Testing, Testing...1,2,3

While working with clients, it may not surprise those that are in email marketing, social media marketing, or, well, any form of marketing to know that testing your data is critical in understanding what's working (or, more often than not, NOT working). Interestingly, only just over half (59%) of companies are actually proving their campaign might work before they go all in.

The question most often asked, (by seasoned veterans and newbies alike), what exactly is a "split test", or A/B test? A/B testing is when you create two different marketing messages for a campaign (version A and version B), alter just one aspect, and send each version to a small, different portion of your database to determine which generated the best response. Whichever one "wins" gets tested against another concept, or released to represent the campaign being run.

So, you've completed your testing and you're ready to move on to the next stage. Your campaign looks just the way you want it, but you're still not getting the traffic and purchases you want. Do you walk away, or just keep testing until you're blue in the face? The most frequently asked question I get is, when is enough, enough? When do we stop testing, and start selling? Easy answer? You don't. Well, not really. You continue testing, proving out what works and doesn't work, and document everything along the way, working out a message that engages customers

The A/B test isn’t only for testing content, and by no means should you abandon a campaign simply because you feel your message isn't strong enough. It can be as simple as changing the images, or putting that ever-so-beautiful "buy now" button in another location on your website or marketing material. So, you're probably thinking that this all sounds...redundant, right? Don't stress! I'm not asking you to reinvent the wheel or have 100 versions of the same "buy now" button on every space of your campaign. I'm simply asking you to change one aspect of the campaign for each A/B test. That way, you're not bashing your head on your desk wondering how far you can stretch the last bit of your marketing budget because you spent it on a whole 'lotta spam. (Been there, done that)

It's time to buckle down and test your beautiful campaigns. By now, (if you're smart), you've already built some campaigns that don't look terrible and you feel your customers will love. It's time to reach out, right? Maybe..in this example, I'm using email campaigns. If you're using this method, typically you've already built your digital marketing campaigns, you've built brand recognition, or you're feeling daring and taking your chances with the spam filter. Here are some things to look at before you hit that beautiful "send" button:

1. “From” name/email address: Make sure your "from" name represents the name you actually WANT to show to the customer. Customers that have chosen to give their two cents have unequivocally vocalized that this is one of the main reasons they open their email to begin with. (No pressure, right?) That’s why we want to test our data (ahem). For example, if you send a general invitation to an event or webinar from your standard company address, you might follow up that message with a more personal one from someone they'll recognize through your other marketing efforts. Yes, age, gender, demographic and income may have an impact on this.

1. Sick of being just another number: Okay, okay, I understand that writing out 5,000, 10,000, 50,000 or more emails may not exactly be feasible. It's important to see it from the customer's perspective. Sending a simple "Hi there" may be just as good as "To Whom It May Concern;" when sending email campaigns in bulk. So, how exactly do we get around this? Well, you make sure your customer's name will appear exactly where you want it.  Including your recipient’s name in the subject line can be a game changer. Still not getting the results you want? To take subject line personalization a step further, mention the item they recently purchased and include their name in the body. Overwhelmed yet? Well, don't be. This can be a simple add-on with software you're already using, without sending yourself into a panic attack.

1. Demographics: So, if you're a marketing professional (or doing the best you can), you may already be familiar with "Affinity searches", but if not, it's Google's way of segmenting your data. (Finding the right audience for your product) it's probably past time you understand who you're marketing to. If you've gotten this far without understanding who you're marketing to, a couple more A/B tests may be in order before you hit send. If you’ve decided to split your fans by gender, location, whether or not they've expressed interest, preferences or purchase history, you may want to test messages that call more to them and their wallets. (Let's be real)

1. You've got to be nuts!: Congrats! You and your team just came up with a new idea you think your customers might like. Don’t immediately fear or dismiss that your audience won’t go for it – test it..If your idea turns to mush, scrap it and test another. (Noticing a theme here?) Marketers understand that the level of content each of us have to scrape through to get to those is thicker than the Utah smog on a warm Summer afternoon. You need to stand out, so test that new idea on a small sample, and have fun being creative.

If your company is part of the 40% (approximately) who aren't A/B testing, one, whew! Give yourself a break, that's got to be racking up fast, and two, keep your job by engaging the right people, at the right time, with the right messaging.

Still not sure where to begin? Please reach out. I'm happy to help