From gravity to relativity to radiation, each of the world’s great scientific discoveries started with an inspired idea. These ideas were tested in a series of experiments based on the scientific method, culminating in eureka moments when the scientists triumphantly announced their discoveries to the world.
Marketers experience similar joy when they find insights that will boost sales or other key business metrics. Luckily, you don’t have to hire a scientist or wait for serendipity to strike to make these discoveries. Just as scientific discoveries are results of deliberate experimentations following established principles, marketing discoveries can be unearthed in similar fashion. Recent technological advances have made it possible to perform online tests in real time with real data based on an unlimited array of factors in the user experience. Here are five steps to finding your eureka moment.
1. Make Smart Guesses
Discovery starts with a hypothesis. This is sometimes described as an educated guess, but it is really an idea based on observation and possibly mixed with some conjecture. Modern analytics solutions make it possible to examine real-time data in detail to find patterns to form the basis of a test. Machine-learning algorithms can help to refine these even further, so you are starting with ideas that have high potentials. Your hypothesis will have extra value when it is tied to business goals and performance metrics.
2. Fire Up the Lab Equipment
A scientist’s lab is equipped with balances, centrifuges, and many other devices. Your digital lab is equipped with many tools too, all housed in your nearest computer. These tools are in the form of tests. Here are the tests — in order of complexity — that are available for you:
A/B: Tests two versions of a single digital experience
A/Bn: Tests unlimited versions of a single digital experience
Multivariate: Simultaneously tests alternative elements of a digital experience to find the best combination
Multichannel: Tests different aspects of the customer journey across channels
Targeted: Tests different versions of content targeted to various audience segments
As you become more skilled with these tests, you may have many of them running at the same time. It is important to implement safeguards, such as setting a priority or targeting criteria, to prevent a visitor from being in more than one test. Otherwise, you risk your ability to clearly interpret results.
3. Analyze Results and Perform Follow-Up Testing
Scientific theories are not based on one experiment; similarly, you cannot base a campaign or change in marketing strategy on one test. For instance, you may find that putting a video on the homepage increases retention, which was your original hypothesis. But, did you test different videos to determine which would have the greatest effect? Did you test where on the page to place the video? Do you know that this increase in retention will improve business performance? All of these questions can form the basis of additional testing to optimize the original result.
4. There Is No Such Thing as Failure
The only potential failure is the failure to learn something. You can learn from all of your results, especially unexpected results and results that disprove your initial hypothesis. These results often spur deeper thought and investigation, and as a result, the new tests you run may surface insights that you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
Similarly, even if you have a clearly positive result, it may not be for the reason/s you predicted. Do more testing to be sure that you have learned what really caused the success. You succeed every time you learn something — no matter what the test result is.
5. Broadcast Your Story
The best testing program in the world will fail without communication and collaboration. It starts before the program begins by getting buy-in from key leadership. After the tests, follow up with communications explaining the reasons for doing the test, the goals and metrics, and the results. Be sure to translate results such as “a 4 percent lift” into easily understood and appreciated monetary terms. Send these results to a wide audience to generate more interest in your testing program.
This blend of tools and strategies will lead you to many marketing “eureka!” moments. For more detail, additional examples, and customer success stories, download our free report, Finding Eureka: The New Science of Online Testing.
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