2022 Holiday Guide: 4 Tips to Build Your Holiday Testing Roadmap

Efforts made throughout the entire year help you prepare for the holidays. And historical and real-time data play a huge role in increasing conversion rates.

Do you know which gap you need to fill in your holiday testing roadmap?

Here are three commonly overlooked items that can take your holiday campaigns to the next level. While some of the key performance indicators (KPIs) listed below are not directly tied to revenue, the tactics they’re tied to are, so they’re worth investing in.

1. Build email lists early

It’s important to have large contact lists in the run-up of any promotional period, but it’s essential you also have the right email address, so that you reach the intended person with your promotion. To do this, test several email capture and confirmation methods to see what results in the most leads and then follow up with messages so that you segment accordingly. Digital freebies before and after the collection of email addresses is a smart way to grow your list and test your lead capture parameters.

Different KPIs including list size, email open rates, and click through rates can help to measure subscriber growth and engagement. However, you may want to consider segmenting your list into more narrow categories, such as engaged vs. unengaged subscribers, to see how your content performs across various life cycle stages and persona cohorts. 

2. Test various offers

Which types of offers result in the highest revenue? Exclusive deals and sales such as early bird offers, free shipping, weekend sales, and special announcements will likely perform differently with each segment. Use year-long findings as guidance for your holiday promotion roadmap, but don’t be afraid to test new seasonal offerings in shorter campaigns.

3. Learn from loyal customers

Carve out a segment of your most local customers for a small test promotion. Repeat or lookalike customers can also be used to gather valuable data, and their unique history with your brand could lead to larger shopping carts as they buy for themselves and others. Consider promotions for holidays occurring year-role if they make sense for your brand. This creates additional testing opportunities outside of the December holiday season to learn which promotion strategies stick.

4. Testing your testing software

While it's important to lead your own unique holiday strategy and keep reporting against the KPIs you set up for the year, it’s also a great time to layer in new tools that you may want to use in the future. With traffic at an annual high, you can try out new testing tools and explore various testing and reporting features in the background. This means that you can collect data now and see how the new testing data improves insights and impacts team productivity and the CX across touchpoints. On average, Evolv AI clients get their testing programs up and running in four weeks. Data and insights gathered in real time can be used to optimize campaigns in the months and years to come.

If you’d rather focus on a fresh start in Q1, now is the perfect time to proactively develop your testing roadmap and determine what you want to learn about your audiences in the future. Pre-planning what you want to learn will enable you to set up the right customer journey experiences, enabling better data collection and smarter data-driven decisions moving forward.

Remember that consumer mindsets shift during the holiday season and that means that promotion periods require a shift in thinking on your part. But holidays are cyclical, and what you learn now could prepare you for the next shift in user behavior.

Need some guidance on how to optimize your holiday roadmap? Get a demo and learn how you can start leveraging AI in digital testing and CX optimization.

Rather DIY? Read the first two parts of our series:

• Tips for Improving Holiday Conversions
•  2 Essential Strategies to Run Now

And check out our free ebook: CRO Holiday Checklist for our top 5 tips to prepare for the holiday season.