The best marketing tests do this...

Most experiments fail, but my winners have one surprising thing in common…

As I was writing my book, my editor noticed something weird:

I included examples of the best hypotheses I’d seen, ones that led to the biggest breakthroughs.

“Did you notice these are all negative?” she observed. 

They all followed a pattern: “We believe people are not signing up because…” “We believe people are not activating because…”

“Is there any reason these are all phrased in the negative?”

I hadn’t noticed, but once she asked it, I couldn’t un-see it.

I tried to find a strong “positive” hypothesis. I couldn’t.

Eventually I discovered the reason:

Growth experiments try to get people to start doing something – click, sign up, buy, upgrade.

And the best experiments are based on a theory about why they’re not doing it.

Here's what that looks like in practice: 

• Theory: “We believe people are not starting free trials because they’re afraid they’ll forget to cancel and will be billed."

• Fix: Add 'no card required' next to the free trial button.
  

• Theory: “We believe developers aren’t clicking ‘Book a demo’ because they hate talking to salespeople. Or anyone, for that matter."

• Fix: Give SDK + test API Key with no email required.

Bottom line: Users don't need more reasons to act. They need fewer reasons not to.

Simple next step

When you're planning your next experiment, ask:

1. What action do you want people to take?

2. Why aren’t they doing it already?

3. What's the blocker, and how can you remove it?

Most teams focus on what would convince users.

The real issue is finding out what’s stopping them.

I hope this helps!