About Test Marketing

by Clay Marafiote

Here is an article about Testing and Marketing.

Would you agree with the statement: "Advertising can be expensive"? Assuming your answer is "yes," let me ask you another question.

Have you ever considered that it costs you the same amount of money to create a promotional piece that drives in 5 new customers as one that drives in 50?
It does. And the only difference between the two is the individual effectiveness of each piece.
Testing! Let me explain.
Say you create what you think is a good sales letter (i.e. powerful headline, good offer, compelling copy, etc.). At this point, you're ready to test, and the reasons for this are straight forward. Testing helps you:

Marketing Tip

Pretty strong reasons, huh? So, before you spend those valuable dollars on your next promotion, you might want to consider doing a couple of low-cost/no-cost tests.

Technology has changed the playing field. TV isn't just for the big boys with deep pockets anymore. Used effectively, it's now an affordable advertising medium that anyone can profit from, including you! Here's just one real-life example and simple testing method that can help you establish a higher ROI.

Have you ever heard of Joe Sugarman? He's the guy who sold millions of Blu-Blocker sunglasses. And part of reaching these awesome numbers included testing his ads in the Southwestern edition of the Wall Street Journal -- it was the Journal's least expensive and smallest edition. By doing this, Sugarman quickly determined his results and whether or not it made sense to rollout the ads in other editions.
So, how can you apply this example to your business?
If you have a target list of 50,000 records, instead of mailing to your entire list, you should only mail to 2,000 or 3,000 names.
By tracking your response (using identifiers like a specific phone #, extension, contact person, etc.), you can predict the results you'll get from the entire list. If the numbers work for you, then go for it. If not, be very happy you didn't blow your budget on a lame promotion.
Then go back to the drawing board and start the testing process over. Eventually you'll hit a home run!

Technology and Marketing Resources:

-Test Marketing research - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia