Split Testing: The Wild Card Approach

All too often marketers create an advertisement and stick with it no matter what. Even if an advertisement works, it doesn't mean that there isn't one that might work better. It's important not to get stuck in a rut because of faulty assumptions. One great way to make sure you don't is to test your assumptions.

Do you test your advertising message? You should. You should test just about every type of communication you have with your prospects and customers: your website, advertisements, direct mail, product packaging, etc.

In simple terms an A/B Split Test is running two competing advertisements to determine which one is more successful. It is usually appropriate to test one aspect of an advertisement at a time. For instance, to find the most profitable headline two identical ads would be run where the only difference is the headline on each. Whichever ad gets the better response determines the better headline.

A/B split testing is an important tool to strengthen your advertising. If you are not currently testing the messages in your ads, website, etc, then you are leaving money on the table.

I advocate a slightly different approach to split testing. Continue to run A/B split tests as I described - run a slightly different headline, or picture, or guarantee against your control (your current avert). But then include a third advertisement in your test, a completely different advertisement that uses a different headline, and a different picture, and a different guarantee. The third advertisement should be completely different than the other two.

Stick with whichever one gets the best response. If the third one gets the best response then you have just taken a big step forward in your advertising that you would not have achieved otherwise. Continue testing the new ad in the same way - the new ad is the control, change one part of the ad for the second test ad, and then create a completely different ad as the third part of the split test.

Including a third advertisement, a wild card, in your split test keeps you honest. It keeps you from thinking you have done everything you need to do to continue your success. Without continuous improvement you will fall behind quickly as others find better ways to do things.

In a marketing world where "time is money" it is imperative to move quickly and boldly. The "Wild Card Approach" to split testing enables you to do just that while still soundly testing your advertising.