Pivots & Passion — Stories to Change the World

A Candid Conversation with Krista Suchy Lohse

“The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists. (…) The starting point is curiosity: pondering why the default exists in the first place. We’re driven to question defaults when we experience vuja de, the opposite of déjà vu. Déjà vu occurs when we encounter something new, but it feels as if we’ve seen it before. Vuja de is the reverse—we face something familiar, but we see it with a fresh perspective that enables us to gain new insights into old problems.” — Adam Grant, “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World”

That’s the essence of this new series. We’re chasing that ‘vuja de’ moment — when someone looks at a best practice and goes, “Why do we even do it this way?”

Spotlighting unconventional thinkers who are reframing the way our industry approaches protocols and ideas. Folks who aren’t afraid to poke holes in mainstream theories and reject defaults.

Come along for the ride?

Krista — tell us about your background. Where are you from and what are you passionate about?

I am passionate about the intersection of qual and quant in regards to digital experiences. I was introduced to a/b testing almost 10 years ago while working for a large women’s clothing retailer.

Our optimization partner focused on data-informed tests, however, I quickly realized this meant that we never spoke with users or customers. We interpreted the analytics data through our own lens and made assumptions.

Once I jumped into optimization full-time, I learned as much as I could about both a/b testing and user experience. I wanted to be sure I understood how behavioral analytics and user research could be used in tandem to make solid business and customer decisions.

Every person has a pet peeve. Every industry has something to change. What would you like to change about the space that you work in?

There is an over-reliance on short-term quant data points. In the experimentation and optimization space, I have seen many organizations and agencies focus on the short-term gains from their programs and ignore the longer term impacts on the business and its users.

For some organizations, it’s more important to show winning tests than to consider the larger brand experience. That approach can degrade trust and negatively impact the user’s journey. At the end of the day, that website, that ad, that email, etc. is still the brand and focusing on short-term KPIs shows a very small snapshot of the larger user journey and brand experience.

Just because you can test everything, doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes putting another CTA could increase people moving to the next step but is it really helping the bottom line or has it become just another vanity metric to impress the C-suite?

How do you experiment & grow in your work?

I am part of various Slack channels for user experience and experimentation. The questions, conversations, and learning opportunities in those communities have kept me in touch with changes or issues within each industry. They have also made me aware of lesser known experts with impactful trainings.

There are a lot of webinars and courses out there but many are so high level, it can be difficult to find options for those who want to go beyond the basics.

Want more of Krista’s unconventional insights? Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Know someone who’d be perfect for this series? We’d love to hear about them! Reach out to our editor Carmen with your recommendations.