“Jump” shouted the instructor.

I looked over the rear plane ramp and saw the wrong side of the clouds below me. As the wind grabbed at my overalls, I yelled back. “After you! I want to be sure these parachutes definitely work!”

And that is why marketers should always be testing.

OK, let’s back up a bit. We’re talking A/B testing today. Already we’ve seen that we should be testing our work to make sure it is effective but we need to know what A/B testing is

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing, also known as split testing, is a method used to measure the effectiveness of two different versions. We can A/B test all sorts of things like a webpage, an advertisement, or an email campaign. The process involves testing two versions (version A and version B) amongst a selected audience and measuring their interaction. The version that yields better results is considered the more effective strategy. The less effective version can then be dropped.

How marketers use A/B testing

We’ve seen already some of the ways A/B testing can be used by marketers but it isn’t just the big things that can be tested. When you send your next email out form your business or charity, try two different subject lines, then check to see if one version is opened more than the other. If one gets an open rate of 35% while the other lags at 10%, then you know to use and imitate the first version in the future.

Marketers, like anyone, can be very protective of their work. It might be that you have just created the best possible version of that marketing element but unless you test it, you can’t be sure. A/B testing allows you to make data driven decisions and optimise your marketing.

Adobe, who have created Target (although there are more basic and much cheaper versions), reveal that there 70% of brands have increased sales due to A/B testing and some have seen 50% increase in average revenue per user. For a relatively small effort, A/B testing is certainly worth it to increase your organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness.

The steps of A/B testing

Aubrey can help build A/B testing into your strategic marketing so get in touch if you’d like to find out more. While it is mostly straightforward, there are variables that will determine the effectiveness of any A/B testing exercise so we recommend you follow these steps.

1. Create a hypothesis – What do you think might work better a different way?
2. Only change one element – Any more and you’ll not know which element is making the difference.
3. Split your audience equally – This isn’t always possible but where it is, it’s best not to skew the groups.
4. Set a time limit – Two weeks is probably long enough for you to collect data and make decisions.
5. Analyse and take action – this is an obvious one but make sure you act on the results.

Conclusion

A/B testing is a key player in successful marketing today. By employing A/B testing in your marketing strategy, you can effectively improve your engagement rates, conversion rates, and ultimately, your bottom line.

Don’t be tempted to just hope you are doing the best marketing you can. Test it! Aubrey will elevate your marketing by engaging your target audience in new and exciting ways that are tested and proven to bring in great results.