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From our days as neophyte direct response marketers, we have heard the mantra: “Test, test, test. And when you’ve done that, test some more.” The reality is there’s no substitute for well-planned and carefully executed testing to move your brand’s direct results to the next level.
The complications of multichannel marketing add to the complexity of marketing programs and, as a result, testing plans. But the Web offers opportunities as well. Everything on the Internet happens quickly. And it offers significantly lower testing expense—without incurring major production costs.
So why not take advantage of the benefits available online to improve your entire direct response program? By integrating your testing program into a cohesive multichannel plan, you can do exactly that and maximize the learning gained from testing dollars.
Note: I’m suggesting a multichannel testing program. I’m not suggesting you abandon direct mail or other offline testing and do all your testing on the Web. A multichannel testing program means we learn from one channel to the next, but still remember what is unique about each individual channel or medium.
Built for Speed
So, how do you maximize the benefits the Web brings to your testing program? The Web is particularly adept at getting answers fast, inexpensively. What it often isn’t good at is targeting specific prospect niches. You don’t control who arrives at your Web site, and e-mail is primarily aimed at customers, with few prospect lists available; neither channel allows you to test prospect reaction specifically.
Paid search marketing targets prospects, but not segment niches. If you need to determine if the nurses who comprise 50 percent of your audience will respond to the lower or higher price for an item, it can be challenging to identify keywords that attract only nurses interested in your products. So, if you need to test a concept or price to a specific prospect audience, the Web isn’t the best place to do it. On the other hand, if you want to get a quick read on which benefit to push in a headline or which price gets greater responses, (regardless of prospect or customer status), or if you want to focus testing solely on customers, the Web is an ideal place to start your testing process and improve overall testing efficiency.
Whittle Down Your Options
The most effective use of Web testing applicable to offline mediums can be to gather preliminary information and cut testing options down to a more manageable number, which allows you to structure appropriate, statistically valid offline tests. Ultimately, this means results gleaned from offline tests will be gathered faster and with less expense because you will be testing fewer options offline.
With this in mind, here are four key areas where testing via the Web particularly can prove insightful.
• Copy tests. For anyone participating in paid search marketing, copy should be tested on an ongoing basis. So instead of treating those learnings as solely beneficial to future paid search campaigns, methodically structure your paid search tests to gather data on which keywords, benefits, copy approaches and combinations thereof draw the most clicks and sales conversions. If there is a clear, consistent winner, use the same copy approach, words and benefits to craft the headline for your space ad or the teaser for your direct mail envelope. If you have more than one winner, the top two performers now become ideal A and B tests for your next mailing package or insert.
• Pretest price/offer variations. There are times when you have a bevy of price and offer combinations to consider: three or four installment payments, three different price points, whether to offer one or two bonus gifts. In these circumstances, the Internet is ideal for preliminary testing.
In an e-mail or on a Web landing page from search marketing, test an alternating round of the various offers under consideration. Once you see a trend toward two or three offer options gathering the most response and sales conversions, test these top winners offline to validate the results in the more statistically reliable medium of direct mail.
• Merchandising and product selection. Not sure which of three or four new product ideas is the strongest? Merchandising consultant Susan Bates, of Susan Bates Consulting, recommends purchasing a small quantity of each product and offering all of them on your Web site’s homepage or via an e-mail to gauge feedback and interest. The favorite then can be selected for the direct mail package, space ad or package insert. The results also can help you determine how much space to allocate in your catalog for each of the products you do carry, which to feature on the Web site, etc.
Bates also suggests creating a “best customers only” page online, where customers can “vote” and provide input and feedback on new product ideas before their development or purchase is finalized. Ask which color, topic or other version customers prefer. This way you can learn that 18-inch necklace chains are preferred over 24-inch chains, and you will ensure your supplier delivers the most likely winner to you.
• Premium selection. Tom Link, of Link Direct, says that for some of his B-to-C clients, he has used Web surveys to online newsletter recipients to gauge interest among a list of premiums. “Since we can’t test all the premiums in direct mail, this helps us zero in on which ones to test. If you combine this type of premium question along with demographic questions in your survey, you can create cross tabs to see what premiums might be of most interest to specific segments of your audience,” he explains.
An additional way to use the Web for testing premiums is to offer an unannounced bonus gift to Web customers at checkout. Let them choose from four or five premiums. This gives you good data, in a relatively similar situation, as to how premiums should be offered. One premium may emerge as the winner or you may need to do a second round of Web tests that allow customers to select between the top two winners.
There are numerous areas where your Web site, e-mail and search marketing can provide insights: copy, price and offer, benefits focus, merchandise, and premium selections. These online methods all provide answers fast and inexpensively, helping you refine your plans before you further hone in on the best approaches via direct mail, inserts, DRTV or space ads. Approach your testing plan in a multichannel manner, and let your online involvement improve not only your offline results, but also your speed in determining what works. And don’t forget to take what you learn offline and apply it online. Then you’re taking advantage of the full circle benefit of a multichannel test plan!
Shari Altman is president of Altman Dedicated Direct, a direct marketing consultancy specializing in acquisition, continuity, DRTV and loyalty marketing. Prior to launching Altman Dedicated Direct in 1999, she spent 20 years as director of marketing for direct response marketers and catalogers. She can be reached at (336) 969-9538 or by e-mail at saltman@altmandedicateddirect.com.
The complications of multichannel marketing add to the complexity of marketing programs and, as a result, testing plans. But the Web offers opportunities as well. Everything on the Internet happens quickly. And it offers significantly lower testing expense—without incurring major production costs.
So why not take advantage of the benefits available online to improve your entire direct response program? By integrating your testing program into a cohesive multichannel plan, you can do exactly that and maximize the learning gained from testing dollars.
Note: I’m suggesting a multichannel testing program. I’m not suggesting you abandon direct mail or other offline testing and do all your testing on the Web. A multichannel testing program means we learn from one channel to the next, but still remember what is unique about each individual channel or medium.
Built for Speed
So, how do you maximize the benefits the Web brings to your testing program? The Web is particularly adept at getting answers fast, inexpensively. What it often isn’t good at is targeting specific prospect niches. You don’t control who arrives at your Web site, and e-mail is primarily aimed at customers, with few prospect lists available; neither channel allows you to test prospect reaction specifically.
Paid search marketing targets prospects, but not segment niches. If you need to determine if the nurses who comprise 50 percent of your audience will respond to the lower or higher price for an item, it can be challenging to identify keywords that attract only nurses interested in your products. So, if you need to test a concept or price to a specific prospect audience, the Web isn’t the best place to do it. On the other hand, if you want to get a quick read on which benefit to push in a headline or which price gets greater responses, (regardless of prospect or customer status), or if you want to focus testing solely on customers, the Web is an ideal place to start your testing process and improve overall testing efficiency.
Whittle Down Your Options
The most effective use of Web testing applicable to offline mediums can be to gather preliminary information and cut testing options down to a more manageable number, which allows you to structure appropriate, statistically valid offline tests. Ultimately, this means results gleaned from offline tests will be gathered faster and with less expense because you will be testing fewer options offline.
With this in mind, here are four key areas where testing via the Web particularly can prove insightful.
• Copy tests. For anyone participating in paid search marketing, copy should be tested on an ongoing basis. So instead of treating those learnings as solely beneficial to future paid search campaigns, methodically structure your paid search tests to gather data on which keywords, benefits, copy approaches and combinations thereof draw the most clicks and sales conversions. If there is a clear, consistent winner, use the same copy approach, words and benefits to craft the headline for your space ad or the teaser for your direct mail envelope. If you have more than one winner, the top two performers now become ideal A and B tests for your next mailing package or insert.
• Pretest price/offer variations. There are times when you have a bevy of price and offer combinations to consider: three or four installment payments, three different price points, whether to offer one or two bonus gifts. In these circumstances, the Internet is ideal for preliminary testing.
In an e-mail or on a Web landing page from search marketing, test an alternating round of the various offers under consideration. Once you see a trend toward two or three offer options gathering the most response and sales conversions, test these top winners offline to validate the results in the more statistically reliable medium of direct mail.
• Merchandising and product selection. Not sure which of three or four new product ideas is the strongest? Merchandising consultant Susan Bates, of Susan Bates Consulting, recommends purchasing a small quantity of each product and offering all of them on your Web site’s homepage or via an e-mail to gauge feedback and interest. The favorite then can be selected for the direct mail package, space ad or package insert. The results also can help you determine how much space to allocate in your catalog for each of the products you do carry, which to feature on the Web site, etc.
Bates also suggests creating a “best customers only” page online, where customers can “vote” and provide input and feedback on new product ideas before their development or purchase is finalized. Ask which color, topic or other version customers prefer. This way you can learn that 18-inch necklace chains are preferred over 24-inch chains, and you will ensure your supplier delivers the most likely winner to you.
• Premium selection. Tom Link, of Link Direct, says that for some of his B-to-C clients, he has used Web surveys to online newsletter recipients to gauge interest among a list of premiums. “Since we can’t test all the premiums in direct mail, this helps us zero in on which ones to test. If you combine this type of premium question along with demographic questions in your survey, you can create cross tabs to see what premiums might be of most interest to specific segments of your audience,” he explains.
An additional way to use the Web for testing premiums is to offer an unannounced bonus gift to Web customers at checkout. Let them choose from four or five premiums. This gives you good data, in a relatively similar situation, as to how premiums should be offered. One premium may emerge as the winner or you may need to do a second round of Web tests that allow customers to select between the top two winners.
There are numerous areas where your Web site, e-mail and search marketing can provide insights: copy, price and offer, benefits focus, merchandise, and premium selections. These online methods all provide answers fast and inexpensively, helping you refine your plans before you further hone in on the best approaches via direct mail, inserts, DRTV or space ads. Approach your testing plan in a multichannel manner, and let your online involvement improve not only your offline results, but also your speed in determining what works. And don’t forget to take what you learn offline and apply it online. Then you’re taking advantage of the full circle benefit of a multichannel test plan!
Shari Altman is president of Altman Dedicated Direct, a direct marketing consultancy specializing in acquisition, continuity, DRTV and loyalty marketing. Prior to launching Altman Dedicated Direct in 1999, she spent 20 years as director of marketing for direct response marketers and catalogers. She can be reached at (336) 969-9538 or by e-mail at saltman@altmandedicateddirect.com.
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