Wedding Marketing Strategy: Testing
Advertising agencies use typically use testing to identify the most effective creative approach before making a large media buy -- helping to maximize the return on their clients' marketing investment. (The term "testing" refers to trying out different versions of the same ad - each with one modification to be tested - on small segments of an audience, to gauge the effect the different versions on the response.)
Now ... I suspect you are thinking, "Yeah, that's all great, but, how does that apply to me? I don't use an advertising agency, and I couldn't possible afford to create multiple ads!" However, because most testing is done with direct mail (e.g., postcard) or direct email campaigns, testing is an option that is feasible and affordable for even very small wedding businesses.
Keep in mind that postcards can be purchased in small quantities for as little as $.10 each. So, while it may seem a little counterintuitive to create multiple versions -- knowing that ultimately only one "winner" will be used -- the investment can be small in comparison to the potential return.
Consider an example. Let's say that instead of developing one postcard idea and spending $125 to design and print it, you develop three cards, each with a single variation versus the others. (Examples of things you might test: headline, special offer, image used.) Your investment for the three cards will be $375 (or, $250 more than just producing one card).
Let's further assume that the testing allows you to improve your response by as little as one half of one percentage point. So, if you send out 1,200 total cards over the year, you get an extra 6 responses. Assuming you book even 20% of your qualified prospects (a relatively low success rate), you'll get one to two additional bookings just by improving your marketing piece.
For most wedding vendors, one or two additional bookings translates to at least 6-10 times the $250 extra investment. And, you might be able to use the same card for two years -- meaning your $250 testing investment could pay back 20 or more times its value.
What's more, the results of your postcard test will provide valuable insights you can apply to print advertising and brochures -- meaning that the return on your investment goes well beyond the extra bang you get from your postcard campaign.
Of course, if you use email marketing and invest a bit of time and energy in testing, you can keep the cost of testing even lower -- potentially generating additional bookings from your email campaigns with virtually no additional investment.
For a great examination of A-B testing, follow this link:
Optimize Your Marketing Campaign with A-B Testing (U of Utah)
Now ... I suspect you are thinking, "Yeah, that's all great, but, how does that apply to me? I don't use an advertising agency, and I couldn't possible afford to create multiple ads!" However, because most testing is done with direct mail (e.g., postcard) or direct email campaigns, testing is an option that is feasible and affordable for even very small wedding businesses.
Keep in mind that postcards can be purchased in small quantities for as little as $.10 each. So, while it may seem a little counterintuitive to create multiple versions -- knowing that ultimately only one "winner" will be used -- the investment can be small in comparison to the potential return.
Consider an example. Let's say that instead of developing one postcard idea and spending $125 to design and print it, you develop three cards, each with a single variation versus the others. (Examples of things you might test: headline, special offer, image used.) Your investment for the three cards will be $375 (or, $250 more than just producing one card).
Let's further assume that the testing allows you to improve your response by as little as one half of one percentage point. So, if you send out 1,200 total cards over the year, you get an extra 6 responses. Assuming you book even 20% of your qualified prospects (a relatively low success rate), you'll get one to two additional bookings just by improving your marketing piece.
For most wedding vendors, one or two additional bookings translates to at least 6-10 times the $250 extra investment. And, you might be able to use the same card for two years -- meaning your $250 testing investment could pay back 20 or more times its value.
What's more, the results of your postcard test will provide valuable insights you can apply to print advertising and brochures -- meaning that the return on your investment goes well beyond the extra bang you get from your postcard campaign.
Of course, if you use email marketing and invest a bit of time and energy in testing, you can keep the cost of testing even lower -- potentially generating additional bookings from your email campaigns with virtually no additional investment.
For a great examination of A-B testing, follow this link:
Optimize Your Marketing Campaign with A-B Testing (U of Utah)
posted by Laurie at 10:11 AM
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