Testing across marketing mediums is a strategy we’ve seen a definite uptick in lately, especially with the ability to track back-end analytics in digital marketing. Clients want to know which medium yields the best ROI, so they can utilize that approach again in the future.

DO consider pairing mediums to maximize exposure (i.e. sending a direct mail piece and following up via email).

DON’T let too much time lapse between an initial push and subsequent follow up. If your intended recipient saw the first tactic but didn’t take action, you want the follow up to serve as a reminder while it’s still fresh in their head. Two-to-four weeks is a good norm. Likewise, if you’re doing a true comparison between multiple tactics, make sure to drop or launch them at the same time.

DO create slight adaptations of messaging or positioning to test at random against each other — seeing which gets the higher open/return/CTA rate. Even something as simple as changing the outer envelope messaging can give you insight into what your audience responds to.

DON’T anticipate that your intended audience received/saw your message the first time. That direct mail piece? It may have been delivered to the wrong mailbox. That email? There’s always a chance that it got stuck in spam (though we make every effort to mitigate that possibility). Multiple means of communication are going to increase the chances of your message reaching who you want it to, when you want it to.

DO have a control in place across the tactics you’re testing. Utilize a similar design and change up copy, or keep the copy the same and explore different looks and layouts. You want to have a good idea of what resonates with your audience instead of guessing what it was that made the impact.

DON’T get stuck with what’s comfortable, what you’ve done in the past or what seems to generate “OK” results. There’s always room for improvement.

Integrate these key DO’S into your business strategy and let us know how they affected your marketing tactic!