A/B Testing"/> 
Companies are discovering that data is just as a product as the items and services they sell. Regardless of if it involves a product, service, or content on a website, business is all about creating value for customers and the more value you can provide, the more chances your online business will be successful.
Measuring the value your marketing and advertising campaigns create is a challenge. We can now not only store and analyze data, but also create actionable data through the use of A/B testing.
In a nutshell, A/B testing (sometimes called split testing) is experimenting and comparing two types or variations of an online or offline campaign such as a landing page, ad text, a headline, call-to-action or just about any other element of a marketing campaign or ad.
By displaying two variations of your campaign, you can see which one attracts more interaction and conversions from your customers.
By being able to clearly see which campaign customer reacted to more, you will then be able to alter your strategy to create more appealing content to reel in your target customers.
Below are 12 ways A/B testing can help improve your business.
1. Improved Content Engagement
All you need for A/B testing is 2 phone numbers and some ideas for testing.
First of all, managing multiple phone numbers is easy with MightyCall’s ability to operate on multiple devices along with their call waiting, call back, call queues and other tools and widgets that make managing 2 or more phone numbers a breeze. Generating ideas is the harder part, but while you are in the process of idea generating for A/B testing you are forced to evaluate every aspect of the content you wish to create and test. This means that as you consider and create variables for your A/B tests, you also create lists of potential improvements. Consequently, the simple act of running A/B tests invariably makes your final versions better for your customers.
2. Reduced Bounce Rates
When you put a lot of time and effort into creating pages for your website, it can be disheartening when visitors just “bounce” from your site without spending any time reviewing your content or viewing other pages. If this is happening to you, it’s time to look into optimization via A/B testing. Whether it’s tweaking fonts, headlines or anything else on your pages, the direct comparison performed with A/B testing will help you find a winning combination of elements that keeps visitors on your site long enough to provide them with value from your content which may ultimately lead to a sale.
3. Increased Conversion Rates
A/B testing is the easiest, most effective way of creating content that converts more visitors into buyers. When you take the time to carefully craft two versions of your campaign, it’s relatively easy to see what works and what doesn’t. A/B testing two versions does take a little longer but — when done properly — will definitely help you convert more leads.
4. Higher Values
Not only does A/B testing help convert more site visitors into buyers, it also helps you achieve higher values for your products or services. Once you find a form/page design that seems to be converting, that doesn’t mean you should just leave it as is forever. After you find a design that is converting well for lower-end products or services, A/B test again with a more refined version to increase conversions for your higher-priced items and services. With just a little tweaking and some diligent A/B comparison testing, you might just find that customers are willing pay for more expensive options that offer more perceived value.
5. Multi-functional
It’s hard to know what your site visitors will and will not like when they visit your website and that’s why A/B testing is so important. When it comes to choosing things to A/B test on your site, though, many believe that the method applies only to forms, images, and actual text. However, you can A/B test just about any marketing and advertising campaign on and offline. Sometimes, it’s the smallest tweak that makes the most difference in finding a combination that engages readers and converts visitors.
6. Ease of Analysis
One of the best things about A/B testing is that it is so simple to analyze real, factual results. When analyzing data from an A/B test, it’s relatively easy to determine a “winner” and a “loser” based on simple, straightforward metrics (i.e. time spent on page, conversions, etc.)
Here’s an example of this: You create 2 business cards with a different marketing strategy and provide 2 separate phone numbers. The number that gets the most calls is the winning card.
7. Useful in Low Data Rate Testing
While more data is usually better for analyzing results, it’s not necessarily the case with A/B testing. Although you shouldn’t get misled by early results and throw in the towel too soon, you don’t need millions (or even thousands) of page views to see which versions are providing the best results. In fact, even if your site is new or produces only a few conversions a day (or per week/month,) you can still determine fairly quickly which version (A or B) your visitors and customers find most engaging. Even if you have a relatively small number of page visits, a quick look at the time on page, bounce rate (and conversions) can still help you determine a winner.
Test duration should be set based on a set of parameters. Use this split test calculator to help determine the duration your test should last.
8. Reduced Risks
In some cases, making major revisions to your site can result in considerable costs or significant strategy changes. A/B testing can help you examine visitor and customer behavior on your site before committing to major decisions and help you increase your chances of success. In short, A/B testing helps you avoid unnecessary risks by allowing you to target your resources for maximum effect and efficiency, which helps increase ROI whether it be based on short-term conversions, long-term customer loyalty or other important metrics.
External factors can affect the results of your test. Be sure to factor in holidays, force majeure and any other occurrences which can impact customer behavior when planning your campaigns and tests.
9. Reduced Cart Abandonment
One of the biggest problems many online and e-commerce companies face is cart abandonment (or the act of placing something in an online shopping cart and then not following through with checkout.) Many estimates state that cart abandonment rates range anywhere from 40% to 75%. There are many reasons for cart abandonment, but tweaking when and where shipping costs are displayed, check-out page text and even colors may help you find a suitable combination that helps reduce cart abandonment and encourage more visitors to complete the checkout process. A/B testing is the best way to eliminate the guesswork to find that perfect combination.
10. Increased Sales
We’re finally at the most important benefit A/B testing can provide for your business — increased sales! Fewer bounce rates, better customer engagement, more customer conversion, and other aforementioned benefits all lead to increased sale volume for your business.
In conclusion, MightyCall’s ability to easily have and manage multiple phone numbers can help your business generate more meaningful content for your customers through the use of tried and true A/B testing. Your business is unique and has special characteristics that make it irresistible to your target audience. Using A/B testing to experiment with marketing those characteristics to find the ideal combination for your customers not only provides them with better experiences, but it also breeds trust and confidence in your brand and company. When visitors begin to trust your company because of the value you provide, increased sales and loyal customers are a natural result.
11. Proven hypotheses
Product improvement is built around hypotheses that are then proven true or false. And the only sure way to know that you’re moving in the right direction is to have your customers test it out. A split testing mechanism is perfect for when you have several working hypotheses of developing or improving your product/service. Without any effort on your part, simply performing the test and analyzing the results will give you deeper insight into your audience. And the deductions you make will prove invaluable for fixing not only short-term issues but aligning your business vision with the times.
12. Quick Results
Generally, research and analysis take time. But the huge benefit of a/b testing is that you don’t need a lot of time to get the results you’re looking for – testing usually takes from 7-14 days. Moreover, you’ll see the results coming in immediately. Of course, over time you’ll get to amass and compare the data but you can start seeing trends right away. This makes the test a perfect solution for issues that need rapid feedback.
Any Business Can Experience the Advantages of A/B Testing
Getting stuck in the analytics stage, with all those endless charts and tables, can seem daunting for a business. But split testing makes analytics simple. And as we’ve seen above, the importance of a/b testing is unquestionable, the benefits it brings are numerous, and the whole process is as simple as comparing and contrasting one solution with another.
The process doesn’t demand complicated software either. You can perform it with a business phone system like MightyCall, by tracking the performance of your communication campaigns. Use MightyCall’s 30+ built-in features like different busienss numbers, call logs, analytics, and more to compare lead strategies, sales and marketing initiatives, business texting campaigns, track calls, and more — all to grow and support your business with ease.
