Modern marketers rely on varied tools to optimize campaigns and boost conversion rates (CR). While increasing CR is the final destination of any mobile marketing effort, there is no one way of getting there, as every digital marketing platform behaves differently. In such a multi-layered marketing ecosystem, the safest route that enterprises can take is to experiment constantly – and to test, test, and test, using tools such as A/B Testing.
A/B testing has taken the guesswork out of mobile app optimization. It lets marketers play scientists, to arrive at data-based decisions about how people behave when they land on an application or mobile web page.
What is A/B Testing?
Consider an example: A hearing aid brand wants to increase engagement with its user base – people who have already purchased one of its products. The app is an after-purchase service that is provided to the users of the hearing aids. It primarily allows the user to test the hearing aid functionality and also to update the firmware over a wireless connection. Now they want to roll out a new feature that of EQing the sound, to give a better hearing experience.
Consider an example: A hearing aid brand wants to increase engagement with its user base – people who have already purchased one of its products. The app is an after-purchase service that is provided to the users of the hearing aids. It primarily allows the user to test the hearing aid functionality and also to update the firmware over a wireless connection. Now they want to roll out a new feature that of EQing the sound, to give a better hearing experience.
In A/B Testing, a mobile app is tweaked to create a second model, or challenger, of the original app version. The challenger can come with a simple interface change that allows for the integration of the new EQing feature. Now some of the users, based on usage pattern data, will be shown the original or controlled version, while the other half gets to browse the variant app version with the EQ feature introduced through a nudge. Audience engagement is then measured to find which one version finds higher favor with the user.
Why use mobile app A/B Testing?
Mobile app A/B testing has varied benefits:
1. Boost revenue, increase conversions
Using A/B Testing, you can improve overall customer experience, and in the process improve engagement, click-through rates, and purchases.
2. Lower bounce rate
Are visitors leaving your app too soon? A/B Testing can help make the right changes to ensure that they stay on the website long enough to make a purchase decision.
3. Every learning matters
In-app customer experiences can be improved in various ways. Should the CTA button be red or green? What’s the optimum size of the CTA button? Should the product promotion banner go on top of the page? A/B Test to know what is the best fit for your app.
4. Solve pain points
While navigating an app, users can face a number of roadblocks. It may be a hard-to-comprehend text or an impossible-to-locate CTA button. A/B Testing can help understand these pain points and solve them.
5. Decisions are driven by real-world data
With A/B testing, decisions are made using real-world data, such as the actual numbers of app users(classified into user segments based on how they interact with the app). This ensures the results you get out of A/B testing will be spot-on.
Where does Mobile App A/B Testing work best?
A/B testing allows marketers to test any aspect of an in-app experience. When time and resources are limited, it’s pertinent to test the elements that make the most impact. Some of these elements include:
1. Layouts – UI & UX
Design elements such as banners and bars, CTA buttons, the placement of images, headlines, or subheads can be tweaked for better customer experience.
2. Feature adoption
Are you planning on adding a new feature to your mobile app? That is possible as well. In an e-commerce app, the integration of a “buy now pay later option” for certain users or in a ride service app, the option to collect feedback from driver partners about the riders etc. are some of the things that just might improve your apps “stickiness”- just how popular it is.
3. Testing user paths
A/B test the different “paths” a user takes on her app journey. This path could be spread across several sales funnels and consists of onboarding sequences, product purchase sequences, wishlisting sequences, or lead generation pathways etc.
4. User experience and engagement optimization
Overall user engagement can be optimized based on information such as the sections that are commonly viewed before a purchase and what actions influence the customer to pick a premium plan over a basic plan etc.
A/B Testing Tools for Mobile Apps: The Relevance of No Code and Netcore
Modern-day A/B Testing has gone beyond baselines and variants. A/B testing tools such as Google Optimize and Netcore’s Product Experience Platform have upped the ante to a whole new level. Also customer preferences are changing rapidly and they are much more demanding today than they were a while back. Therefore, there is greater need for agility in product teams. New age testing techniques are therefore making a greater impact these days than ever before. Some features of such new-age testing techniques include:
- Multivariate testing – It is possible to have multiple variants of a page or section and pitch them against each other. You can now pick one of many (and not just two) possibilities.
- Split testing – Analyze multiple product recommendations to see what is most popular with users, for instance, accessory recommendations for a single apparel purchase.
- Easy feature rollout – Features can be easily rolled out by using toggles. This requires no code and simplifies the Developer’s work.
- Walkthroughs to assist users – Nudge your users along by creating a no-code walkthrough based on events and attributes associated with your mobile app. These walkthroughs can be strategically tested at one go, in-phases or with A/B testing (for multiple walkthroughs).
Tools like Netcore’s Product Experience Platform can help users in all of these testing techniques and guarantee that the results are bug-free and flexible to changes at a later date.
For instance, in a nudge based walkthrough, you, the product growth manager, can even decide what percentage of users will get the nudge and what percentage will still see the default experience. Want to change these numbers later or change the experience itself. That is possible as well. This way, through continuous testing, consumer satisfaction can be amped up.
Besides, you can also add dashboards and get intelligent, AI-powered insights and you’ll have every bit of information on your fingertip. Netcore’s AI engine also helps analyze anomalies (or outliers) to determine critical deviations in businesses by gauging the behaviour of certain KPIs over specific time periods and by specifying the “why” behind each anomaly. You’ll never be data-rich and insight-poor. Talk to us to transform your business!
Conclusion
Mobile app A/B testing has become a key requirement for unmatched customer experiences and increased customer lifecycle value. Tools such as Netcore’s Product Experience Platform simplify this process, by providing options that allow marketers to add features and create nudges without requiring to code at all. The end result is marketing simplified.
