Why A/B Testing Matters in Direct Mail

Searching for one of the most impactful ways to improve the performance of your direct mail campaigns? If so, A/B testing remains at the top of the heap when it comes to successful strategies. It places the power to guide your campaigns into the hands of your customers, letting their responses direct what works and what does not. These are a few ways that A/B testing can help you to create a successful direct mail campaign.

Offer vs. Offer

Comparing types of offers or promotions made to customers and how they respond is one of the best ways to determine if your direct mail efforts are working. For example, you can test how actual customers respond when presented with a limited-time offer compared to an evergreen promotion. Are they more likely to react quickly to try to take advantage of the limited-time offer, or do they want the chance to snap up a great deal that you offer all the time? These are the types of questions that A/B testing can answer.

Call-to-Action (CTA)

A call-to-action (CTA) is one of the most critical elements of any marketing campaign. That said, certain CTAs might work better than others. Examples of the types of CTAs that you might try to use include:

• Schedule online

• Claim your offer

• Call now

• Reserve your spot

These all imply an action in a unique way, but customers may respond differently depending on the messages presented to them.

Headline and Messaging

Let's face it, many customers stop reading a direct mail piece after they scan the headline. This means that your headlines need to be a home run if you hope to convert more sales. Testing various headlines via the A/B testing method allows you to see which headlines grab the most attention and how customers respond to those different messages.

You might consider the advantages and disadvantages of emotionally appealing headlines vs. headlines that are more practical in nature. Depending on the type of customer base that you have, unique styles of headlines might work best with them.

Creative Design and Format

As human beings, we look for patterns and subliminally care about the colors and texts used on the direct mail pieces that we receive. Marketers should work on their direct mail design to see what holds attention the longest. Among the factors that can be A/B tested are:

• Font Styles - Does it make more sense to go with a bold and eye-catching font, or would an understated font do the trick?

• Colors - The inclusion of certain colors can be an attractive proposition on direct mail pieces. It is also important to include colors that have a certain meaning to the product being advertised.

• Images - The use of certain images can evoke emotions within the customer, and it is also great to try to use images that will entice them to want to read more of the materials that you have sent them.

These are just a handful of the format and design factors that can benefit from A/B testing.

Personalization and Variable Data

Customers like being spoken to directly and personalizing the direct mail pieces that they receive can drive higher response rates. Therefore, you should also play around with the concept of personalizing the direct mail pieces that are a part of your campaigns as well.

Target Audience and Segmentation

Among the most powerful things that A/B testing can assist with is determining who your target audience is in the first place. You can review the response rates that you receive from different groups to see which ones are your ideal target audience and segment them further based on other demographic information.

Segmenting your audience in this way allows you to better personalize each direct mail piece. It also helps you to collect more individualized data that can be tapped for future direct mail advertising campaigns.

Timing and Mail Drops

Finally, do not shy away from running A/B tests when it comes to the timing of your direct mail pieces. It may be necessary to evaluate and then re-evaluate how often you mail out pieces, and if you should have an "always on" campaign approach or settle into a nice seasonal approach. Either way, you need to be certain to test both approaches to see how customers respond. Marketers can find their perfect balance with A/B testing.

Milestone Marketing Solutions is here to assist you with your marketing needs. We would love to speak with you to learn more about how we may be able to assist in your next campaign and keep your brand intact. Contact us and we will respond as soon as possible.