B2B Marketing: Testing in Today’s World
Social and behavioral scientists have found that the increase in available communication methods (such as smart phones) has changed how we process information. Basically, many of us today have continual partial attention due to our lessened mind share. This weeks WhichTestWon.com case study was a great example of the need for testing in order to see what works best to combat this continual partial attention and more effectively motivate your target audience to buy.
The B2B marketing case study tested two standard mail letters with differing offers: one had a single offer while the other had multiple. In reviewing the two, I definitely thought the one-offer option won. It was more clean and legible, and most people simply don’t have the attention or mind-share to dedicate to fully reading each mail piece they open. In addition, as WhichTestWon notes, multiple offers is a worst practice since it lowers response rates.
But, surprisingly, the multiple-offer option won. I don’t know why and they probably don’t either, all they know is that they tested it, and it motivated 37% more prospects to act than the other option.
So in today’s B2B marketing world you have to test these things. You cannot assume you know what will work, and you definitely can’t assume that what worked in the past will work in the present. So do your research and develop options, and test them in order to see what works best to motivate your target audience’s buying behavior.
