Test-and-Learn Approach, Part 1

This week we’re focusing on Testing! We firmly believe in a continuous-learning approach. We’ve seen again and again, that our programs evolve and improve when we vigilantly look for new and better solutions. We’ll present eight testing strategies this week. Our hope is that they spark some good ideas that you can use to fine-tune your marketing programs.

Idea 1: Evaluate testing strategies for new customer acquisition programs

It’s so important to bring new customers on-board. But we’ve seen too many companies rely on a stagnant control program. How long has it been since you’ve seriously evaluated your prospecting efforts? Are you continuously testing new creative ideas? How about your offers and pricing strategies—is there a new twist you can present to the marketplace?

And for those who acquire new customers through direct mail, outbound telemarketing or even e-mail marketing, what about looking at the lists you use. Have you tested new and different data sources?

Finally, what about Channel? Are you putting too many of your eggs in one basket? Should you be looking at new ideas–maybe using social networks or other social media? Are you considering mobile marketing?

It’s easy to keep business as usual, especially if your response rates continue to be at the levels you need them to be. However, if you are not constantly testing new combinations of offer, package, list and channel, you may be missing the boat on improved results.

Idea 2: Get your analytical house in order

You can imagine that this one is near and dear to our hearts.

There is an increasing amount of data available to us. We have the systems in place to retain and retrieve important transaction-level detail about how our customers behave with us. We also can purchase literally thousands of pieces of data that the big data compilers offer. The wealth of data only means one thing—we need to have the resources available to understand and analyze this data to impact business decisions and help set strategy.

Do you have the analytical bandwidth to effectively take advantage of the data available to you? Whether it’s considering your in-house analytical staff or looking outside for help and ideas, now is the time to plan how you can turn the data that’s available to you into a competitive advantage.