Many companies are finally discovering that data is actually a product. Regardless of what you sell, be it a physical product, piece of content, or a service, your goal is to add value. At the root of any successful business is a strong drive to prove product value to customers. The better you can demonstrate value, the more successful your business will become.
The great thing about data is its measurability. Over time, we test everything possible to see which versions of any page aspect, copy order, colors, or placements draws higher conversion rates. Savvy companies know they should not just store data, but need to be actively utilizing and analyzing data; analyzing data is at the core of A/B testing. Basically, A/B testing is a method of comparing two scenarios–from text layout, to colors, to images, etc– and seeing which scenario was more favorable with customers. The more appealing your product is presented to consumers, the more likely your product will be successful. Furthermore, ideas are more likely to be put in action with A/B testing instead of being killed in presentations or in brainstorming sessions, because A/B testing allows ideas to be tested and tried. Proven ideas will stay, and ideas that fail are cast aside.
What We Did:
Recently we tested submission forms for a retail client of ours, testing two different forms. One form had one field for an email address and the other form had five fields to fill out. After speaking to the client, we realized that they only needed an email address (first form). So, we ran a test so that half of the audience saw the full form and half saw the other form with the one field.
The Results:
From this test, we saw a 3% jump up to 5.4% (2.4% is the industry standard for conversions) across thousands of people. 3% of thousands of people is a pretty good number!
All in all, A/B testing is using measurable data taken from interactions customers have with your business and then using that data to edify your product. Along with many other marketing terms, most of us have heard of A/B testing. Before, the importance of A/B marketing could be lost in the jargon of marketing lingo, but now we hope you have a better understanding of what A/B is and why it is important for businesses to conduct such testings.
Do you think you need to try A/B testing in your marketing strategies? Let us know how we can help!
