Learn More About A/B Testing Tools
Who Uses A/B Testing Tools?
While A/B testing tools and personalization software generally integrate with systems that work on both the front end and back end of websites, the software isn’t just for technical website developers who specialize in coding. Users with varying skill sets can use the software to enhance their currently existing websites. Appropriately, A/B testing software vendors clearly advertise either their ease of use (embedding just one line of code) or the flexibility with which their tests can be conducted (conducting split-level experiments). Here are some ways various team members can use these tools to enhance performance:
Digital marketing teams: Digital marketing teams can utilize A/B testing software in a variety of ways. They can measure the efficacy of CTAs, headlines, images, and copy to see which variations will have higher click-through rates with users. In addition, they can measure the frequency of cart abandonment to test how likely a customer is to convert into a sale.
Design teams: Perfecting the design of a website is an ongoing process. Design teams can utilize A/B testing to optimize a website’s performance and quality of the user experience by making sure visitors are staying on for an ample amount of time. They can do this by testing how quickly people find what they’re looking for, where to place links on a page to get the most clicks, and other web layout adjustments in order to increase customer engagement.
Research and development teams: Research teams that focus on optimizing website performance can use surveys within A/B testing tools to see which variants appeal to more users. They can ask about customer desires, demographics, and any other details that they can extract to improve their product and website.
Software Related to A/B Testing Tools
A/B testing can be supplemented with a wide variety of other software that also test for conversion rates and lead generation:
Email marketing software: Email marketing software includes A/B testing features, which can be used to test which of two email campaign options will be more successful. During this process, two variations of an email campaign are sent out to two different pools of recipients. Whichever pool has the higher click rate on the email campaign will indicate which one will be more successful. The results can indicate the open rate, click-through rate, and the number of subscribers that were influenced by the email campaign. This is a great tool to guarantee that the marketing campaign is effective and that it will generate more revenue and happier customers.
Web content management software: Web content management (WCM) systems allow users to create, edit, and publish digital content such as text, embedded audio and video files, and interactive graphics for websites. WCM tools offer an assortment of templated web pages, from which site administrators can browse and choose. Since the main goal of web content management is to maximize customer engagement, it is a great software to integrate with A/B testing. A/B tests can be conducted on certain web content and provide higher conversion rates.
Digital analytics software: Digital analytics software tracks website visitors and measures web traffic. Marketers, web developers, and analysts use digital analytics suites to report on the effectiveness and popularity of web experiences and to determine how visitors are finding and interacting with their sites. Digital analytics supplement A/B testing by showing companies which areas need improvement on their website. This can indicate what areas need help from a test to determine what will improve customer engagement.
Heatmap tools: Marketers and web developers use heat maps and in-page analytics to visualize where on a web page visitors click, hover, and scroll. Heat maps can be integrated with A/B testing software to effectively set up a page and ensure that the most important links are in spots that are being clicked on the most.
How to Buy A/B Testing Tools and Software
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for A/B Testing Tools
When searching for the right A/B testing tool, it’s important to create a long list based on products that contain some of the most necessary features for an effective experiment. After the available pool has been segmented based on crucial features, one can then sort based on nice-to-haves, bells and whistles, and industry-specific software requirements.
Compare A/B Testing Software Products
Create a long list
In order to create a long list, buyers must ensure the products being considered meet these core criteria:
- The software is compatible with one’s technology and computer programs
- Cloud storage is available for experimental data
- The software offers the scalability needed to perform experiments with a certain n-size
- Cost aligns with budget
Create a short list
Once a long list based on core features is created, a short list should be further narrowed based on nice-to-haves and bells and whistles:
- What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) editing
- Little to no coding options for businesses that don’t have employees with a computer science background
- Multivariate testing capacities should experiment with more than one variable need to be tested simultaneously
- Mobile app testing capabilities if a business has mobile content
Conduct demos
Buyers must schedule calls with the vendors on the short list to ensure their product is the right fit. The most foolproof way to make the right decision is to actually test out the software. It is important to ask vendors about how their product addresses the business’ most pressing needs.
Selection of A/B Testing Tools
Choose a selection team
The selection team should include the CEO and other executives from finance, marketing, and IT. The CEO will be there to represent the whole company and its business objectives. Finance will be able to represent the company and IT will determine if the product fits well into existing tech stacks and company technology. Most importantly, representatives from marketing will be able to speak fluently on the goals of A/B testing and company needs with software, since the marketing team will be the end user for these tools.
Negotiation
A/B testing software vendors will be bringing their strongest team to seal the deal with a potential client. Therefore, it’s important to come to the negotiation process with questions on certain key features one needs. These include (but are not limited to) multivariate testing and WYSIWYG capabilities, how much coding experience is needed to use the interface, and AI or machine learning. Buyers must ask questions about the total costs and fees associated with purchasing, implementing, and using the product. In order to prevent surprises later, it is crucial to ensure the terms and conditions are read in full and discussed.
Final decision
It could be useful to create a scoring template that measures the various features mentioned in the long and short list, as well as notes from calls between the client and vendor.
