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In March we challenged you to guess the winning variant from a multivariate test. Over 500 marketers took part and we were surprised that only 4.6% got it right!

We’ve launched another challenge with a new twist and we’d like to invite you to have a go in order to test some more preconceptions. We will share some anonymous results afterwards so you can see how you did against your peers.

What impact do you think these very subtle changes had on our client’s conversion rate?

Play Spot the (Profit) Difference

This is designed to help you think about your web content and ways in which it can be managed to proactively improve conversion metrics.

Good luck!

Forrester has published its first overview of the online multivariate testing vendor landscape. Their analysis shows a high level of maturity in the market with testing being a must-have for online marketers.

John Lovett’s paper opens, "Online testing is a critical component of an efficient marketing optimization solution in the burgeoning field of web site optimization"

Forrester surveyed client-side businesses and give a wealth of insight into both the biggest benefits of testing and some of the challenges faced. Of the marketers surveyed, 48% felt that the increase in conversion rate they had achieved was the top benefit of testing. A significant number also cited customer satisfaction as having improved. Reduction in the risk and guesswork associated with making changes online isn’t covered in the report but is a recurring theme in the discussions we have with our clients.

Within the vendor comparisons, Maxymiser is identified by Forrester as one of only two companies offering a full suite of methodologies and service levels. What’s more, we appear as the firm with the most people dedicated to testing worldwide. Some larger firms for whom testing is only a small element of overall business declined to give figures. Our sole focus at Maxymiser is helping our clients to proactively manage conversion rate and we’re proud of that and the results they have achieved.

We were happy to see that managed service offerings, comprising test strategy, implementation support and analysis receive praise. Forrester notes that clients engaging for such services gain greater uplift from their engagements which mirrors our own experience at the coal face.

"While evidence shows that testing can result in improvements regardless of the method employed, organizations that leverage a managed service model achieve greater gains. On average those gains are two percentage points higher, which could equate to millions of dollars for conversion based web sites" Forrester, October 2009

This increased effectiveness as a result of leveraging external expertise in testing is something that is mirrored in our own day to day work with marketers. Our experience is that marketers who combine external expertise and a testing tool to create a conversion management strategy rather than adopting a tool and driving it in-house benefit from 30% more uplift. Marketers we work with also tell us that adding test design, creative and deployment skills to the managed service model for testing to create a full service conversion management offer creates yet more benefit by enabling them to get the right tests live and in a timely manner.

At our recent client seminar, both Chris Dalrymple of ASDA Wal-Mart and Martin Smith of easyCar commented that they benefit from leveraging external expertise. A full service allows them to get more of the right tests done and to conduct testing without placing high demands on busy marketing and technical teams.

If you are yet to include testing in your online marketing strategy, Forrester’s Online Testing Vendor Landscape report gives a great level of insight into how marketers are deploying multivariate testing, their motivations and some of the challenges they face.

The notion of proactively managing onsite conversion rate has reached a tipping point. Conversion management transforms conversion rate from being a figure that is simply reported to something that can be strategically managed and measurably improved.

“It is vital that we continue to innovate and improve online to stay ahead of our competition and Maxymiser is a very important part of that strategy. The uplift generated by Maxymiser has delivered us millions of pounds in additional revenue.”
Matt Douglas, Senior eMarketing Manager, Alliance & Leicester
See our multivariate testing case studies for this and more examples

To achieve these fantastic results, it is not only the choice of test tool that is critical, but also determining who will support the tool, create testing strategies and execute them. The resources and expertise you are able to leverage in effectively managing conversion rate will be the major determinant of the bottom line benefit to your business.

Effectively leveraging a multivariate testing tool to provide a successful conversion management strategy requires more thought than many anticipate at the outset. Effective conversion management strategies require careful analysis of web analytics data and past performance to identify the most profitable pages to test. Identifying the best variants to test also requires careful consideration and benefits from expertise in what is worth testing and where. This can only be built up by running tests day in and day out. The creative and copy to be tested also takes time and skill to develop.

The question of who will support the tool is one of risk reduction; any situation where your agency or IT department can bill you by the hour whilst they fathom how to deploy a free tool to your site is to be avoided. Our clients benefit from named account managers who have the ear of our R&D team meaning we can go very technical at very short notice to ensure your tests are deployed on time without unexpected cost.

When it comes to conversion management, remember to give these areas a thought. Feel free to get in touch if we can help by providing further details of how we resource our accounts to ensure we provide a full conversion management service, not just a testing tool.