase engagement and conversions by putting social proof in front of visitors earlier in their journey, at the point where they are still deciding whether the programme is for them.
The About Us section brought forward
The second hypothesis was about trust. Visitors wanted to know about the institution before they read the programme details, so we reordered the About Us section to appear earlier. The aim was to establish IMD's credibility faster and match the order of the page to the order in which visitors were actually asking their questions.
One variant, both changes, then the numbers
We built one variation carrying both changes, the video testimonials higher and About Us ahead of the programme details, and ran it against the original as an A/B test. The variant won. The optimised version went live with a conversion rate of 6.38 percent, up from 3.91, a 63 percent increase in conversions.
What the test did to the number
The first live version against the optimised variant, from the Unbounce A/B test, as published in the case study in October 2024.
The conversion rate of the first live version, before the heatmaps and the two hypotheses.
The conversion rate of the optimised version, with the testimonials and About Us moved higher.
The lift from moving two sections, with brochure downloads and lead generation up as a direct result.
The case study gives the conversion rate before and after and the 63 percent increase, and the Unbounce screenshot is its own. It does not give the length of the test or the number of downloads, so neither is claimed here.
Four people, from wireframe to winning variant
The team on this project
- Team leadWaseem Bashir
- Project managerAfriyaz Maqbool
- CRO designerImaz Khan
- DeveloperFizail Kakroo
A named account manager and a shared channel for the whole engagement. UK hours, which is the East Coast morning.
Three more pages that were tested, not guessed
Have a page with traffic and a number that should be higher?
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