Strategy
& Culture

Strategy & culture is a hugely important area for businesses, but an area that is often not addressed until later on in the development of your experimentation program.

We see this a lot: individuals often start out experimenting in small ways, with staff members (often in marketing or product roles) using some of their working week to allocate to this practice. It’s usually not until later on, once fundamental experimentation processes and tools are in place, and results are beginning to be seen that the wider business gets on board, and experimentation is more widely considered across all functions.

The problem with this approach is that it often leads to failure. Without senior buy-in which provides:
Funding for tools and research
A dedicated team and the right team structure to assist the rest of the business with testings.
The authority to test strategic elements of the business and a culture that accepts failure and learnings, leading to bigger wins and more insights and learnings.

Without the above, many programs fall by the wayside due to competing work commitments or a lack of specialist expertise needed to run a program that delivers impactful results.

Resources to help you with strategy & culture

● How to Get Your Company to Really Care about Your Customers
● 6 Clever Nudges To Build a Culture of Experimentation
● How to Nail Your First 90 Days as a CX Director

Data
& Tools

This is where most businesses start. Before they get a strategy in place, or processes, before they hire dedicated staff, they usually think about what A/B testing tool they need and sign up. But there’s a lot more to this than just getting an A/B testing tool, you need to;

● Select tools with the right level of functionality for your needs now and in the future, as well as understanding their limitations.
● Think about your tool stack as a whole, and the interoperability of data and integration between them.
● Think about how you’ll combat siloed data around your business.
● Consider the level of self-service vs. specialists expertise needed to use the tools.
● Plan how you will maintain the tools and keep them up to date.
● Set out how you will regularly check the validity of tracking and data from tools.
● Think about what and how will you make data accessible and usable for different people. Whether that’s giving data analysts access to raw data and BI tools, to dashboards for senior managers.

Having tools, and data you can use and trust impacts what you test, the validity of your findings, and whether your experimentation program is working. Without it, you’re flying blind.

Resources to help with data & tools
‍
● Pitching a Data Strategy? Here's How to Ensure the C-Suite Says “Yes.”
● Data Discrepancies in Google Analytics: What Can Go Wrong, Why, & How to Fix It
● Client-Side Vs. Server-Side A/B Testing Tools: The Difference