When Peter and I were summarizing our key takeaways from 2020, he shared one of his was the idea of test and learn, which I had shared with him earlier in the year. After our conversation, we both realized how test and learn was another way of saying continuous improvement, which is one of the key principles of his company, Mid-Atlantic Rubber.
The Origin of Test and Learn
I first came across test and learn back in the early 2000’s when I worked for Capital One, as it was a philosophy that the company applied towards marketing. The basic premise was that the company did not know what products or product features might be attractive to potential customers and profitable for the company. As such, business teams ran marketing tests by selecting a small, random segment of potential customers and targeting them with the new product offer while the rest received the old product offer (the current “winner”). Results like the percentage of responders to each offer would then be compared to see if the new product outperformed an existing product.
Many times the tests were not profitable. They lost money. Yet, the tests often provided valuable learning. Even if the product tested was not financially viable, a boost in response to the offer might suggest that there was some feature of the new offer that potential customers liked better. So the analyst might tweak the product based on the new information and run another test. The process continued iteratively.
Test and Learn for Self
Peter and I have been applying the concept of test and learn to ourselves:
- For me, I’ve been looking for practices to help me manage my depression and anxiety that I experiences. For example, I have been experimenting with different types of meditation (standing versus sitting, ten minutes versus twenty minutes versus one hour, silent versus guided, etc.) to learn what practices work best for me.
- Peter has been experimenting with different practices for healthy nutrition (e.g. eating three meals versus two meals per day, eating first meal earlier or later, etc.). in order to maintain an ideal body weight.
We’ll explore examples of our tests and what we learned in future blog posts. An excellent place to begin practicing test and learn is to start by identifying the questions you have and the problems you’re trying to solve.
Kindly,
David