5 steps to pioneer an experimentation culture as a marketing leader

1. Getting c-suite signoff quickly

If your C-suite doesn’t believe in the value of experimentation, it won’t take root. Experimentation has to start at the top, whether from the CEO, CMO, VP of Marketing or CFO. Without leadership setting the tone and endorsing the mindset, no bottom-up effort can survive.

Most marketers run into the same catch-22:

You: Let’s cut spend on Google Search.

Them: Too risky.

You: OK, then let’s try increasing spend?

Them: Well, we don’t know if that’s going to work…

This back-and-forth reveals a deeper issue: a culture that hesitates instead of acts.

Start with leadership alignment to pave the way. Use these scripts:

• Marketing Manager to CMO: “I know we’re under pressure to prove ROI, but right now our reporting only shows activity, not impact. Finance won’t trust clicks, impressions and platform conversions. But if we run a controlled experiment, we can finally prove what’s truly incremental instead of relying on surface metrics. It’s a low-cost way to turn our marketing from guesswork into a repeatable, science-based growth system.”

• VP of Marketing or CMO to CFO: “Right now, we risk treating marketing investment like a black box. We know what we’re spending, but not what’s truly incremental. I’m not asking for more budget; I’m asking to validate how our existing budget performs, because attribution reports can’t answer that. A controlled experiment would give us finance-grade proof of which channels actually drive revenue, so we can reallocate spend more confidently.”

2. The hypothesis formula that gets finance approval

Once you have the green light to venture forward, you need a clear hypothesis to start. Sound hypotheses are based on real observations and backed by experience and anecdotes.

Each should be a clear and precise definition of what you expect to happen if you change something; creative, targeting, pricing - you pick the lever.

A hypothesis is a true or false statement, and your test will deliver the answer.

• “Running an upper-funnel brand campaign on YouTube will increase branded search volume by 12–15% within four weeks in selected regions, compared to markets where the campaign isn’t live.”

• “Ads that lead with emotional storytelling about real customer outcomes will drive a 22–25% increase in trial sign-ups versus feature-focused ads over a 4-week period.”

Once you have this, write it down for the team. You’ll work together on the mission toward proof.

3. Prepare to fail and embrace it

70 to 80% of your tests will fail. And that’s OK! This is the price of learning.

Let’s say that again, because it’s important: Most of your experiments will fail. Normalize it.

Even the largest, most sophisticated companies running incrementality tests see only 20–30% of experiments succeed. Preparing leadership for this reality is a critical part of building an experimentation culture.

Think about it like a sales pipeline: not every deal closes. Similarly, not every hypothesis wins. 

Failure isn’t a setback; it’s part of a working experimentation process.

4. Build experiments that stand up to scrutiny

Not everything needs to be tested. But when we uncover something that does, we should carefully follow the fundamentals of experimentation, step by step.

1. Establish a control group.

• Separate out the test group from the control. Ensure the group has statistical significance and enough of a sample size.If you’re small, you may run fewer tests, but you can take bigger, bolder swings with each one.

2. Give the experiment enough time.

• Consider your business cycle. If your sales cycle is 18 months, you can’t wait that long for every result. Tie each test to timely signals that reasonably predict long-term impact.

3. Align with business outcomes.

• Be precise about the metric you’re testing for. Narrow it down to what truly matters: did a customer raise their hand and signal meaningful intent to engage with your business?

4. Decide what you’ll do before you see the result.

• If the test succeeds, what happens? If it doesn’t succeed, what happens? Write this out first. For example:

  • If it succeeds:
    → Roll out storytelling creative to all paid channels and adapt messaging across landing pages and email nurtures.
    → Archive learnings in the experiment log as a validated lever for future campaigns.

  • If it doesn’t succeed:
    → Analyze engagement patterns and heatmaps to isolate drop-off points.
    → Test a hybrid creative that blends emotional hook with product proof. Rerun on a smaller spend tier.

5. Find your edge with creative execution

This is the most important part. When it comes to experimentation, creative is your force multiplier.

Even the cleanest hypothesis won’t turn results if the message doesn’t resonate. The hook, the offer, the spark - these are what turn tests into real discoveries about your market.

Plan to spend at least half your effort exploring, refining and elevating your creative, whether it’s inside your team or with an agency partner. When creative is strong, experimentation turns into a true discovery loop.