Test and learn: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:03, 4 April 2018

Revision as of 20:06, 4 April 2018

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== Historical context ==

Test and Learn has been systematically applied as far back as 1988 by [[Capital One]]. Capital One has been aggressive about testing since the firm was founded, testing everything from product design to marketing to customer selection to collection policies.<ref name="hbr">{{Cite news|url=https://hbr.org/2009/02/how-to-design-smart-business-experiments|title=How to Design Smart Business Experiments|last=Davenport|first=Thomas H.|date=February 2009|newspaper=[[Harvard Business Review]]|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|postscript=<!--None-->|authorlink=Thomas H. Davenport}}</ref> In a single year, the company performs tens of thousands of tests, allowing it to offer thousands of different types of credit cards to customers, based on the knowledge gained from their tests. Richard Fairbank, [[CEO]] of Capital One, called test and learn "a marketing revolution that can be applied to many businesses".<ref>{{cite web

| last = Davenport

| first = Thomas H.

| authorlink = Thomas H. Davenport

| title = How to Design Smart Business Experiments

| newspaper = [[Harvard Business Review]]

| date = February 2009

| postscript = <!--None-->

}}</ref> In a single year, the company performs tens of thousands of tests, allowing it to offer thousands of different types of credit cards to customers, based on the knowledge gained from their tests. Richard Fairbank, [[CEO]] of Capital One, called test and learn "a marketing revolution that can be applied to many businesses".<ref>{{cite web

| last = Fishman

| first = Charles

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== Criticism ==

Companies wanting to conduct Test and Learn must mobilize, track and analyze site and customer data at very granular levels. This can often be a massive and expensive undertaking. Increasingly however, an exponential increase in computing power, and corresponding decrease in its cost, have made testing more accessible. In the [[Harvard Business Review]] February 2009 article [http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/02/how-to-design-smart-business-experiments/ar/1 "How to Design Smart Business Experiments"],<ref name="hbr" /> Thomas Davenport discusses the Test and Learn Process, and describes how several companies have overcome these and other barriers to testing.

== See also ==