Overview
When you are running an A/B test between two different campaigns to specifically test your offer structure, there are a few additional updates that need to be made. If you are looking for more general information about A/B testing, please refer to A/B Testing Your Campaign.
Setting Up an Offer Test Part I
Please take the following steps when configuring your offer test in My Extole.
Log in to your My Extole account.
Duplicate your live campaign
On the Programs page, find the program for which you would like to run your test. Hover over the campaign you'd like to test and hit the duplicate icon.
Hit the Edit Creative button of the new campaign and navigate to the Basics tab to update the name and description.
Be sure to rename it in a way that makes it clear this is the "variable" campaign in your test.
Update your creatives on this campaign to align with the variable
Check out Using Extole's Campaign Editor for help
Update the Reward in the Rules section
If this is a new reward type or value, go to the Rewards page and create the new coupon, gift card or account credit reward.
QA using the Offer Configuration Checklist
Offer Configuration Checklist
Please make sure you have updated the following items on your newly duplicated campaign before launching your offer test. If you have any questions, please contact your CSM.
Update copy and creative elements across all assets
Confirm copy on the Social Share Image, Social Share Description, and How it Works
Update the Disclaimer and Terms
Update the reward (gift card, updated coupon codes, account credit amount, etc.)
If your test offer is a gift card, confirm your Tango Gift Card email template with your CSM in the Tango portal
Check your maximum spending limits if you are sending out more or larger gift cards
If your test offer is a higher value account credit, make sure that your system is prepared to handle a different reward amount
As your are editing your duplicated campaign, the Apply Changes button on the top left corner of the editor allows you to save your changes as you work.
Setting Up an Offer Test Part II
Once you've completed the items in the checklist above, you can take the following steps to launch your test.
Once you're ready to launch, go back to your Programs page and open the dot menu to the far right of your test campaign.
Click the Go Live button and choose the option to Go Live as a Test.
Note: This will automatically split your campaign traffic 50/50, which means existing advocates will continue to see the control campaign while new customers will be split. To learn more about Pausing vs. Ending, check out this article.
Managing your Static CTAs
If you are using Promotion Links for any of your CTAs like for outbound emails or a homepage banner, you'll need to check to see if you are calling out the offer in the copy or creative. It's recommended that you make the CTA more generic (like Refer and Earn vs. Refer and get $25) so that it will align with either of the two offers you are testing. You can use the same links, but you'll want to update the copy or creative.
Managing the A/B Test Populations
If you would like to control the specific audience that sees your test vs. a 50/50 split through Extole, please read this guide carefully. Client managed A/B tests are better suite for clients with programs that are tagged and behind login.
If you are interested in managing your own A/B test populations, reach out to your CSM to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is traffic split between my A test campaign and B test campaign?
For A/B tests, the Extole campaign targeting engine uses a pure random number generator when each user begins their session. If you want to run a test with more than 2 campaigns, they will be split evenly.
Extole does support weighted campaigns if you are rolling out a new feature. Reach out to support@extole.com if you want to set up a percentage other than an even split.
Can I choose who will get targeted into each version of the test?
You can create promotion links that will send directly to one of the two campaigns which will easily work for emails, but if you have other onsite CTAs that are using tags, it may not always show the same offer. For more information, check out Managing A/B Test Populations.
Will customers who have already interacted with my program continue to see the campaign they have already experienced?
If you would like current customers to continue to experience the campaign they have already seen, the steps detailed above will be perfect.
If you would like to ensure that any traffic, new or old, gets split for a test regardless of prior history, you will want to complete steps 2–6 again to test two new campaigns against each other. You will also want to pause your evergreen campaign so that it stops receiving traffic. To do so, navigate to your Programs page and open the menu on the right of the campaign you want to end, then select the End option.
What if I host the promotions I want to test?
If you control the promotions or calls to actions (CTAs) you would like to test, we have two options for you.
Make your promotions and links generic (like Refer a Friend) and set up an A/B test.
Recommended: Change your promotion for a limited time and run a burst. A burst will pause traffic to your live campaign in favor of a new campaign that features the promotion you would like to test for a limited time. Once your burst is launched, you will want to end your original campaign so that it stops receiving traffic. To do so, navigate to your Programs page and open the menu on the right of the campaign you want to end, then select the End option.
Do I need to re-tag my site in order to run a test?
No. If you have already added Extole tags to site you do not need to do any additional set up in order to run an A/B test.