Test Your Brand Strategy

https://embed.notionlytics.com/wt/ZXlKd1lXZGxTV1FpT2lJd05UYzJaamt3TVRKaE1UazBZekJtWWpFeU1HRXpPR1ptTjJOak1EWm1NU0lzSW5kdmNtdHpjR0ZqWlZSeVlXTnJaWEpKWkNJNklqbHpjVk52YW1nMU4zbDZXV1p3UjJ4QlZVSm1JbjA9

Written by Rachael Sherman

<aside> 🗣 Brand strategy is typically developed from a series of hypotheses. A strategist gathers research to inform customer and market insights, these insights form the basis of the brand’s positioning, and this hypothesized positioning becomes the backbone for communicating with customers.

You might be thinking…aren’t hypotheses meant to be tested?

We think so! Testing your strategy gives you data to make informed decisions. It can inform small details like word choice to larger questions like who the target audience is. Regardless of what aspect you test, testing transforms decision paralysis to actionable insights.

Luckily, market testing your strategy doesn’t have to mean intensive focus groups, subjective interviews, and anti-climactic surveys that deliver experimentation results months later. Below are a few of our favorite lean ways to test your assumptions and gain valuable data.

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TryMyUI
- Best for: While TryMyUI is built for testing UX on websites, apps, and prototypes, we like to break the rules and use it to test positioning, messaging, and visual design. You’ll gain qualitative data such as sentiment, comprehensibility, user quotes, and feedback.
- How-to: Put positioning into a loose wireframe, create a series of questions, and get qualified users to react live to your messaging. You can screen your users for specific demographic and behavioral traits to make sure you’re validating against the right audiences.
- What to measure: For TryMyUI, you can ask users anything! It’s important to first set up a clear scenario. For example, “Imagine you just Googled alternatives to coffee and landed on this webpage. Take the time to scroll and explore this website. Once ready, be prepared to answer a set of questions.” Then, you can ask:
- What does this brand offer?
- Why would someone choose to use this brand?
- Who is this brand for?
- Would you use products from this brand?
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                                        *We like to organize our results in Notion databases.* 
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Another approach is to test unofficial brand strategy language through paid media. This can feel risky, but committing to unproven language is riskier. By A/B testing messaging through ads, you’re able to quantitatively measure what positioning direction resonates more, simply by which ads have the highest engagement.

Google Ads
- Best for: DTC and (some) B2B A/B testing messaging. For B2B testing, there must be a significant search volume for relevant keywords relating to your product. For example, Slack could use Google for message testing, since “best workplace messaging apps” is a searched term. However, for a brand like Turquoise Health, there isn’t significant search volume on terms like “best healthcare payments data platforms.” Ask yourself, am I solving a Google-able problem?
- How-to: Set up a non-branded search campaign bidding on relevant terms to your product or service. Create an A/B test by trying ads with variations of your positioning statement. The variations you’ll include in testing depend on your learning objectives. If you’re comparing new messaging to your current messaging, your variation will be current messaging. If you’re trying to determine which new messaging variation is strongest, you’ll test new language variations against each other.
- What to measure: CTR and conversions when applicable. Messaging with the highest engagement indicates the most resonant messaging.
Facebook Ads
- Best for: DTC A/B testing messaging and brand design.
- How-to: Start with a creative testing campaign with a fixed budget. Build an ad group with audiences comprised of your target customers. Then, try ads with variations on your positioning statement like in the Google example above.
  
  The golden rule of A/B testing is to only test 1 variation at a time. To be lean on budgets, start with messaging variations. Once you’ve determined what messaging resonates the most, you can test brand design. For brand design testing, keep all ad copy consistent, but run variations of ad designs against each other.
- What to measure: CTR and conversions when applicable. Messaging with the highest engagement indicates messaging that is resonating the most.
LinkedIn Ads
- Best for: B2B A/B testing messaging and brand design.
- How to: Start with a creative testing campaign with a fixed budget and with audiences comprised of your target customers. Then, try ads with variations on your positioning statement. See how in the Facebook example above – the process is the same!
- What to measure: CTR. Messaging with the highest CTR indicates messaging that is most resonant.

Methodologies we’re keen to try, but haven’t yet:

https://wynter.com/

Got an idea for the Part and Sum OS or want to chat? Contact us at [email protected]