Test every single marketing idea that you decide to implement so you can see if it made an impact on the bottom line.
This is simply one of the greatest things you can do to affect the bottom line of your business. Simple changes in what you are already working with can have dramatic differences. Why spend more on increasing traffic if you aren't already converting the traffic you have?
Here is how you test within your business.
Where Are the Goal Posts?
But before you test you'll need to know what you are testing for. Do you want more email subscribers? Are you looking to increase walk-in traffic? Do you want an increase in high margin pick up items?
Exactly what are you testing? Meaning before you engage in a particular marketing tactic decide what you want for your business. If you aren't aware of what you want you might as well be testing a math class for grammar. Know what you want with complete clarity and then test each and every marketing tool you put into place. Try one thing at a time until you can handle more.
What Is Your Starting Point?
So what is the exact place you are starting from? Do you have subscribers at all or are you looking for a modest increase in pick up items? Perhaps you just want to be noticed by the press so that an end goal of increased traffic and sales will come through your door.
Make sure you find out where you are starting from by looking at your business with a very honest eye. If you think you are doing more business but the numbers are saying differently then your test results will be completely messed up. An honest eye means knowing exactly where you are and then knowing exactly where you want to go. Be honest so that the test results are actually real.
What Should You Test?
There are literally hundreds of items a business can test for. If you want a result from your testing you must stay focussed on only that marketing tactic.
Here are some areas that you can test. Remember marketing is about increasing your bottom line so this really constitutes a marketing tactic. One I'm afraid that gets all too little press.
Brick and Mortar Store:
- Change the front of your store, dubbed the landing strip by Paco Underhill - retails godfather of display. Can you move products further back so that there is at least 15 feet for people to walk into your store. Often products get passed by that retailers are trying to sell the most. Put them further back and then check the sales results...daily!
- Try putting your XL items higher on your shelves and smaller items lower to the ground. Big people hate to bend down and small people hate to be seen on their tippy toes. Guaranteed results here. Test your results.
- Test things like having a service representative at the front of the store welcoming customers. See if ambiance and a personal touch makes a difference.
- Test to see what time of day most of your sales occur and add or subtract staff accordingly. Do sales people make a difference in your business. You can save wage and gain sales with this tactic.
- What time of day do your customers respond best to sales calls? What about just friendly chats and touching base calls? Don't know...it could be the difference between a five star hotel holiday or nothing at all.
- What makes a great referral? Plant five friends with a specific way you want them giving a referral and then try that versus another group that does it the "normal" way. Of course there are variables here but we are looking for a difference so we aren't picky and we aren't writing a paper for University. Try it and see if you can help your roving sales people increase your leads.
- How does your email signature work? Try different ones with different groups.
- This is where it can be taken to a whole new level but it really does come down to how humans interact with your business.
- Does the position of your newsletter sign up box change the results of sign ups?
- If you have multiple choices of actions for your customer to take on the font page do your click throughs increase compared to having only one option to choose from?
- Are your customers going where you want them to?
- When are customers coming to the site and from where? A different country may require cultural differences. Think like your customer and adjust the display accordingly.
You really are leaving a lot on the table. Marketing costs are so high these days if you just continue to try new things without first seeing if there is more you can get from what you are already doing. In other words it is better to do 10 things really well and reap every bit from the things you are already doing than it is to do 100 things poorly.
So that you can get an idea of how this is one of the better NO MONEY MARKETING tactics check out this example from one of my businesses, John Henry Bikes. Like I've said before on this blog, we are really people who have tried these marketing concepts in the field and put our own money on the line. NO MONEY MARKETING is two people that have stood on the front line of all types of businesses.
The test:
- can the discussion of theft within a bike selling situation increase lock sales
- staff to mention theft problems within Vancouver of higher end bicycles during the sales talk
- Every 2.5 customers out of 10 were buying a bike and for every 10 bikes only one lock was being sold
- 2 out of 10 people bought a bike but 5 out of ten bike buyers bought a lock. Net decrease in revenue because people were scared off of buying the bike! Increased margin because more locks were sold but we scrapped the plan because less people were riding.
How much traffic converts to sales or click through in your business? That's a starting point.
Don't Do This
This study would have never made sense if we had changed to much to our overall program or if we had added multiple differences to the sales floor or pitch. For instance, if we had added the theft conversation and put a pile of bicyle locks in a big sale bin, displayed for appeal, we would have received skewed numbers. Was it the sale, the display or was it the conversation? You can't change everything all at once otherwise your test is negated. Often businesses aren't getting the results they want so they change everything. Radio advertisers are notorious for changing their ads just as the public is starting to remember them. Maybe your product offering needs more repetition messaging than others. Don't know...
TEST!
Where Do I Find the Time?
Don't think you have the time? Your not alone. Testing can be daugnting. Testing takes patience and it takes continuous maintenance. The best businesses do it and do it a lot. But many of you are one-man bands or one woman shows. How do you make the time?
You don't.
That is why you must work your plan [the one you set out to work in the first place!] and make it a practise of testing a small variety of things. Even one test is better than nothing.
However, if you are ever in doubt and testing is out of the question because you are a seat of the pants flyer and a sell, sell, sell kind of person then always aim for free press. It is easy to test. If you get some, you are better than before!
I know sounds simple but it is true. If you get in the paper, on day time television, or get featured on a special blog site then you can guage whether sales increased or not. Free press is never a bad thing because at minimum your website gets content, your brochures have a new tag line or picture from the newspaper and your credibility instantly takes a jump. So when in doubt aim for press because testing is a breeze. If you are this type of person you are also the type of person who buys lots of advertising. Put your energy into free press opportunities and sit on your wallet. You will never know if your advertising works. Hire someone to do this job and do what you do best. Sell yourself, sell your product. Trust us. Saving your money is the best thing you can do because right now you are already getting enough referral business by being a busy and active individual.
Test For Simple Stuff First
- Do cold calls work or not?
- How many people sign up for your newsletter on Monday's? Can you increase it by making it a part of your sales script? Can you increase it by sending your newsletters and asking for more referrals?
- Open later? Have more/less staff? Say hello to everyone that walks in your door for three days straight? Answer your emails within two hours instead of twenty four.
I have consulted with many businesses [online, service and brick & mortar] where we change just a few subtle things, that they are already doing anyways, and they increase their sales conversions. No money. More money.
Simple.
Test, test, test.
What can you test starting today?
p.s. Willie's social networking test: The two Squidoo lens tests. Emailed five friends my lens on Swim Upstream, one of my books and a blog I contribute to, but left the lens unchanged. Didn't email anyone the NO MONEY lens but added content. Both were hovering around mid level rankings. Next morning, Swim Upstream had jumped 30,000 ranking points as compared to about 4000 ranking points for the NO MONEY lens. Conclusion: visitors count more than updates but both can make a difference. Double win but still a test. Onwards.
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