Micah Shull says, “As test database specialist at MECLABS Institute (parent company of MarketingExperiments), I maintain our library of tests, analyze the results and search for insights to inform future testing. The chart below breaks all of our 2015 tests down by category and stacks them by count. As you can see from the big bars on the left, most of the tests we ran in 2015 focused on value copy and friction. Now look at the outcome of all those tests in the box plot below. This chart measures level of confidence along the left-hand side, and the boxes contain 50% of the data, centered... [...]

Daniel Burstein says, “Tidal. Yahoo Screen. “Speed 2: Cruise Control.” Your brand? Some brands are so undifferentiated from other options, so derivative of competitors, the reaction they get from consumers is a shrug of the shoulders and an “Eh, why bother?” Let me give you an example. The “Why Bother Brand” A burrito/Tex-Mex/Southwestern place recently opened in my neighborhood called Barberitos. I’d seen a few ads for it while flipping through local publications, and every time I did, I had the brief “Eh, why bother?” thought. After all, there were already enough perfectly... [...]

Selena Blue says, “Does your email audience prefer short or long emails? How about images versus GIFs? If you don’t know the answer to any of these questions, it’s OK. All you need is an A/B email test. Testing allows us to better understand our customers, and determine ways we can better engage them. Last week, we detailed nine experiment ideas for you to try on your next campaign. If those weren’t your style, we have seven more for you — for a total of 16 testing opportunities. Today, we’ll be reviewing opportunities in your body messaging, calls-to-action and design. Email... [...]

Daniel Burstein says, “A recent question we received is a fairly common concern we hear from readers — customers only care about price — what do I do? So we’ve decided to answer it here on the MarketingExperiments Blog, since the answer might help you as well. And if you have a question you’d like answered on the blog, let us know. Thanks for the outstanding workshop on value proposition. I agree that value propositions are the core to growth for any brand but the challenge I have is marketing products in a highly commoditized and fragmented category (olive oil). Price is such a... [...]

Liva LaMontagne says, “How many positive claims should firms use to produce the most favorable impression of a product or service? Despite the logic that more positive claims about an object should lead to better impressions, a recent study found that when people are faced with messages they know are made to persuade (like most marketing communications), they have limited patience for positive claims. Let’s look closer at the study comparing the effects of different numbers of positive claims in messages with persuasive intent, and the consequences in terms of consumer attitudes toward... [...]

Ken Bowen says, “With winter firmly in our rearview mirrors, spring is officially here. Daylight savings time is upon us. March Madness is in full swing. And baseball’s opening day will have taken place by the time you’ve read this (Go Cubs!). What better time then than to do a little spring cleaning of our webpages? Don’t worry, at MarketingExperiments, we’ve got you covered. For more than a decade, we’ve been hosting Web clinics to help you — the marketer — maximize the effectiveness of your collateral. And, as we’ve seen again and again throughout the years, it’s often... [...]

Daniel Burstein says, “As a MarketingExperiments blog reader, I can already assume a few things about you. You’re an evidence-based marketer. You are an effective communicator. You have an exceptional understanding of marketing. You are skilled at analyzing campaign effectiveness. And you have experience in a wide range of marketing disciplines. But if you were pitching yourself at a job fair, and could emphasize only one of these elements about yourself, which would it be? Savvy marketer that you are, I’m guessing you would first size up the company you’re applying to — ask questions... [...]

Ken Bowen says, “As marketers, when we hear the term “personalization,” we’ve been conditioned to think “Hello [recipient name], I really looking forward to sharing with you some ways that [company name] can best serve you.” Though these methods may have increased opens and clickthrough a decade ago, they are no longer capable of working magic on their own. In short, customers have figured us out. At MarketingSherpa Summit 2016, numerous presenters took the stage to urge their fellow peers to switch their focus from gimmicky, one-sized-fits-all “personalization” to true individualization. Two... [...]

Andrea Johnson says, “Banners take up precious space on landing pages and too often don’t do enough to turn prospects into customers. Yet marketers are forced to work within their constraints. The latest MarketingExperiments Web clinic outlined how to make every banner a conversion-driving opportunity, because even the smallest changes can make an impressive difference. To prove it, Mike Loveridge, Head of Digital Test and Learn, Humana, Inc., a healthcare insurance provider, presented banner tests from his organization. Take a short break and find out what he discovered here: [Link to... [...]

Daniel Burstein says, “The results are in. Last month, we asked you, the readers of the MarketingExperiments blog, to write the most effective copy for a Consumer Reports email in a way that could also test which value factors were most appealing to Consumer Reports donors. To expand the amount of test ideas, we also asked the readers of the Convince & Convert blog. We’ll get to the results, and the big winner of the MarketingSherpa Summit package, in just a moment. But first, a little more background and a few lessons. A little background Every year, prior to MarketingSherpa Summit,... [...]