Innovation isn’t born out of nothing; it comes from the dedicated efforts of curious minds. In the world of digital marketing, curiosity has led to the practice of A/B testing. A/B testing is the ultimate way to test your marketing materials with minimal risk. A/B testing for manufacturing companies involves using automation software to compare two similar marketing pieces and collect data on which piece performs best. Through testing, you gain an understanding of what images and messages drive your business. Read on to learn how A/B testing boosts your conversion rate in the manufacturing industry.
Different Types of A/B Testing for Manufacturers
There are many different types of A/B testing for manufacturing companies, and many platforms available to run those tests. If you’re wondering how to use A/B testing to improve sales, we recommend testing on all the platforms listed below.
Where Manufacturers Can Use A/B Testing:
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- Email Marketing – When sending any automated or mass marketing emails, we recommend testing your subject lines! A/B testing allows you to define what subject lines increase email open rates.
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- Landing Pages for Paid Media – If you’re investing in paid media, you should test every aspect of your campaign. Use A/B testing to discover what drives clicks to your landing page, then experiment with your landing page itself.
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- Lead Generation Forms – Lead capture forms can be a challenge. It’s hard to find the balance between how much information your customers are willing to give and what information your sales team needs. Experiment with the number of form fields to find that equilibrium.
Types of A/B Testing for Manufacturers
When you know where you’ll conduct you’re A/B tests, it’s time to decide what exactly you’ll test.
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- Headlines – Test out different headlines (H1) on your website and marketing pieces. This helps you discover what drives customer clicks and what will benefit your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
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- Page Copy – You can’t just set and forget your website. You need to update the copy regularly to improve SEO and see what customers respond to.
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- Call-to-Action (CTA) – The language and color of your CTAs plays a big role in how many conversions you get. Study color theory and its impact on customer emotion, and experiment to see what action-oriented language and images actually drive conversions.
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- Images – Imagery is one of the most important components of your marketing machine and every piece you promote. A/B testing imagery for manufacturers helps you discover which images showcase your business best.
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- Page Format – The colors and format of your website and other digital marketing pieces should give your target audience a clear path to conversion. Experiment with page design to remove any barriers to lead conversion.
It’s important to note that you should only ever test one of these elements at a time. Through the continuous testing of specific elements, you can gather the data you need to make educated decisions. With a little bit of creativity and the patience necessary to run successful A/B tests, you can figure out how to use A/B testing to improve sales for your industrial B2B business.
How to Choose the Right A/B Testing Tools
Choosing the right A/B testing tools for manufacturing companies might seem difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. You can start determining what tools will benefit you most by examining what tools are already at your disposal. If you’re already using automation to support your sales team, then you’re likely using a CRM or ERP system that has some A/B testing capabilities. If your ERP system can automate emails and lead nurturing campaigns on your behalf, it will have the ability to A/B test your email subject lines. Different systems may have additional resources to help you use A/B testing to improve customer satisfaction as well.
To A/B test marketing machine components outside of your ERP system, consider your budget and needs. A/B testing tools, like Google Optimize, can be completely free to use. Still, there are other tools that could cost hundreds of dollars per month. Explore your options and search for tools that offer specialized services for manufacturing and industrial B2B businesses. Catch-all tools may not be the best option for A/B testing to boost your conversion rate. Just remember to read customer reviews before you sign on with a new A/B testing tool!
How to Run an A/B Test for Your Industrial B2B Website
Running an A/B test for manufacturing companies begins with choosing the right element to test. This element will vary depending on the given company’s needs, marketing activities, and campaign objectives. From there, it’s as simple as creating an alternative version of the element that is being tested. With two versions of your marketing material ready to be shared with the world, you’re ready to set up your A/B test! Prepare your A/B testing tools, input your campaign information and parameters, and schedule your campaign for launch!
Once your test has run its course, you can analyze your results in depth. Read on to learn important tips for A/B test analysis.
4 Tips for Successful & Scientific A/B Testing
- When A/B testing for a manufacturing company, only test one marketing element at a time.
- Do not edit an A/B test after it has launched! This can skew your data and invalidate your results.
- Science takes time, so does A/B testing. Don’t end your A/B test prematurely!
- Set realistic timeframes for every A/B test. Timeframes will vary depending on what elements you are testing. An email subject line A/B test can conclude in hours or days, but a landing page for paid media will take months to test.
How to Analyze the Results of Your A/B Test
The best way to figure out how to improve marketing results with A/B testing in manufacturing is through careful data analysis. In the data analysis process, start with the obvious and check your conversion rate! If one piece in your test earned more interactions, calls, or form submissions, then your test returned significant results.
Your data analytics duties don’t stop there. You need to consider the quality of the leads each piece earned. If one piece returned 100 more leads than the other, but 75 of them were unqualified, you can assume that the piece that earned fewer, more qualified leads is more beneficial.
Finally, consider the profitability of every closed sale from your A/B test. If your sales cycle concludes within the timeframe of your test, you can see which piece variation earned you any given sale. Then, you can compare the profitability of each closed sale to determine which piece is most effective.
By analyzing the results of an A/B test for manufacturing companies in such detail, you can ensure you make the most educated decisions for your marketing machine. You can then implement any necessary changes before moving on to your next test!
Implement A/B Tests to Refine Your Marketing Machine
If you’ve made it this far, then you understand how A/B testing boosts your conversion rate in the industrial B2B businesses. They are a powerful tool that increases your conversion rates and helps step into your customers’ shoes. When you follow the steps outlined in this blog, you can implement tests that turn your marketing strategies into a well-oiled marketing machine.
Of course, A/B testing can be a time-consuming, ongoing task. We understand that manufacturers operating in the modern world don’t always have the bandwidth to make A/B testing work for them. Instead of stretching your team too thin, consult an expert. To get a better understanding of what makes your customers tick, contact us. We’ll help you create A/B testing content, automate your campaigns, and analyze their results.
