Foreword: Be Super Awesome
A few days into my first job on the web, over a decade ago, our senior most executive said to me: “Our product is so good that we should replace all the text, images and links on our home page with one giant red button that says ‘start now.’ People will just love the product and will convert into paying customers. No need to show them previews, explain the problem it solves, have a product recommendation engine. Just one big red button.”
In that one instant I became a fan of experimentation!
I realized that there was no way I could say no to the idea. I was simply not that important (and our salary differential was too big!). My only option was to figure out how to show the executive that we respected his idea, tried it and measure the results.
We jury rigged our CMS to split traffic that landed on the home page to go to two different pages (giant red button and no giant red button). Data collection was painful (log file parsing!). Computation of statistical significance was crude (ok Excel, still works!). The result was surprising. To the HiPPO—because the red button performed miserably. To me as well—I realized this is all it took to let your actual customers pick good ideas.
A lot has happened since that early foray. We have a ton of options when it comes to doing A/B testing. We have tools that make it ever easier to deliver the sexy magic of multivariate testing. An increasing number of people are discovering the exhilarating thrill of controlled experimentation—what a magnificent way to answer questions we thus far thought were unanswerable.
Yet experimentation sadly remains less used than it should be. Tools are not the problem anymore—too many and at all price points. Senior leaders are less of a problem every day—they are starting to see the benefits and career enhancing potential. The problem is that experimentation requires a unique mental model. It requires a systematic approach. It requires a distinct analytical rigor. It requires the love of process excellence.
The problem is you, your employees, me, and our peers in digital marketing.
That’s where Chris rides in to save the day. In 13 chapters, he systematically takes us on a journey from the very first basic steps of testing and experimentation, to making a strong and compelling case for conversion optimization, to the critical sections of prioritization of the many opportunities in front of us and executing our experiments.
My favorite parts of the book are the ones that address the core reasons experimentation is not an all-subsuming part of our digital existence. Chapter 4 introduces us to the LIFT model (this is not going to let you down as you imagine scaling your testing program!), and Chapters 5 through 10 gently hold your hand and provide specific guidance on each element of the model. Any excuse you could come up with to save yourself from being awesome will be gone by this point.
And since just having the knowledge is not sufficient, the 15 real world case studies included will allow you to tell stories to your management team: stories that will inspire them to permit you to unleash your wings and go save the day (and then the next day and then the day after) for your business. Regardless of what your company’s size is. Regardless of where you are on the digital evolutionary cycle.
Buy the book. Be super awesome. Then email Chris and thank him.
Good luck!
Avinash Kaushik
Author: Web Analytics 2.0, Web Analytics: An Hour A Day
Introduction
Anybody can say charming things and try to please and to flatter, but a true friend always says unpleasant things, and does not mind giving pain. Indeed, if he is a really true friend he prefers it, for he knows that then he is doing good.
—Oscar Wilde
The discipline that I call strategic marketing optimization can change your business and dramatically increase your profits. This book will tell you how.
You have your own opinions about your marketing, perhaps strong ones. Others in your organization may hold differing beliefs. I may have another view entirely.
Which is right? How do you decide whose perspective to take?
Some organizations use a consensus approach where everyone needs to agree before action is taken. Others crown their opinion leaders based on experience, title, or personality. But is the group’s decision always best? Are leaders always right?
No. Opinions are flawed. They are distorted by skewed perspectives, unrelated experience, personal biases, and outdated notions. Yet people believe very strongly in them, despite evidence. As the scientist Peter Medawar said, “The intensity of a conviction that a hypothesis is true has no bearing over whether it is true or not.”
Today, it’s easier than ever to stop debates over whose opinion should win. By scientifically testing marketing approaches, you can gain insights that improve your marketing and business results. Businesses that have embraced split testing in their culture and processes are leading their industries. Others are missing out on this powerful strategy. Some are distracted by the latest unproven marketing trend, social application, or technology. The “shiny new things” can be appealing, but those who fall for distractions are doomed to a downward spiral of false hopes.
I’ll be straight with you. Developing a rigorous optimization process that delivers results isn’t easy. It takes creativity, perseverance, and discipline to get the best results. My goal for this book is to inspire you to be a conversion champion who will evangelize these concepts in your organization and commit to a rigorous approach to continuous improvement. I can promise you that it will be worth the effort.
By reading this, you will learn the processes, frameworks, and tactics that we at WiderFunnel are using to help businesses win. We have refined this optimization system with some of the world’s most successful e-commerce, lead-generation, and affiliate companies like eBay, Google, Shutterfly, SAP, ABB, Citrix, Electronic Arts, and many more. Through dozens of example and case studies of real test results, you will see how you can adopt a similar process in your organization, for whatever products, services, and ideas you need to sell.
In the end, I hope your response to debates and opinions will be to say, “You Should Test That!”
Who Should Read This Book
This book is intended to inspire and equip corporate marketers, web directors, product managers, business owners, web analysts, advertisers, affiliate marketers, agencies, and business strategists:
Everyone who wants to improve your marketing results: You Should Read This!
What’s Inside
Here is what to expect in each chapter:
How to Contact the Author
I welcome feedback from you about this book or any of my work. You can reach me at author@chrisgoward.com and on Twitter at @chrisgoward. For more information about my work, you should check out the world’s best marketing optimization agency (which I also founded) at WiderFunnel.com.
Sybex strives to keep you supplied with the latest tools and information you need for your work. Please check their website at www.sybex.com/go/youshouldtestthat, where we’ll post additional content and updates that supplement this book, should the need arise.