Contents
- What is a marketing hypothesis?
- Why are marketing hypotheses used?
- How are marketing hypotheses tested?
- Conclusion
What is a marketing hypothesis?
A marketing hypothesis is an assumption that a specific action by a company will lead to a particular result. For example, a 5% price reduction might result in a 10% increase in demand. The formulation of a hypothesis typically follows this structure: "if the company does something, it will achieve such-and-such result." For example, the statement "if we offer clients services in packages, we can increase revenue by 25%" is a typical example.
Some companies adopt an approach where decisions are made only after testing hypotheses. This method, known as growth hacking, involves testing at least five ideas daily, helping to discover new successful solutions for the business. Hypotheses can be formulated for both non-existent products and any stage of the sales funnel.
Why are marketing hypotheses used?
The primary goal of hypothesis testing is to validate ideas before investing resources into them. For example, if a company has an outdated website, and a new designer suggests updating it, this may lead to significant costs. Without prior testing, there is a risk of losing old clients, failing to attract new ones, thereby not justifying the investment.
To prevent such situations, it is crucial to first test ideas and then invest in them. For instance, a company could gradually modify elements of the website, formulating several hypotheses such as:
- If we change the design of the homepage, users will view it to the end 20% more often.
- If we change the navigation on the site, users will reach the payment stage two steps faster.
- If we rewrite complex texts in an informational style, orders will increase by 10%.
The results of testing will help determine the direction to take next. If the first hypothesis is confirmed, it is worth applying changes to other pages. If not, other ideas that could genuinely improve the site's performance need to be sought.
How are marketing hypotheses tested?
Hypotheses can be tested in various areas of a company's operations. For example:
- Sales: Participating in three industry conferences will increase the number of leads by 30%.
- Management: Simplifying the hierarchy will allow for strategic decisions to be made twice as fast.
- HR: Investing 500,000 rubles in employee training will prevent the hiring of new workers, whose salaries would amount to 1 million rubles per year.
- PR: Doubling media publications will increase the number of applications by 10%.
- Advertising: Changing the design of the banner will triple the number of clicks.
Similarly, hypotheses are formulated for each direction in marketing. For example, in influencer marketing, working with two major bloggers might bring 20,000 new subscribers. In email marketing, changing the email template could lead to a 20% increase in email engagement by users.
Practically any idea proposed by a specialist can be tested. This also applies to products that exist only in concept. Testing hypotheses allows for a step-by-step determination of whether a future business will be successful. The primary hypothesis in such experiments is: "if I create such a project, its revenue will be such-and-such." To validate this, individual assumptions about the target audience, their needs, competitors, and expected revenue are formulated.
Conclusion
Testing hypotheses is an important step in the decision-making process that helps avoid unnecessary costs and increases the chances of success. Through careful analysis and testing of various ideas, companies can find the most effective strategies to achieve their goals. It is essential to remember that even a negative result from testing can serve as a foundation for new ideas and hypotheses, ultimately contributing to business development.