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A/B Testing: How To Optimize Business Development

July 21, 2024

Tyler Suomala

Founder of Growthitect

“Always Be Testing”

That’s a sticky note that’s been on my desk for a couple of years.

I wrote it down after I made a small change to a recycled LinkedIn post, which then ended up going viral. All I did was change the first sentence.

It was an obvious reminder that you might just be one small change away from amazing growth.

Which is also a core idea of the growth hacks that I share - all it takes is one small change to make a big difference.

And I’ve experienced the benefits of this many times since:

I’ve changed the headline on a homepage to increase conversions by 20%
I’ve removed a step from a meeting booking process to increase conversions 3x
I’ve plastered my ideas across different image types to ultimately increase their reach 10x

But here’s the thing: You’ll never know unless you test it. Try it. Take action. Take risk. Give it a shot.

And be sure to measure the results.

So let’s dive into how you can test and optimize your business development.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing, or split testing, is a way to compare two versions of something to see which one works better.

This could be an email subject line, a web page, or a social media post. By showing these two versions (A and B) to similar groups of people, you can find out which one gets better results.

Why is A/B Testing important for architects?

Like I said before: small changes can have huge improvements. A/B testing is a quick, easy way to:

Optimize your efforts: A/B testing helps you identify what works best for your audience so you can increase open rates, impressions, and conversions. It’s about making data-driven decisions rather than guessing.
Reduce risk: A/B testing allows you to experiment with small changes before committing fully. This way, you minimize the risk of a full-scale rollout that might not perform well. (This has saved my budget more times than I can count…)
Boost Return On Investment (ROI): When you know what works best, you can allocate your resources more effectively, ensuring you get the best return on investment for your marketing and sales efforts.

How to implement A/B Testing

01 // Define goal and variable

Start with a clear goal and choose one element to test. For example, if you want to increase email open rates, you might test different subject lines.

Example: Your goal is to increase the open rate of your firm’s monthly newsletter. You decide to test two different subject lines: "Two Modern Houses" (Version A) and "How To Design A Dream" (Version B).

02 // Create two versions

Develop two variations of your content. Version A is the control, and Version B includes the change you want to test.

Example: You create two emails identical in content but with the different subject lines. Everything else in the email remains the same to ensure that any difference in open rates is due to the subject line.

03 // Split your audience

Divide your audience into two groups and run the test using an A/B testing tool. Ensure the groups are similar in size and characteristics to get accurate results.

Example: Using your email marketing platform (like Mailchimp), you split your mailing list of 1,000 subscribers into two groups of 500. Group A receives the email with "Two Modern Houses," and Group B receives "How To Design A Dream."

04 // Analyze and implement

Compare the performance of both versions. Look at metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Implement the version that performs better.

Example: After a week, you review the results. "Two Modern Houses" has a 30% open rate, while "How To Design A Dream" has a 40% open rate. Clearly, the latter is the winner. You decide to implement “How To” subject lines in future emails to maximize open rates.

Tools for A/B Testing

There are some tools that make managing A/B tests quick and easy:

Google Optimize: Free and easy to use for website and landing page testing.
ConvertKit: Great for A/B testing email campaigns - this is what I use for Growthitect.
HubSpot: All-in-one CRM with built-in A/B testing for emails, landing pages, and more.
Unbounce: Ideal for testing different versions of landing pages.
CrazyEgg: An easy way to A/B test different components across your website.

What should you A/B Test?

In case you’re wondering what you can and should A/B test, here’s a short list to help you get started:

Email Campaigns:

Subject Lines: Test different lengths, tones, and keywords to see which ones get the most opens.
Call-to-Actions (CTAs): Experiment with different wording, colors, and placements to see what drives clicks. This is especially helpful for cold emails and warm emails.
Email Design: Try different layouts, images, and text formats to see what keeps readers engaged.

Website and Landing Pages:

Headlines: Test different headlines to see which grabs more attention and keeps visitors on the page.
CTAs: Experiment with the text, color, and placement of your CTAs to see which gets more clicks.
Content Layout: Try different arrangements of text, images, and buttons to see what leads to more conversions.

Social Media Posts:

Images and Videos: Test different types of visual content to see what gets more likes, comments, and shares.
Post Copy: Experiment with different messaging and tones to see what resonates most with your audience.
Posting Times: Test different times of day to see when your audience is most active and engaged.

Ad Campaigns:

Ad Copy: Test different headlines, descriptions, and CTAs to see which gets more clicks and conversions.
Visuals: Experiment with different images, graphics, and videos to see what grabs attention and drives action.
Targeting: Test different audience segments to find the most responsive groups and maximize your ad spend.

TL;DR

A/B testing is a powerful tool that can help architects refine their business development engine to achieve better results. By making data-driven decisions, you can optimize your efforts, reduce risk, and boost your ROI.

To get started: