Using Experiments to Launch New Products

Increasingly, companies are using experiments to guide them in their decision making—but many are still missing opportunities, or are failing to implement experiments well. When it comes to the rollout of new products, one particularly effective new kind of experiment involves randomizing the introduction of new products across a set of markets. Uber used this strategy before rolling out its Express Pool service, and Airbnb did the same before rollout out a new landing-page design. In both cases, the companies gathered data that allowed them to roll out their products with confidence that they would succeed—as indeed they did. Many companies, even those not in the tech sector, can benefit from this kind of experimentation, especially if they follow a few basic guidelines.