From A to B

In this episode, Shiva and Erin "All She Does Is Win" Weigel discuss different kinds of designers (Designers vs designers... apparently there is a difference), and gives you a glimpse into the mindset of a designer so you can understand how better to collaborate with them. Also her dog interrupts the show but we are ok with this because dogs are awesome. Timestamps: 00:00 Show Kickoff 02...

In this episode, Shiva and Rommil "The Thrill' Santiago dive deep into the state of salaries based on the latest report coming out of Experiment Nation, in addition to giving y'all some ideas and thoughts on how to make sure you're getting paid fairly! 02:29 Discussing the Experimentation Salary Report 08:06 Job Title vs. Salary Satisfaction 19:13 Tips on Getting Your Bag 22:03 Li...

Website redesigns are the literal worst. They'll happen whether you like it or not, and chances are you still have to clean up the mess if/when they go wrong. Here's how to prepare for (and test) a redesign and still sleep at night. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 03:47 Legit vs. shit reasons to redesign your site 07:54 The first things you must do before a site redes...

This spooky season we ask one question literally nobody has asked before: Can your CRO skillsets save you from a zombie apocalypse? In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 01:41 Can CROs survive the zombie apocalypse? 03:13 The first things a CRO would do to survive 09:11 Experimentation and data weapons for survival 18:29 The verdict: Do CROs survive the zombie apocalypse? 21:15 Gue...

Browse your LinkedIn feed for 10 minutes and we guarantee you'll find advice encouraging you to copy so-and-so's website. Because if they're doing something, it must work... right? Not quite. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 04:05 What's the harm in blindly copying your competitors? 05:57 Shiva burps 06:08 What's the harm in blindly copying your competitors...

Working with clients can be a rollercoaster ride, but what happens when you find yourself strapped in with a nightmare client? We'll relive the trauma and give you things to think about, so (hopefully) you don't have to. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 02:05 Why it's important to spot client red flags ASAP 05:05 Signs you're working with a client from hell 15:...

Reviews, ratings, testimonials, user-generated content... we've seen ENOUGH already! We've all been told in Marketing 101 that you NEED social proof. When does it become overkill in your digital marketing program though? In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 02:20 Social proof is great... sometimes 06:11 The need for authentic and creative social proof 10:02 Is social proof...

We'll put money on the fact that you've had your fair share of decision-makers who couldn't care less about user research. You know research is important. But how do you get THEM to see the light? In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 01:51 Signs leadership doesn't care about research 04:55 WHY research fails to get taken seriously 10:27 The consequences of ignoring...

Experimentation is slow. It's what people keep telling us. And you know what? They kind of have a point. Isn't it better to go 'slow' in the right direction (in the short term) instead of fast in the wrong direction, though? In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 02:23 Experimentation can be slow (in the short term) - and that's ok! 09:31 Is your program slow? Or...

9/10 pasta makers agree on this one simple fact.* Throwing shit at the wall is fine at a food fight, but a no-no in your testing program. The cure? Iterative testing. It's like a pressure washer for your wall, cleaning up the mess you made from all that janky spaghetti testing.  In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 02:12 Iterative vs. spaghetti testing 03:35 Research is pointl...

Technical marketing and analytics extraordinaire Juliana Jackson has seen a lot of shitty marketing. She joins us to explore a big question with some surprising answers: Is segmenting your audience by gender sexist? In this episode, Tracy and Juliana discuss: 00:00 Intro 05:03 Deconstructing 'segmentation' and 'sexism' 06:39 We self-segment all the time without knowing it 09:00 Hum...

Nobody wants to work (shitty jobs) anymore! We think that's pretty great. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva help you spot a crappy CRO/experimentation job by learning from our many job-hunting mistakes. We cover: 00:00 Intro 02:42 Job hunting kind of sucks 05:11 Red flags in the job description 13:22 Red flags in the interview 21:21 Wrapping it up all 24:08 LinkedIn Post of the Week The LinkedI...

Shiva started drama on LinkedIn the other day in a (seemingly innocuous) post arguing that "bug fixes are not experimentation". Let's just say the comments got lit and we want to talk about it. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva explore: 00:00 Intro 02:45 The LinkedIn drama that started it all 03:56 Differentiating bugs vs. bad UX 06:08 Why most of us don't have the luxury of testi...

You just started a new testing program and the execs expect wins NOW (well, they expected results before your first day, but will settle for now). Where do you go from here? In this episode, Tracy plays the 'devil's advocate' in a new segment (we're beta testing...), where one of us is forced to steelman the opposite position. In this case, Tracy (fantastically) played the annoying...

What do websites and toilet paper have in common? You can tear them down and sometimes those teardowns are full of shite. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 03:28 What's a website teardown? 05:23 Why do marketers love teardowns so much? 07:28 How teardowns can be kinda bullshit 10:56 How to use a teardown responsibly 17:27 The verdict: Awesome or overrated? 19:20 LinkedIn Po...

You're doing it wrong... but it may not be entirely your fault? Perverse incentives in experimentation can lead to cherry-picking results, running 2-day tests, and ignoring long-term effects. If you do this purposefully though, you're ruining experimentation for everyone and we hope you stub your toe. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 03:52 What are perverse incentives?...

Every experimenter has wondered the same thing at some point: "Should I work at an agency or go in-house?" Good thing we've roughed it out in both environments so you don't have to. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 04:18 Should you work agency or in-house first? 05:24 Pros and cons of working in agency vs. in-house environments 16:48 When contracting may be y...

You might be writing crappy hypotheses. Guess what - it's killing your experimentation program. It's time to reverse the curse. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 03:15 Hypotheses defined 03:50 What crappy hypotheses look like and why they happen 06:08 Incorporating research in your hypothesis 17:42 The anatomy of a strong hypothesis 18:42 LinkedIn Post of the Week The L...

Google Optimize, once a blessing for newbie optimizers, will cease to exist in September. Is this such a bad thing though? In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 04:03 Is the GO sunset panic justified? 08:36 Were Optimize features a stand-in for proper resources? 15:09 Considerations for your next testing tool 21:10 LinkedIn Post of the Week The LinkedIn post of the week is from Jon...

Amazon's in hot water with the FTC for *alleged* use of dark patterns. What really happened and what can experimenters learn from this? In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 04:05 Why Amazon is being sued by the FTC 04:46 Dark patterns vs. persuasive design 06:55 Do we think Amazon used dark patterns in their subscription cancellation process? 15:08 LinkedIn post of the week Th...

Love 'em or hate 'em, the highest paid person's opinion (HiPPO) is here to stay. The question is... do all HiPPOs suck? In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: (2:59) What's a HiPPO? (4:50) Is a HiPPO always a bad thing? (9:16) Working with great (and not-so-great) HiPPOs (18:05) LinkedIn post of the week The LinkedIn post of the week is from Siobhan Solberg: https://tinyurl.com/...

Marketers looove swipe files, but we don't think enough people are talking about the limitations with using them. In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 03:27 What are swipe files? 04:33 Can swipe files replace ideation? 05:45 How you should (and shouldn't) use a swipe file 16:50 LinkedIn post of the week The LinkedIn post of the week is from Juliana Jackson: https://tinyurl...

Many are talking about multi-armed bandits (MAB) killing CRO - is there truth to that? The answer: it depends! In this episode, Tracy and Shiva discuss: 00:00 Intro 03:04 What are MABs? 04:45 Are MABs “real” tests? 06:23 Why do people find MABs so sexy? 09:15 When you should (and shouldn’t) run a MAB 13:58 How to validate your MAB results 16:41 LinkedIn post of the week The LinkedIn post of the we...