Testing is a Marketer's Best Friend by:Kristie Lorette

Marketing is essential to the success of any type of business

. While marketing isn't the only factor that makes a business successful, it is a key factor. You may have the best product or service ever offered, but without some kind of marketing, how will people know it exists?

The answer is they won't.

Testing is the key to successful marketing

Testing various aspects of marketing helps you to move your marketing efforts in the right direction. Every time you launch a new marketing campaign, send out an email to your database or drop a postcard mailing to your list, you should be testing something. In case you forgot from science class, when you test, you only change one item and keep all of the other elements the same. You only change the item you are testing.

Focus on what's important. The first essential piece to your marketing test is to test items that have meaning. The placement of a photograph, for example, is not going to make or break the success of your email or brochure. Whether your call to action motivates the reader to do what you want them to do or if the wording of your landing page increases sales are important. Placements of links on your landing page and in your email blasts are also important test items. Seeing what the results are from changing these types of items can help you make adjustments that increase your business.

Best doesn't always mean better. The test that brings you the best result may not always be what's best for your business. This may seem contradictory, but if you think about it logically, it's true. If you are testing a discount offer, for example, and you send out an email offering a 25% discount and another discount offer for 50% off their purchase, the 50% discount offer may (and probably will) have a higher response rate. You may have more transactions from the 50% offer, but does this net the highest in profits to your company, or does the 25% off coupon bring you fewer transactions but more profit?

It could go either way. That's what testing is all about.

Marketing is imperative to running a successful business. Testing is essential for running successful marketing efforts. Marketing is not an exact science, but you can use testing to pinpoint the direction of your efforts.

About the author

Kristie Lorette is a freelance writer that specializes in helping businesses and entrepreneurs create copy that sizzles, motivates, and sells. She is also the editor of The Inky Dot, a bi-monthly e-newsletter that offers tips, tricks, and advice on writing and marketing tips for businesses. You can learn more about Kristie and subscribe to The Inky Dot at www.studiokwriting.com.

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