In the words of science fiction author Ray Bradbury, “Life is trying things to see if they work.” And the same can be said for business marketing, where experimenting is a big key to success.
You probably already have something that “works,” be it rich content, a strong social media presence, paid ads or any other marketing strategy. But just because it technically works doesn’t mean there’s nothing out there that could work better.
How do you find “better?” You experiment. You try different things to see if they work. If they do, you find a way to work them into your existing (read: already working) marketing strategy. If they don’t, you kick them to the curb.
So how do you begin this marketing experimentation process? We have a few thoughts.
4 Marketing Experimentation Tips
Start with “This or That”
Think about the last time you went to the optometrist. They sat you in a chair, attached a medieval-looking device to your face and took you through a series of lenses. “Is this better, or is that better? This is 1; this is 2. Does A look better than B?”
The intent behind the seemingly never-ending exam was to find the best of the best. The first lens may have been better than the second one, but is the third one better than the first? Through a concentrated process of elimination, the optometrist found the prescription you needed to see clearly.
The same is true for marketing. A/B testing is one of the best ways to decide what is working in your strategy, and, arguably more important, what isn’t working. And the cool thing is, you can apply this form of marketing experimentation to absolutely anything, from landing pages to email subject lines to your social media ads.
Always Have a Control
Every good experiment requires a control. (We’re fairly certain we learned that from Bill Nye. But it could have been our middle school science teacher who just looked a bit like Bill Nye.)
A control is a constant. So if social media is working well for you but you want to experiment with direct mail, the key is to keep doing social media the way you’ve always done it before and add direct mail into your marketing strategy.
How does your new direct mail campaign stack up against your existing social media campaign? Is it better, equal or worse? Are there tweaks you can make that would increase your success rates?
Never give up on something that’s working for something that “might” work. Your goal is to add to your strategies, not replace them.
Poll Your Audience
If you’re trying to figure out a better way to market to your audience, who better to ask than your audience?
Create a survey asking what marketing efforts they’d most appreciate. Do they want daily emails, or would they prefer bi-weekly (or even monthly) emails? Do they like engaging with the comments on social media or are they more into passively watching a YouTube video?
Once you have the poll results, act on them and see how your audience responds. If you see a boost, it’s working. If you don’t, head back to the drawing board.
Have a Way to Track Your Success (Or Lack Thereof)
Experimentation means nothing if you don’t have a way to track it. What’s working and what isn’t? If you’re not paying attention, you’ll never know.
Keep an eye on your analytics and customer relationship management (CRM) software, and make sure you’re setting and monitoring your key performance indicators (KPIs) on a regular basis.
Are You Ready to Take the Leap?
As a small business owner, it’s incredibly common to think that good is good enough. After all, why fix something if it isn’t broken? But when you constantly strive to make a good thing better, a bit of experimentation can go a long way!
Was science your least favorite class? That’s OK — Mischa Communications has the cheat sheet. We’ll set up the experiments; all you have to do is tell us what you need!