Testing Your Way to a Breakthrough

Test thoroughly. Be sure your test sample size is large enough. I always split-test several segments, and ensure that split cells don’t fall below a minimum number of names needed to yield at least 100 orders from the segment.

Double check results. If a full-scale mailing is risky (i.e., it requires an up-front investment or has a potentially large opportunity cost,) then it’s a good idea to re-test in a subsequent mailing. Make sure everyone is confident with the results and that your lift is high enough in the test to suffer a drop-off in the rollout and still yield positive results.