How do you test your messaging with customers?

1 Define your goals and hypotheses

The first step to test your messaging with customers is to define your goals and hypotheses. What are you trying to achieve with your message? Who are you trying to reach? What are the key benefits and value propositions that you want to communicate? What are the assumptions and risks that you need to validate or mitigate? By setting clear and specific goals and hypotheses, you can design your research questions and methods more effectively and measure your results more accurately.

2 Choose your research methods

The next step is to choose the best research methods for your goals and hypotheses. There are many ways to test your messaging with customers, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, usability tests, landing pages, email campaigns, and more. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the type of feedback you need, the stage of your product development, the size and availability of your audience, and the time and resources you have. You should choose the methods that suit your needs and objectives, and that allow you to reach a representative sample of your target customers.

3 Prepare your research materials

Once you have chosen your research methods, you need to prepare your research materials. This includes creating your messaging variations, writing your research questions or scripts, designing your surveys or tests, and recruiting your participants. You should also prepare a consent form and a privacy policy that inform your participants about the purpose and scope of your research, how you will use and protect their data, and how they can opt out or contact you if they have any questions or concerns. You should also test your research materials internally or with a small group of customers before you launch them to ensure that they are clear, relevant, and easy to use.

4 Conduct your research and collect data

The next step is to conduct your research and collect data from your customers. Depending on your research methods, you may need to schedule and conduct interviews or focus groups, send out surveys or emails, or launch landing pages or tests. You should follow the best practices for each method, such as asking open-ended and unbiased questions, moderating and recording the sessions, sending reminders and incentives, and tracking and analyzing the responses. You should also be flexible and adaptable, and be ready to adjust your research materials or methods if you encounter any issues or new insights.

5 Analyze and interpret your data

The final step is to analyze and interpret your data and draw conclusions from your research. You should look for patterns, trends, and insights that answer your research questions and hypotheses, and that help you evaluate and improve your messaging. You should also look for feedback that challenges or contradicts your assumptions, and that reveals new opportunities or problems that you need to address. You should use both quantitative and qualitative data, and use tools and techniques such as charts, graphs, tables, quotes, and themes to organize and present your data. You should also document and share your findings and recommendations with your team and stakeholders, and explain how they relate to your goals and hypotheses.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?