In the dynamic world of marketing, there’s a phrase seasoned professionals often resort to when faced with new promotional strategies: “we should test the idea first.” But why is this emphasis on testing so prevalent among experienced marketers?
Testing serves as a safety net and an indicator. Before fully investing in a strategy, marketers need to ensure that their efforts will yield the desired results. By testing, we can gather invaluable data and insights into our target audience’s preferences, behaviours, and reactions. It allows us to fine-tune our approach, minimise the wastage of resources, and optimise for the best possible outcome. Moreover, in an environment where trends change rapidly, what worked yesterday may not work today. Testing ensures that our strategies remain relevant and effective.
Take, for instance, a company looking to promote a new eco-friendly product line. 😉
They might consider diving deep into content marketing and brainstorming various topics for articles and posts that align with eco-friendly values. However, before fully committing to a comprehensive content calendar, they could test the waters by publishing a few posts on selected topics first. By evaluating the engagement rates, feedback, and shares of these initial articles, the company can gauge the audience’s interest and determine which topics resonate the most. Based on these insights, they can decide whether to continue with the planned content strategy, refine the topics, or pivot to new themes altogether.
In essence, the mantra of “test-first” is not about being sceptical but about being smart, agile, and always aiming for the most impactful marketing efforts.
