ExactTarget has launched a feature it’s calling “Real-Time A/B Testing”. The solution is described as something which will improve email marketing performance in real time based on customer reactions.
The company took the wraps off the new service at MarketingSherpa’s Email Summit 2011 in Las Vegas. The tool boasts an intuitive interface within the ExactTarget application to create and monitor dynamic test emails in real time and choose the best performing email to send.
“Marketers can now take the guess work out of determining which email is performing by seeing which one is getting more customer clicks in real time,” said Susan Marshall, senior director of product marketing at ExactTarget. “Unlike other email testing tools that lack real-time automation, this new feature helps ensure that marketers are delivering the most relevant email message to their customers.”
ExactTarget’s Real-Time A/B Testing allows marketers to test variables such as subject line, from name or send date/time. Throughout the testing, an updated dashboard provides a real-time view of subscriber opens, clicks and conversions, identifying the best performing variables.
The feature also allows marketers to set predefined limits to automatically send the best performing email after a set amount of time to the remainder of subscribers, or modify the email campaign based on the test results.
Email marketing experts have been singing the praises of A/B split testing for years and data backs up the importance of testing your email campaigns. However, too many marketers simply don’t take the time to test their campaigns this way. So, any tool which makes this easier and more attractive to marketers means a win-win for everyone. Marketers send better emails and subscribers get better information and content.
Look for more ESPs to integrate tools such as this into their offerings as well.