A/B Testing Your Direct Marketing Campaigns
Whether embarking on an email marketing campaign or direct mail program, long-term, escalating success depends on how you measure and react to your audience’s response. There’s always room to learn about your audience’s behavior and tighten your communication with them. A/B testing in direct marketing is a great way to do this. It’s a relatively simple way to test and track elements of your direct marketing campaign, gauge what resonates with your audience and what misses the mark.
Specifically, A/B testing consists of organizing your target audience into two equal groups, sending slightly different messages to each group and measuring responders’ behavior. The difference in the marketing message presented to each group can be seemingly simple, such as a headline used, the type of image accompanying the copy, or position of the call to action. The point is to continually test, track and adjust your marketing message for optimal results. A major benefit is that, over time, you’ll better understand your audience and you will be able to get the maximum ROI out of your direct marketing efforts.
So, what are the steps for conducting an A/B test with your direct mail or email marketing campaign?
First, it’s important to know that this method only works if there is a clear, measurable goal. This may be a promotional sales offer, invitation to download a whitepaper, a request to call a dedicated phone number, etc. Whatever the end goal, it must be measurable. You’ll also have to determine a way to distinguish one group’s responses from the other.
Another factor to consider is that you should test only one element of your marketing piece at a time. If you conduct this test by sending out two radically different marketing pieces to your audiences, regardless of the response, you might not be able to pinpoint the specific element that brought about a particular action. For example, if you were to send out two different direct mail postcards to your groups – each postcard having a different headline, color scheme, and copy – it would be difficult for you to recognize which of those elements made the difference between getting a positive response or not. So, my advice is to be bold with the element you change on each piece but be limited on the number of elements you change.
Next, analyze your results while keeping in mind who is responding. Are there any similar characteristics of the people that respond most? By obtaining as much data as possible associated with the non-responders vs. responders, you may be able to further segment your audience and conduct more specific A/B tests. You’ll also be able to provide a more relevant and targeted marketing message to groups that you find share similar qualities.
In conclusion, follow these steps for a conclusive and successful A/B test of your direct marketing campaign:
1. Organize your target audience into two equal groups
2. Define a clear, measurable goal or call to action
3. Test only one element at a time, but be bold
4. Analyze your results
5. Adjust your marketing message
6. Test again, and again, and again…
Be consistent and make A/B testing a conscious part of your direct marketing campaign. Using A/B testing is a smart way to understand what works when presenting your marketing message and will allow you to get the maximum ROI out of your direct marketing efforts.
Best,
Steve