The Experimentation Delusion

Believe it or not Experimentation North was only conceived in Oct-24. So this event was effectively an anniversary of our first birthday. And yet already we are hosting our 8th event!

And this time out part of Leeds Digital Festival, a month long celebration of all things digital in one of the northern powerhouses.

The suitably intriguing topic was the brainchild of Jonny Longden, Chief Growth Officer at Speero, who was originally down to be one of our speakers. And yet it turned out the title had a slightly different meaning, with the delusion being the fact Jonny wasn't there at all. Unfortunately the sunnier climbs of Dubai had come calling and a mix up with the dates meant he couldn't do our event. But to prove not all heroes wear capes; David Sollberger, Optimisation Manager of Farnell Group, stepped up with just a few days notice and kindly agreed to be our first speaker.

His talk was entitled 'Experimenting with Purpose' and focused on how important it was to do the right thing, for the right reason and the right way. He brought in experience from global distributor Farnell Group to showcase the place experimentation had in the discovery pipeline and how much more successful it is when it relates back to clear customer outcomes, business goals and business strategy.

This clear purpose helps avoid what was wonderfully termed, 'The Pit of Indecision' ensuring that success criteria is set before the experiment is run so that it can drive change once results are in.

It was a lovely real-world example of the importance of using experimentation to make sure changes are solving real customer problems and perhaps more importantly the right problems.

He was followed by Dave Mullen, Founder of Data Inspires and CRO specialist who has worked with an array of leading brands over the past 15 years such as Interflora, Canon and Mountain Warehouse. He was guiding us through five experiments he's learnt the most from over that time.

The famous team rooms Betty's was our first stop where the lesson of how illuminating speaking to customers can be. When optimizing a website it feels strange to consider perhaps customers don't realise you CAN purchase from it. But you can never underestimate the stupidity of people...and if they look stupid its usually because the website doesn't signpost well enough.

What came through wonderfully from Dave was how easy it was to assume a lot of information only to be proved wrong when experimenting. And how much human psychology influenced what customers did on websites. For example the company who extolled the virtues of making their own products, only to find customers simply didn't believe the claim.

The final example he shared was his big win. Supporting Oxford Summer Courses to significantly increase conversion of people to sign up for their courses. It perhaps debunked the idea that big wins and large increases in conversion aren't possible, albeit under specific conditions.

It was an evening of real world examples and the genuinely value of learning through experimentation. A superb sign of the continuing growing community as we head towards our final event of the calendar year.