A/B testing (also known as split testing) is when you compare two versions of a webpage or email subject to see which performs better. To find the one that gains more results, you split the traffic between two versions at the same time and compare the results to the metrics you would like to achieve. With email marketing, you send each test out to a small percentage of your database and again, compare the results to the metrics you have chosen to measure, such as open rate and click-through rate. Once you’ve chosen the most successful, you can make it live for future use.
A business that sees a high volume of online traffic, such as a hotel, should definitely be conducting A/B tests on webpages and email campaigns. The industry is constantly evolving, and in order to keep up with the latest trends you need to be sure that you are offering the type of content that will ensure your potential customers convert into paying customers. By using the real-life data from A/B testing you can take the guesswork out of your campaigns and be sure that the content you are providing proves successful. It may even be that you see benefits from each that help you to create a new campaign that brings in more results.
A/B testing is a cost-effective marketing technique, because it allows you to take the momentum from a campaign that is already getting results and tweak this in a way that will get more bookings for your hotel. Instead of spending thousands of pounds trying to target different segmented groups in the market, spend less on gaining more conversions with your existing traffic. This type of conversion-oriented testing has led to rapid growth and millions in revenue, according to research conducted by Moz.
All A/B tests will be unique, but some of the most common elements for testing include headlines, descriptions, calls to action, surveys, offers, layout and design, images and copy. It’s not enough to just test these aspects once and take those results. While that may be the best result at that time, trends change so rapidly that it’s necessary to continuously conduct A/B tests. By doing this, you can ensure that you are as up to date with your audience as possible, and offer the best content to drive results.
For hotels, the design of your website and marketing materials is extremely important. It represents your brand, and helps potential guests to subconsciously make judgements about the quality of your hotel, the type of service you provide and the experience they will have when staying with you. This isn’t just the basic design of your marketing material, but how you choose to display different pieces of information. For example, you may choose to display some information using an image or graphic rather than a chunk of text. In addition, by including some form of credibility rating you can often entice more customers. These can be shown in various ways, including written testimonials, a star-rating system or proof of high booking numbers. Again, the best way to find out the most influential method is to test this. You might be wondering, is there one aspect that is most important to test?
Most content writers will tell you that it is the headline. The headline is responsible for hooking your guest and convincing them to carry on reading, so if it’s weak then you might be losing potential customers. If you’re advertising a new offer then you need to convey the value to your customer. In a case study by VWO, they switched the headline from “Men’s Clothing” to “Order Men’s Clothing Easily for Bargain Prices”. This created an increase in conversions of 127 per cent. The higher-performing headline communicates better value and entices the customer to investigate further the deal they’re being offered.
A good way to come up with better-performing headlines is to put yourself in the position of your potential customer. It needs to be enticing and catch someone’s attention if they’re scrolling through social media or emails. After the headline has convinced the customer to look at the offer, your call to action is the next most important aspect. This is what will ultimately convince your potential customer to convert into a paying customer. You don’t need to make big changes to see improved results. Sometimes it can be as simple as editing the colour of your call-to-action button, or changing just one word. Start by making small alterations before radically changing anything. Often, something small can drive big results.
