16/09/2024
A/B Testing? Nope, Think Synergy Effect!
Thanks for all your reactions and PMs. I was planning to post every second or third day, but your responses pushed me to write tonight. One of the top questions: Can you give an example? Sure, people -my first post was just the intro.
A/B testing is often considered the âprime partâ of marketing strategy. But is it really? To me, itâs always been too black and white. You test one ad, then you test another, and pick the one that performs better. But what does better really mean? Today? This week? This month? Was it raining that day? Wasnât it a Monday? So many questions.
Enter the Synergy Effect - something used by pharma companies, food companies, and many others to solve customer problems. And guess what? Marketing is not about products either; itâs about solving problems. The saying âSell the problem you solve, not the product you makeâ is the foundation of good marketing.
Let me give you a simple example from the food industry, since itâs easier to understand. Itâs a bit basic, but youâll get the idea. Imagine a cafĂ© that sells two types of sandwiches: a cheese sandwich and a ham sandwich. Oneâs for meat lovers, the other for those who donât like meat. They do an A/B test and find that the ham sandwich performs better. So, do they put ham sandwiches everywhere? A/B testing says they should. But would a cafĂ© really survive that way? No.
This is where synergy comes in. The cafĂ© doesn't just rely on the better-performing option - they combine both sandwiches to create a cheese and ham sandwich. Thatâs combinational synergy effect: combining two products (or ads) to reach a new segment. And after seeing that this combination works, they take it further. They add MSG (monosodium glutamate) to all their sandwiches, making everything taste better. Is it a sneaky move? Sure. But it works. This is called potentiation synergy effect - a small addition that makes an existing product more appealing. Itâs not a new product; itâs a method to increase satisfaction with whatâs already there.
So, what have we learned? Synergy effect comes in two main forms: Combination and Potentiation. Both can be applied to advertising and all marketing activities.
But how do we measure and test the synergy effect? As I mentioned in my first post, marketing can borrow from other sciences. This time, we can take a hint from the drug development industry. Theyâve been using well-established methods to analyze both types of synergy for years. Yes, itâs math. Yes, itâs complex. But who said you have to invent it yourself? The method already exists. Your job is to understand which parameters to use in these existing models. Thatâs the key. The model is there -matching marketing metrics to pharma metrics is the challenge.
Let me tell you a secret: Iâve tested it, and it works. Turning marketing into Marketing Science is possible. But these methods are cutting edge. I only cover them in my top-level Director course at KetONE Academy https://www.ketone.co.uk/ketone-digital-academy/
Stay tuned...
