Marketing is a Fancy Word for Test

Strength In Business

Test, iterate, and retest. Testing the variables, and refining a product or service through repeated adjustment cycles is in essence marketing and this is what people get wrong.

I’ve been operating in this space for more than two decades now and whenever I’m asked what precise code will unlock the treasure trove, I humbly reply with: “We’ll need to test it.”

There is no recipe for success to be replicated 1:1 to achieve the same results. Variables differ across businesses, time, ecosystems, economies, etc. Everything is in a constant flow and therefore you’ll need to test what works best for you in that specific time frame.

Yes, there are key ingredients to success that are the foundation aka the main pillars required to attain a certain outcome. Those should be included in the recipe. Apart from that, you’ll encounter a plethora of variables that add a specific flavor and a unique spice to what it is you’re offering.

Indeed, success leaves clues, and there’s a lot of wisdom in adhering to core principles that enable you to mirror processes and fast-track the learning curve.

However, testing will reveal the good and the bad to help you understand where you’re at.

Get As Many “NO”’s As Possible Out of Way

So then, what’s marketing all about?

Here’s the non-academic and non-mainstream approach to marketing:

• Test as many variables as you possibly can. Test them in sequence but also test groups of variables at once.
• Adjust continuously. Be ferocious when it comes to improving your copywriting, the imagery, the color palette, etc.
• Take ownership of testing results. This will catapult your ability to deal with rejection.
• Test quickly. Don’t wing it. Communicate the steps to your team.
• Use the feedback loop to improve.
• Test again. And again. And again.
• Build a marketing bouquet of “NO”s. Learn from the journey.
• Sharpen your skills and acquire new ones.
• Stay open-minded.
• Be flexible.
• Tweak your approach to testing aka marketing as you move along.

This gives you a fair insight as to what blueprint my team and I follow when we embark on a new marketing adventure with a client.

Here’s What Marketing Is NOT …

Marketing is not your brand, story, tagline, website, or some fancy ad on Facebook.

If we reverse-engineer the concept of marketing we end up with testing.

Big retail companies continuously test the store layout. They even have a department in charge of this task; it’s the category managers. Ecomm shops always test their color palette, the position and size of the search icon, and how related products and bundles are displayed to ensure their marketing enhances and influences customer behavior.

Furthermore, marketing works in tandem with sales. Those who understand the power of this lethal combination rarely think and design campaigns in silos.

So, what’s it going to be? Will you adhere to the mainstream narrative of what marketing is supposed to be, or are you open to new perspectives that embrace the notion of marketing as a gigantic pool of testing?

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Image by Mikael Blomkvist via Pexels

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