3 Benefits to A/B Testing (+ Where to Get Started)

A/B tests, or online controlled experiments, are the golden standard for determining which ideas work (and which do not), whether it’s product changes, marketing, or business model. The most innovative businesses in the world–Amazon, Booking, Google, Meta/Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix–rely on this methodology to drive growth and safe deployments. 

How can you create an A/B testing strategy that reliably delivers the results you’re looking for?

In this article, we’ll share a resource to help you master the art of A/B testing. But first, let’s look at 3 concrete benefits that demonstrate why A/B testing is worth your time and effort. 

1. A/B testing offers immediate feedback

 
The beauty of A/B testing is that you can quickly gauge how effective your strategy is, as you make changes. Once you launch a campaign or product changes, you can quickly assess which version of your test performs better within days (or even sooner if you have a large enough audience). The best part is that you don’t have to rely on the HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) to make impactful decisions. Instead, the data will give the insight you need to determine which version of your A/B test is the winner for your Overall Evaluation Criterion. 

This provides invaluable insights into what users actually want from your product, service, or messaging so you can improve upon it immediately.

2. A/B testing drives optimization across every customer touchpoint

 
With an A/B testing platform, you can test your existing marketing campaigns to see what resonates with customers. As your product, marketing, and sales teams build out their funnels, you can employ strategic A/B testing at every step of the way. This leads to optimizing the entire customer journey, which results in:

• Building better products
• Attracting more leads 
• Converting more of those leads into customers 
• Increasing customer loyalty and retention 
• Improving your company’s bottom line

And because A/B testing leaves you with concrete data, you’re taking all the guesswork out of the equation. This allows you to make changes to your strategy with more confidence. 

3. A/B testing means you're always improving

 
One of the most important benefits of data-driven A/B testing is that it's a continuous process. Once you've set up your first test, you should be on the lookout for new opportunities to improve your conversion rates and optimize your product or message. By constantly A/B testing your products or marketing campaigns, you’ll make small improvements as you move forward. These improvements compound over time, making a big impact on your company’s long-term growth. 

And the good news is that you can never truly fail because A/B testing is an ongoing process. Since you’re collecting data on which version is better (and not which version is ultimately “best”), you can simply optimize aspects of your products or campaigns with A/B testing until you’ve achieved the final results you want.

Concluding Thoughts: A/B testing leads to long-term optimization

 
A/B testing is not a one-and-done process. Instead, it’s an ongoing journey that requires constant monitoring and revision. In other words, even as you see positive results from your efforts, there is always room for improvement. A/B testing simply allows you to find and confidently implement those improvements in a practical way.

But how do you run strategic A/B tests in a way that reliably leads to the results you’re looking for?

For that, we turn to Ronny Kohavi. 

Ronny has spent the past 20+ years working with organizations like Airbnb, Microsoft, Amazon, and more. He holds a Ph.D. in Machine Learning from Stanford University and is an esteemed writer on the topic of A/B testing. In fact, he co-authored one of the top 10 data mining books on Amazon, “Trustworthy Controlled Experiments: A Practical Guide to A/B Testing.” 

Starting August 22nd, Ronny will lead a 10-hour live online course to help businesses be more data-driven and accelerate innovation with controlled experiments, or A/B tests. The course will help you understand:

• The motivation and basics of A/B testing 
• Cultural challenges, dealing with humbling results, which platforms to use, and how to conduct tests ethically
• Complementary techniques, Expected Value of Information (EVI), the hierarchy of evidence, and more…

In short, Ronny’s 5-session (2-hour each) cohort will give you the chance to learn strategic A/B testing in a way that leads to tangible results. And by doing so, you’ll make yourself a more valuable asset to your organization’s long-term success. Plus, you’ll get the chance to work directly with Ronny, as long as other data-driven professionals in your field. 

Want to learn more? Click here to learn more about Ronny’s upcoming course, “Accelerating Innovation with A/B Testing.”