Marketers have several choices to make when weighing out which solutions will work best for their customer's experience and A/B Testing is an approach that helps to come to that conclusion. With this approach, marketers must consider different details as it is not as simple as running test A then running test B. Factors include segmentation such as geographic, demographic, psychographic, behavioral, and other key indicators. This process can be applied to EMAIL MARKETING, SMS/MMS marketing, various advertising campaigns, and so many other channels used to connect with customers.

Throughout the duration of the year I have received daily texts and emails from an eyewear company that wants for me to return as a shopper. Despite me loving the products that they offer, I have felt unenthused to shop due to my lack of excitement when receiving a notification from them. From repetitive texts to visually lacking EMAILS, their company has unfortunately become a notification that I have put on silent. Below you will discover my pain points and also explore my possible solutions for them. 

Please note: For privacy purposes I have excluded the name of the company, product, and link details.

SKIMS

SKIMS does an amazing job of keeping customers engaged with eye-catching images when updating them on collections that have just dropped. In the case of a customer not immediately pressing the link to shop, SKIMS is always sure to create social media content that further engages customers, helping to complement the MMS messages they send. Customers that have opted-in to receiving text from SKIMS can typically expect to be sent a MMS message once every week or every two weeks.

Sale Announcements

Announcing a sale through SMS can be effective depending on what a brand is offering, but the use of MMS helps a lot more with staying on top of mind for consumers. Image choice can be a source for a CTA (call-to-action), an emotional trigger, as well as being a visual source of information/education.

- UPPPER, a fitness gear company, used an image of a model wearing their products + indicators of her being prepared to use them (wearing workout clothes + barbell & weights) instead of just using words to announce their warehouse sale. This can be an emotional trigger for someone who hadn't made a purchase just yet as the photo may inspire them to make the purchase.

- Kendra's Boutique, a hair extension company, commonly sends their Hair Barbs (customers) holiday themed sales. These images usually consist of a list of hair prices along with a description of a free gift that those that order during the sale will receive. The organization of information, themed layout, and text details can influence someone that wants a deal on hair along with an opportunity to win free bundles.

- Claire's, an accessories company, used bold font, layout, and colors to notify customers of a sale. The image used and the text  "LAST DAY" & "RUN" + other details are a form of a CTA. Customers seeing this will feel immediately enticed to shop knowing that they can only layer discounts for a limited amount of time.

Now that I have had an opportunity as a customer to list all of my complaints (wow, it felt great to vent) and also gather some great examples from the perspective of a marketer as a point of reference, let's talk current approaches and new solutions below!

Collaboration Announcement

A great way to create buzz prior to the drop of a new collaboration is to let customers know ahead of time. This collaboration was announced on instagram July 13th, unfortunately the post did not show up on my feed and I received a fairly flat notification through text on July 20th-July 21st. It is not always guaranteed that customers will see your social media announcements (thank you new algorithms) so using the channel of MMS is a great resource to assure that you reach customers. View my approach below!

Specific Product + BOGO Sale Announcement 

Customers love to feel like they are getting a good deal and the BOGO approach (or a Buy 2 get 3 free... who's counting?) is a great way to get customers to shop. Now, put yourself in the shoes of a customer and imagine your phone ringing everyday throughout the summer with another reminder of a BOGO sale. Unfortunately this has been my experience since the start of summer and I personally feel like the company can take a better route with trying to get me to shop. View my approach below!

Test A vs. Test B

A/B testing can be simple but it also has some complex layers to it. Think of the examples I provided from the company's approach and the examples of solutions I suggested. What a lot of companies tend to do is a thorough audit of their current performance, current strategies, and collected data/reports. Based on those findings, if something can be improved, this is when A/B testing comes into the picture. )

(For example purposes I would like to refer to this approach as Test A) : Currently the company's strategy is to optimize their SMS channel by texting their customers nearly everyday possible with a new product recommendation, an announcement of a flash sale, a drop of a collaboration, and more. SMS is a great resource to stay connected with customers due to it being a channel that the company will always have access to, similar to a company's email list. While this approach may be providing a ROI, that does not necessarily make it the most effective stratgey.

(For example purposes I would like to refer to this approach as Test B): If I were part of their marketing team, I would suggest the strategy of a more intentional approach with a "less is more" plan. Instead of texting customers everyday, we could utilize MMS messaging with eye-catching images/gifs and cut down on the amount of times customers receive a text from the company. Not only will this be a form of relief to the customer, it will also allow the company to focus on improving strategies to reach customers at different touchpoints in more effective ways. This will help in the process of creating a more enjoyable experience for the customer.

Testing, Testing, Testing

Now that we have established what is Test A and Test B, let's discuss how to go about testing. There are several ways to approach the test and this is what I meant by A/B testing having complex layers to it. These layers include considering different forms of segmentation, amount of customers part of the test, individual personalization data, length,  time, dates, and more.

Hypothetically speaking (because I don't have valid access to the company's data), let's say that we have found that 40% of customers open the messages and click the links but don't make a purchase or they don't click the link to shop at all with our current approach (Test A).  Out of that 40% we can choose a portion of customers to receive the "less is more" experience (Test B) and see if the portion receiving a MMS message will have a shift in their clicking, browsing, and/or purchasing behavior when visiting the website. Based on those findings,  the test can be adjusted, can be applied to the customer base as a whole, can be done away with completely, or any other approach the team finds to be fit.

Keep in mind, this example is a simplified and shortened way of explaining how to apply A/B testing.

Now that you have a better understanding of A/B testing, feel free to take a look at how I did a EMAIL REVAMP for this company as well! Some of the approaches mentioned here can also be applied to email marketing as well.