Who this is for?
If you have a website and are not running any actual A/B tests.
I'm not talking about you saying.. "yeah I think Jim is testing that". I mean you are using an actual testing platform and its giving you statistical probability answers.
Why Test?
Hundreds of tiny decisions are made each day in your company that effect your website. Many of these are important enough to discuss in meetings. Inevitably a person brings up an idea... I think our trust banner should say... "Lowest Price"... then another says... I like "Best Value"... then the CEO chimes in and says... "Best Deal".
Guess who wins... the CEO and they publish "Best Deal".
Unfortunately - this is absolutely the wrong way to think about it and it doesn't matter who at the meeting thinks they are right. It only matters what your customers prefer.
A Way of Thinking.
Pretend for a moment, that you are not paid to know the answer, but rather to find out what questions you should be asking and then discover the answer.
Your mindset shifts and the trust banner conversations starts like this.
"I have a hypothesis that the copy on the trust banner could move the conversion needle. I'd like the team to spend 10 minutes on options".
Now the conversation shifted in a positive way and you have some options to test.
Testing is the easy part.
So test those options and many others. Come back in two weeks with the winner or top 3. If you think more gains can be made, brainstorm again. Test again.
In Summary
I poke fun at these situations, but you know you've been there. I'm also over simplifying testing in general. Start thinking from the perspective of a Hypothesis and then test options. I'll leave you with the biggest mental shift I have had in the past 6 years. Love small losses as much as wins - despise tests that end in ... insignificance. A loss still shows that you know how to move the needs and haven't dialed it in yet. A win is something that can be built off of. Insignificant tests means you don't understand your user's behavior at all or aren't being bold enough ;)
Cultivate a testing ecosystem in your company. Jump on it. The water is a perfect 78.8 degrees F. I know because we tested it and thats the temperature our people enjoyed most.