Building an Effective Business Strategy
If I had that answer, I’d make a fortune. Ongoing reassessment and adjustment make a lot of sense, especially if you following Alexander the Great’s strategy of Anticipate, React and Adapt. However, it’s impractical, not only because of the time involved, but because if you get a “change” in response it may not signal a change in strategy. Think about direct mailers of old: they did A/B testing all the time. For example, before the internet, Wall Street Journal used to mail out invitations to subscribe. One version told a person who did subscribe and became the President of a company. The other version told of a person who did not subscribe, did well but never got “to the top” The first version always outpulled the second version, but the Wall Street Journal kept testing against what’s call THE CONTROL PACKAGE. They would test different price points, offers, sometimes even stories. They tested continually, and if they found something that “beat” the control response and conversion, that version became the control. Eventually, nothing beat the control anymore. However, they still kept testing! Why? Because nothing stays the same! People change, goals change, and they have to stay relevant; don’t forget, WSJ is THE content provider!
The same kind of testing goes on today with digital content, and response changes perhaps even faster. This is why is pays to be patient and not change your strategy based on a single change in response or conversion.
So the answer to the question is ironically isn’t a question: it’s a statement. TEST CONTINUALLY, and then carefully study the results. In other words, Test, analyze, and iterate constantly to keep improving your strategy to market changes.
Keep reading our series on How to Target and Hit the Right Customers: Deep Dive Insights.