[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Direct mail testing is a critical part of running a successful campaign, yet it is often something that is often overlooked.

The way we see it is that you can’t make improvements to your campaigns unless you find out what your target audience really wants and that’s where testing can help you.

When it comes to testing your direct mail campaigns, there are two primary types for you to try out: A/B Split testing and Multi-Variable testing. Here we’ve provided a quick guide to the differences between the two methods.

[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]A/B Testing for Direct Mail[/x_custom_headline][cs_text]A/B testing is the most commonly used method for direct mail. It basically involves sending out the exact same piece of direct mail, except for one element, which will be different on each version. By keeping the rest of the design and content the same, apart from the one element, you will be able to determine the effectiveness of version A and version B.

You can test pretty much any aspect of direct mail using A/B testing including mailing lists, special offers, headlines and formats. If you wanted to create more than two versions of a piece of direct mail, this would be called A/B/C split – you get the gist!

[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]Multi Variable Testing for Direct Mail[/x_custom_headline][cs_text]Another method of testing is multi variable testing, which as the name suggests, involves testing multiple elements simultaneously. Whereas with A/B split testing, you are only focusing on making one element different e.g. different headlines, with multi variable testing you could be testing two different offers, with two formats and sending them to three different lists.

Although multiple variable testing can be effective, some people find it a little complicated. Others prefer A/B testing as it tends to be cheaper than multi variable testing, which requires you to create separate test cells for each variance in the test.
[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]When to test[/x_custom_headline][cs_text]Testing is not a one-off process but rather something you should be doing on an on-going basis. The more regularly you test your direct mail campaigns, the more you will learn from them and the more effective you’ll be able to make your campaigns in the future.

If you are interested in learning more about direct mail testing, then feel free to get in touch with the team here at Baker Goodchild. We offer it as one of our services and can provide the expertise you need to take your direct mail campaigns to the next level.

Image Credit: Donal O’Conghaile[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]