How Much Testing Is Enough?

How Much Testing Is Enough? Author: KatyD

You and others advise us to test ads, but how long should we test them?

How often should we test them?

Re: How Much Testing Is Enough? Author:Dennis S. Vogel

Hi Katy:

I don't remember hearing or reading anything about this before. The best answer I can think of is to advertise something, including test ads until you're sure that the market for that product/service has become or shortly will be saturated. (There may be times that a market for a service or perishable product would be saturated.)

Garrison Keillor wrote in his tales about Lake Woebegon about people desperately wanting a tomato in late spring, but by late summer, after the tomatoes in everybody's gardens are ripe, they can't even give tomatoes away.

If you can't even give something away, then the market is saturated, at least for a while.

This begs the next logical question -
"What would a person know when a market is saturated instead of an ad just losing its effectiveness?"

This would depend on the product/service. One possible way is - If you've tried ads that have covered every "hot button" and sales are weak or not happening, you should probably figure that the market is saturated.

A "hot button" is something that triggers a buying response. If a guy tells me that he needs a car that's dependable, then for him (& others like him) dependability is a "hot button."

In a personal selling example, I could make it even better by helping him precisely what "dependability" means in his situation.

In advertising, I could make it more powerful by learning how niche members define & prioritize factors, so I would know what increases & decreases value (how they define "value").
- Fuel economy - Quick starts - Few expensive/extensive repairs
- Mechanical performance - Body & chassis condition & durability

Of course, it might take the pushing of more than one "hot button" to get somebody to buy something.

You could be daring and offer the product/service for a very low price, (but have an expiration date) and find out if anybody will buy it. You can bill it as a marketing test to find out if anybody is still interested in the product/service.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

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