What is A/B Testing and Why You Should Do It

Published on March 1, 2023
3 min read
Marketing Tips
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3 min read
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A/B testing is one of the most effective ways to determine what elements to use that respond to customer needs and preferences the most. Find out why should you do it and how you can get started.

Many of the sales and marketing elements you see on the internet from huge companies have undergone A/B testing— the color of the CTA button, the copy or words they used in the button, the headline, and the pictures. These things were carefully studied and prepared using the test. 

But what is A/B testing, why should you do it, and how can you start doing it? Read on to find out.

What is A/B Testing

A/B testing is the process of comparing two or more versions of a variable (for example, web copy, color, picture, or other elements) to determine which version target audiences respond to the most.

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The goal of A/B testing is to optimize websites, webpages, and other online channels using data to eliminate the guesswork. With the data, you can understand at a deeper level your target users’ behavior, pain points, and the elements needed to achieve customer satisfaction.

Benefits of A/B Testing

Many companies have observed the following benefits of A/B testing:

1. Addressing target customers’ pain points

Have you ever visited a website and encountered an inconvenience like not being able to buy a product, check its description, or request a demo?

These are some of the pain points that businesses must learn to address to give customers a smooth experience interacting with your online channels.

With A/B testing, you’ll learn more about customers’ experiences and journeys with your brand so that you’ll give them a better experience the next time they visit your website or other online channels.

2. Achieving better ROI and other business objectives

A/B testing also helps you achieve business objectives such as driving sales, generating leads, or growing your business overall.

The tests let you increase conversions through your websites and landing pages without having to spend another dollar to drive traffic. This optimizes your spending— helping you get more sales with minimal costs.

3. Helps you understand your target customers better

The data you get from A/B testing also gives you insights about your customers— even information that customers don’t even know about themselves. These include preferences such as what words work best to encourage them to make a purchase or what pictures they’d like to see.

This data can be used throughout your business— sales, marketing, and support, among other things— to attract more customers, increase retention, and establish brand loyalty.

How to Start A/B Testing

To start A/B testing, we such doing the following:

1. Identify your business goal

The most important part of A/B testing is knowing what business goal you want to achieve. Some companies that conduct this test have the following goals:

  • Generating more leads through websites
  • Driving more sales through email
  • Getting more people to sign up for the newsletter
  • Encouraging people to refer the website to their friends

Knowing what you want to achieve helps you decide what to test and how to conduct that test.

2. Decide what to test

After identifying your business goal, select the variable that you want to measure (e.g. the size of the CTA button, the color of the CTA button, the tone of the copy, the pictures used, etc.). You will have to establish a hypothesis before doing this. Some hypotheses include:

  • The pictures you use in the email will encourage email readers to scroll through
  • The color of the CTA button affects its visibility and user experience
  • The headline used in the website will impact brand impression
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These hypotheses will help you narrow down and select the elements that you want to test. When testing, make sure that you have a control (or the main/default element that you’re normally using) and a challenger (the new variable or element that you want to test). 

3. Increase the significance of your results

Make sure that your sample size is enough to increase the statistical significance of your test. Split your sample groups equally and randomly— like testing with two or more audiences that are equal in number. 

4. Take one step at a time

More importantly, when you’re new to A/B testing, take one step at a time. Learn the basics first before moving on to the more complicated steps of A/B testing. Use tools to make collecting data easier and to produce more statistically significant results.

Want to learn more about customer data collection?

Try Saphyte to make data collection smooth and easy. Our platform have all the tools and features you need to make data collection, interpretation, and reporting easier.

With our digital ecosystem, you will have access to features that will help upgrade your sales, marketing, administration, and support functions.

Curious how digital ecosystems can help improve your business?

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April 21, 2023

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