Skip A/B Testing and Focus on Getting Insights from your Customers

Marketers wasted years testing button colors. 

Sure, the button-color A/B test example may get unfairly derided now. Maybe sometimes a button color matters. But the approach led to a “hacking marketing” approach that didn’t do the deep work necessary to understand your customers. 

Sure, it’s nice to think that a small change could make a big difference – and sometimes it can! But that won’t give you compounding, sustainable growth over time. Because the key to real growth is knowing your customers. 

Here’s what I’ve learned over the years about A/B testing – the right and wrong way to do it and the real “hack” for success in marketing. 

The False Promise of the A/B Test

Platforms like Optimizely that allowed us to A/B test may have slowed down progress. People focused on tests and rapid iteration vs. getting insights that could inform those tests. 

I was one of these marketers early in my career but quickly learned. Not all A/B testing was bad. Some marketers did excellent user research to back up the CRO tests. 

But still, marketers wasted so much time, effort, and money on tests vs. doing the actual work to figure out why you were growing. 

What Marketers Were Missing

Here is the challenge those marketers faced:

  • They understood the data but not the meaning behind it

  • Research took too much time, so they skipped that critical step

  • They copied other company's websites vs. putting in their own work

The result is marketing that looks good but doesn’t lead to compounding growth – because it’s not targeting your customer as well as it should.

In fact, I'd rather scrap A/B tests and keep customer insights than A/B test and lose customer insights. 

The New Frontier for Third-Party Data

Things are changing. There is an asterisk next to the data now. The third-party pixel world is changing. You can’t just plug and play for customer insight anymore.

The good news is this will force all marketers to get closer to their customers and prospects. We’ll have to do a little more (good) work to understand:

  • How did customers/prospects hear about the company

  • Why they decided to come and try it

  • What made them decide to purchase

Ultimately, this will lead to better overall marketing – fewer hacks and more thoughtful/informed growth.

You also can check our Podcast page, we tackle all of the challenges of B2B marketers looking to build systems that scale.

Guest User