All health marketers get excited over A/B split-test results. Even if those results are not from your own tests or website.
In my opinion that’s because health marketers really love marketing. Again, even when those results aren’t your own because you want too get those same results for your own health business.
So naturally you want to know what they did to get such gains and quickly implement and test the same thing on your own.
The Big Problem With This Is…
Anyone that’s done this before knows you never see the same results that you read about in the conversion optimization case study.
And there are a number of good reasons why the results never match and you’re usually always disappointed.
The idea is a simple one. And we like to think it’s really that easy, they did it and it worked so why wouldn’t it work for us? Seems like it would make sense but when you really think about it it’s obvious as to why it doesn’t work that way. It’s actually detrimental to A/B test what we see in other case studies or hear from fellow marketers.
First off, your customer is almost always totally different than the customer in the test you’re copying. A lot of times marketers are copy-cat testing from other industries, in which case it’s obvious that the customer is different but that critical fact is often overlooked. But, this is true even if you sell the same product or are in the same industry.
But Why Not Model Success
The differences are in the stories the customers tell themselves about your product. The customers belief points. That belief instills judgement of the product as much as the sales copy and sales experience, all of which are completely unique to you or your competitors.
If this is not the case then it’s usually a product positioned as a commodity and is only competing on price and if you’re trying to improve that situation by copying a split-test someone else ran somewhere else, you’ve got much bigger problems that you need to solve before you can even start testing.
But My Market Is The Same
You might think it is, but…
I’m sorry to tell you it’s not.
Even if you might think it is. Your market is different.
Yes, even if you’re spying on your competition and buying the same traffic that they are to reach the same people they are.
You see your market has a different trust level towards your product and your company than your competitors. Trust makes a huge difference when buying and a huge difference when split testing.
The other hidden factor is the belief system and self-story of your prospects. If you don’t fully understand hoe belief fits into the buying process of your health product specifically then you can’t support it.
But Wait, My Product Is The Same
Well, for your sake I really hope it’s not.
If your product is truly the same and undifferentiated in the marketplace, don’t you think your prospects will be able to tell. And if they can’t tell them apart, why should they buy either? Then it’s simply a case of which product do they see first.
A the very least, your offer is likely to be different. Are you selling a 1 bottle, 2 bottle, 4 bottle supplement or a 1, 3, and 6 offer? Are your bonuses the same?
Are you starting to see the subtle differences that exist between the A/B test you read about in a case study that you want to model / copy? It’s no wonder why the results are not going to be the same.
But What If You Copy Everything EXACTLY?
This, may still be a bad idea. Especially if you’re in the exact same market that you’re modeling.
It might work if you cross industries, but then you can’t model it exactly.
If you are in the same market that you’re modeling lookout.
Prospects see more than one offer. They are constantly looking for a solution to their problem, especially if their motivation and pain is high.
Once they have been exposed to a specific hook and positioning it looses it’s luster when a copycat follows. And if the previous hook is a particularly successful one, successful enough to be reading a split testing case study about it, then how likely is it that it will work for the same market that’s been massively exposed to it and bought already?
You may be thinking that, despite all of this. Copying still works. and it does to some degree. But it’s likely not going to get you the massive conversion jump you were so excited about by the easy answer that has been played out for you in that case study.
There is one exception however. If your sales page is extremely weak to begin with, that low hanging fruit can be gained by simple tactics then you may very well see some gains.
But it is my firm belief that Split-testing tactics are just how to optimize a health businesses, the reason why we do what we do is because we have to attack those fundamental issues that are within the psychology of the health buyer’s mind. Without knowing what’s underneath you can’t improve profits.
Conversion optimization that stops at conversion rate is not fully leveraging growth. It’s more than conversion rate, it’s about revenue, average order value, life time value and making a bigger impact on society but providing quality health solutions to those who need it.
There’s A Great Deal Of Subtly And Finesse In A/B Testing
The largest downside to copy cat testing is that because of the differences in the customer’s trust level and belief system, the differences in the product, and the offer, you walk away from the test without learning anything.
That’s because you started from someone else’s point of view, not from a strong hypothesis based on research. You’re just guessing unless you start from a solid foundation.
Having a good test hypothesis that leads to insight is vital to any successful split-test.
Here are some questions to ask about your hypothesis before launching any A/B test.
Hypothesis Checklist Questions:
___ What financial impact will this test have on the business? (If the answer is you can’t tell then it’s probably not a good idea to test.)
___ How will you measure the results? (if the answer is I don’t know, do some more research.)
___ Is there any evidence to support this test idea? (If not choose another thing to test.)
Additionally, your time is wasted when you copy blindly from conversion rate optimization case studies. it’s almost never an apples to apples comparison.
Too many factors don’t translate from other split-test case studies. Especially in the health market. Namely trust and belief, which are the two big levers to optimizing for revenue in the health industry.
Not to mention there are a ton of bad case studies out there that test the wrong things or things that may get a lift but don’t maximize revenue and average order value, the two true metrics to growing a business.
All of these factors combined add up to… You never get the same results as others, even if what you’re modeling is in your market, in fact almost certainly if they are in your exact same market, because the context of the offers within the marketplace play a much bigger role than anyone can see when looking at someone else’s winning test results.
Now, you don’t have to start from a blank slate either, but rather start from a solid grounded level of research into your market, that yes includes looking at what the competition is doing and saying and ultimately understanding what your market is seeing and responding to is all part of that research combined with a healthy dose of tapping into and understanding the belief systems and trust level with your company, product and mission all play a bigger part in your conversion rate optimization success than you realize or any case study out there lets on.
So try not to read to much into the latest shiny results you may come across. Treat it with a grain of salt and a healthy dose of perspective from your unique point of view.
Don’t expect the same results.
But do expect to gain insight about your market and what resonates with them. This is the hinger ground for conversion optimization work that we must all aspire to.
Happy split-testing and please learn something in the process.
Good Luck.
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