I’ll never forget the conversation I once had years ago with our Sr. VP of Business Development when I was in charge of executing marketing campaigns to his clients’ customers. We were in the process of reviewing the financial results of one of the campaigns. We had forecasted (months earlier) about 2,500 sales from this particular direct mail campaign, which was for an optional insurance product. We came up about 60 sales short of our target. When I started to explain that the small variance was from the fact that we had two test creative included in the campaign, I thought he was going to reach across the table and strangle me. He immediately ripped in to me with a jeremiad comprised of a few choice words that I cannot repeat here, followed by the fiery question: “When are you going to be done testing!”?

I tried to explain all the factors that went into our test plan, and how we only went out with minimum test quantities of each in an attempt to not jeopardize the overall campaign…but none of that was resonating with him. It wasn’t until I asked, “How do you think our winning control package became our control package?” that the light bulb went, his harangue ended, and peace was restored.

Today’s winning creative—no matter how great, no matter how many challengers it defeated on its way to the top—will eventually grow old and tired, and then falter.

The truth of the matter is that testing is hard. It’s risky. It takes guts. But it’s also mandatory.

As marketers, we are tasked to be responsible stewards of the company’s marketing investment (and it is “investment”—not “spend”!), and to push to make every dollar invested yield two. So getting the right message out to the right audience is paramount. This can only be done through a disciplined, methodical testing approach. But what’s more, just when you think you’ve discovered the winning recipe, things change.

Unlike Finance, for example, where 5 + 5 will always equal 10, marketers must operate in an environment of constant change. Our Marketing forefathers tried to help us by developing that facile “Consumer Buying Process” chart we were all forced to memorize at some point. While that may still be a useful framework, it doesn’t account for the changes over time in how and when consumers navigate through that process. It also assumes the process is linear, which we know now is often not the case.

Sure, predictive models with their advanced algorithms can help us find and acquire customers as they navigate through the buying process. But by design, they are built on past performance. They are essentially designed to help us find new customers that look and act just like our old customers based on how we were able to originally acquire those customers. So in effect, if we continue to use the same creative execution over time, we are essentially building an acquisition model that is designed to find more look-a-like customers who respond to that specific creative.

This generally works great for a while, but as consumer behavior changes, new variables are introduced that weren’t part of the past. Our predictive models begin struggling to find more potential look-a-like customers. Response rates begin to sink as acquisition expenses rise. Our once proud, champion control package is broken. And what’s worse, there is no heir apparent waiting in the wings to take its place.

So as marketers, it is imperative that we live by the credo that all good things must end, because for the most part, they really do. Today’s winning creative—no matter how great, no matter how many challengers it defeated on its way to the top—will eventually grow old and tired, and then falter.

And thus EVERY marketer’s individual annual performance plan should be sure to include the following objective: Beat the Control.

So THAT is why we test. Constantly. Diligently. Endlessly.

For help formulating and evaluating your creative testing plan or predictive response model, contact Metric Insurance Marketing Strategy at info@metricstrategy.com or visit www.metricinsurancemarketing.com.