3 Steps for Creating a Lead-Testing Process

Think of your lead-generation testing as a scientific process. It can be fun (and even exciting, at times) to test what really makes your audience tick. Everyone eventually decides on a testing process that works for their own particular needs.

Here's a sample framework for testing lead generation:

1. Formulate your question

   What are you testing and why are you testing it? An example would be, “What CTA works best in my email campaign?” Or, “Which web page design generates the most clicks and form fill-outs?”

   This stage can also involve looking at your previous campaigns to determine what has worked in the past. That way, you can create an educated hypothesis.

2. Define success

   Before you create your hypothesis, you also want to determine how you will define success and what your success metrics are.

   For lead generation, you want to look at

   1. Macroconversion successes. These are primary conversions that turn into

      Clicks

      Conversions

      Leads

   2. Microconversion metrics. These are smaller-scale conversions in the form of steps that you want a lead to take, such as

      Clicking a button

      Watching a video

      Liking and sharing a blog post

3. Construct your hypothesis

   A hypothesis is an educated guess based on the knowledge that you have obtained while thinking about both your question and your success metrics. Your hypothesis should determine what possible combination of variables might work best to achieve your ultimate success metrics.

   An example of a hypothesis might be that you believe a form with three fields might have a better conversion rate than a form with five, based on your research and previous campaign performances.

Review and refine your process, and test it out!