About Us
CRO specialists since 2009
3
ways we’re different
Work with senior specialists, not junior generalists
We only hire people with 7+ years CRO experience. We’ve run thousands of a/b-tests across hundreds of websites and apps.
Voice of Customer
Most CRO is too obsessed with moving stuff around the page. But it’s people who buy (or don’t) from you. We start there.
Human + AI
Our advantage is not AI. It’s who’s using it. We integrate AI deeply into CRO, but humans do the strategic thinking and judgement.
Leadership
AWA is led by a team of experts, published authors and advisors to organisations that want to grow and learn.
Johann van Tonder
CEO
LinkedIn
Johann has been doing CRO and business experimentation for 15 years. His corporate management background, and subsequent experience as e-commerce turnaround CEO, gives him a solid understanding of business.
Publications:
E-commerce Website Optimization (Kogan Page, 2017).
Mel Henson
Head of Creative
LinkedIn
Mel is an experienced marketer and copywriter who learned the skills of direct marketing at Ogilvy & Mather Direct.
Mel heads a team of specialist designers and copywriters who work with AWA optimisers to develop prototypes, new customer journeys and web pages for split testing.
Publications:
Flicks & Clicks: How to Create Websites and Catalogues that Sell More (Ecademy Press 2011).
David Sanchez
Head of Optimisation
LinkedIn
For almost a decade since, he has been building successful Experimentation teams and programmes both as an in-house specialist and consultant across multiple verticals, advocating for a strategic, insights-led approach to CRO.
Dan Croxen-John
Founder
LinkedIn
Prior to founding AWA, Dan ran a number of successful multichannel retailers. He holds an MBA from Bath University School of Management, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM).
Publications:
E-commerce Website Optimization (Kogan Page, 2017).
E-commerce Website Optimization
Dan Croxen-John & Johann van Tonder are world experts in experimentation and optimizing retail websites. Their knowledge is now available to all in the first how-to business book specifically for e-commerce optimization
Delivery Team
Our people come from different walks of life. What they all have is experience. Deep, specialist experience. An average of seven years per person.
Phil Cave
Client Partner / Growth Consultant
Years of specialist experience 16
Former life Drummer in tribute band
Rokas Domarkas
UX Designer
Years of specialist experience 7
Former life Environmental campaigner
Nina Fernandes
Lead Optimiser
Years of specialist experience 6
Former life Photographer
Kabir Sahni
Test Developer
Years of specialist experience 8
Former life Gamer
Jonny Green
Growth Consultant
Years of specialist experience 8
Former life Funeral Undertaker
Deep Mahil
Lead Optimiser
Years of specialist experience 6
Former life Financial services
Brendan McNulty
Growth Consultant
Years of specialist experience 9
Former life Marketing Director
Dave Mullen
Growth Consultant
Years of specialist experience 10
Former life Fishing industry consultant
John Barnes
Head of Analytics
Years of specialist experience 12
Former life Dubai dude
Ridhi Moza
Test Developer
Years of specialist experience 8
Former life Python ninja
Ash Briscoe
Growth Consultant
Years of specialist experience 8
Former life Martial Arts Master / Cacti King
Support Team
The people who support our business are specialists too
Chris Atkinson
Head of Finance
Years of specialist experience 18
Former life PwC Senior Associate
Theunis Stoffberg
International Sales Manager
Years of specialist experience 12
Former life Lotus Notes Developer
Michelle Jamieson
Administrator
Years of specialist experience 20
Former life Pub Landlady
Company
Locations
London
York
Austin
Cape Town
Cape Town (South Africa)
First Floor,
Willowbridge Centre,
39 Carl Cronje Drive,
Tyger Valley 7530,
Cape Town
History
2009: Analytics Agency Dan-Croxen John leaves his job as MD of a group of mail order companies to offer analytics services to online retailers. Inspired by his first-hand experiences, Dan is aware of the value of analytics data and the scarcity of skilled analysts. He sets up office in The Phoenix Centre a hub for tech start-ups in York, takes the DAA’s challenging Certified Web Analyst exams and names the new company Applied Web Analytics.
2011: CRO agency Impressed with the insights from analytics, clients start asking for help in implementing the recommendations. It is a catalyst to relaunch the company as a fully-fledged CRO agency. Re-branded as AWA digital, the team work with leading CRO experts to develop a unique, customer-led, research-heavy process, designed to get substantial, long-term sales uplifts. Paperchase is AWA’s first CRO client and we deliver them a 35% increase in online sales.
2013: International expansion As demand grows AWA digital opens offices in London, Cape Town and Austin to cater for the needs of local and global clients. Awards come thick and fast, including the Gold award from WhichTestWon for best Home Page test won two years in a row.
2015: Blue chip client list AWA holds its 8th quarterly review meeting, a forum used by the team of optimisers to continually refine and improve the AWA Conversion System, its unique methodology. By now AWA’s client list includes some of the world’s biggest names including TK Maxx, Mothercare and Interflora, as well as a host of ambitious smaller companies.
2016: Multilingual CRO In a competitive pitch, AWA is selected to to become Canon Europe’s conversion optimisation agency. Initially the contract is to optimise the UK, German and French online stores but quickly expands to cover 13 territories in 8 languages, delivering a return on investment of 1,200%.
2017: Book Launch Business book publisher, Kogan Page, commissions founder Dan Croxen-John and COO Johann van Tonder to write a book; ‘Ecommerce Website Optimization’. Subtitled, ‘Why 95% of your visitors don’t buy – and what you can do about it’. The book shoots to the top of Amazon’s business bestseller lists and sales are double the publisher’s forecasts.
2018: 10th Anniversary AWA’s clients and staff gather to help celebrate the start of a new decade. With a vision to become the world’s most influential CRO agency, exciting innovations are planned for the next ten years.
2020: Conference We launch a free conference series called ‘Experimentation Works’ aimed at educating all those interested in growing their business using experimentation. Harvard Business professor and author, Stefan Thomke is our first speaker, followed by a panel of experts from Booking.com, Wall Street Journal and Optimizely.
Our 5% pledge
We give 5% of our profits to community projects each year. In 2019, we supported Your Cycling Without Age.
Every year since 2009 we have donated 5% of our profits to community projects and charities.
Our CEO is passionate about reducing loneliness felt by older people.
In 2019 AWA paid for a tricycle that is used by volunteers to take older people for bike rides around York.
Carbon positive
We have a huge responsibility to look after and pass on this planet in a fit state to future generations.
Right now, we are not doing a great job of that, in fact every year we are making things worse.
That’s why we have decided to be carbon positive – to put more in that we take from the world’s finite resources.
Each year we calculate as best we can the CO2 we have been responsible for and then offset these emissions by 120%. It’s our admittedly small contribution to a very large problem.
Methodology
Hand on heart, we believe in evidence. Evidence over opinion. That’s why the way we work is guided by scientific principles. It starts with getting inside the heads of your users.
Some of our clients
78% of our business comes through word of mouth recommendation.
Client Success
Whether your sales have flatlined or whether you believe your website is bleeding lost revenue we can help.
Maximising profit per visitor was our priority…
“We got back £51 in extra sales for every £1 we spent with AWA”
We had to move faster…
“AWA got us to where we wanted to be faster, more successfully and profitably than we would have on our own. They have created a real culture of experimentation within the company.”
We needed a fresh perspective…
“AWA did extensive research which allowed us to objectively review what was great about our business. These insights increased revenue far beyond our initial investment.”
We needed new insights…
“The best research I have seen in 15 years of e-commerce”
I needed to accelerate the growth of my business…
I chose AWA as my CRO partner after interviewing lots and lots of people.
Our manifesto
We are growth optimisers, truth-seekers and connection- makers at the leading edge of experimentation. Giving clients clarity on investment decisions. Empowering them to make smarter choices. See everything as an experiment, every moment of exchange. Test everything. Failure breeds success and success is a method. Instilling core analytical thinking, filling skills gaps and empowering teams to reap the benefits. We’re changing cultures and mindset.
Partners
Since 2009, we have been using the world’s most respected research, testing and experimentation technology.
If your CRO programme is not delivering the highest ROI of all of your marketing spend, then we should talk.
