When answering marketing questions for clients, one thing I hear a lot is, “Is it better to do _____ or ______?” The blanks are filled with all sorts of comparisons, such as discounting vs. not, doing a free or a paid webinar, sending people to a free resource or one that has a cost, using one platform vs. another, choosing one headline instead of another, etc. In marketing, context matters and so do actual results. Let’s talk about how experimentation has an impact as you develop your marketing strategy.
I understand the reason these questions are asked.
When you are working on your marketing, you encounter choices that seem binary. You may not have the context you need to make a decision. My goal with my answers is to provide the context to help you make a decision with more information. In truth, marketers – even expert marketers – are constantly making educated guesses and then looking for ways to track results so they can refine their future choices.
When you are working on your marketing, you encounter choices that seem binary. #marketing #smallbusiness #smallbiz #smb #business #biztips Share on XSome of the questions posed do offer a chance to unearth a great deal of context. For example, if someone asks me if they should send leads to a resource that is free or one that has a cost, I can share the pros and cons. They are more likely to get a higher volume of leads if the resource is free, which gives them more people to nurture long-term. With the paid resource, they will likely get fewer people who make the purchase, thus fewer people to nurture long-term, but those who buy may be more qualified leads with more skin in the game. By simply breaking down typical behavior, I may give a client enough information to make a more educated decision up front. Want more information on this? Check out this blog on lead magnets.
However, until you actually start to implement your marketing decisions, you will not have data to prove which way is the best. In fact, unless you actually do a split test of the two options you are considering, you would not have a way to prove the better option. So, when you make your choice, do what you can to build into the process a way to gather intel on what is working better.
Until you actually start to implement your marketing decisions, you will not have data to prove which way is the best. #marketing #business #biztips #smallbusiness #smallbiz Share on XSometimes we are able to measure results quantitatively. Sometimes only qualitatively. Sometimes it takes longer for the results to bear out. Try planting questions along the way for your audience, such as “How did you hear about us?” or “What made you want to call us today?” This kind of information can supplement any quantitative data, and it also lets you find out in the customer’s words what mattered to them.
This idea of experimentation can be daunting for new business owners or those who have not been methodical about their marketing in the past. It can feel like you don’t have time, money, or energy to waste in uncertainty and you need your campaigns to land now. I get it.
If you are willing to start building experimentation into the marketing process now, you will be rewarded with more certainty later. The more you test now, the better your educated guesses will be in the future, and the more effective your marketing will be.
If you are willing to start building experimentation into the marketing process now, you will be rewarded with more certainty later. #marketing #smallbusiness #smallbiz #biztips #business Share on XAlthough it may feel like an extra step in the process in the early days of experimentation, you will find that you thank yourself for it down the road. You will be more easily able to predict and prepare for the behavior of your audience, and you will have your experimentation to credit.