A/B Marketing is a very useful tool in marketing. But what is it? A/B Marketing is the comparison between two marketing campaigns– referred to as A and B. These tests, or experiments, compare the two campaigns by measuring their success in achieving one specific goal. If you want to know the effect of small campaign changes, an A/B test can help determine what changes will be more successful.
Let’s go through an example. Assume a new videogame company is trying to advertise its newest console and has created a complex marketing campaign. However, the marketing team is having difficulty deciding between the following two specific graphics to include in an email to potential consumers:
- A lifestyle image displaying a teenager playing with the new console
- A visual image of the new console and games
If both graphics had the same message encouraging new customers to buy the console and everything else in the emails were identical, the only difference would be the two graphics. Additionally, each email would have a hyperlink attached to the identical website. To test the effectiveness of each graphic we can compare how many people click the link to purchase or learn more about the new videogame console from the different emails. One way to analyze the success of each graphic is to utilize a web analytic tool, such as Google Analytics, to track which the majority of website customers came from (after a minimum of two weeks).
After learning which graphic garnered the most clicks, we can proceed accordingly and focus on deploying that type of email to prospective consumers. Continuing the earlier example, if the A campaign caused more people to click the hyperlink, we should send more emails similar to that as opposed to the B campaign.
A/B tests are very helpful in marketing because campaigns can be significantly more successful after determining which aspects of each campaign are more effective than others. Performing these tests can lead to effective marketing campaigns which can increase online presence, consumer loyalty, and profits.
