Tractive's Experimentation Playbook: Driving Growth in Pet Care

In today’s fast-paced marketing landscape, relying on intuition is a conversion killer. While many brands rigorously test their websites and landing pages, far fewer extend that discipline to their CRM programs, leaving a vast, untapped potential for growth. This is particularly true in the pet care market, where true personalization and real-time engagement are paramount to fostering lasting loyalty. The real risk isn’t a failed experiment—it’s never experimenting at all.

Enter Tractive, the global leader in GPS and health trackers for dogs and cats, renowned for its innovative products that keep pets safe and healthy. But beyond their cutting-edge technology, Tractive is also redefining customer engagement through continuous experimentation and a powerful, data-driven approach to marketing. 

At Activate Summit 2025, Sanda Zoechbauer, CRM & Lifecycle Manager at Tractive, shared her team’s strategic playbook for fueling innovation and driving measurable results. Her session, Building a Business Case – Iterating Fast with Experimentation, provided a clear roadmap for marketers ready to move beyond guesswork and unlock significant growth through a test-and-learn mindset.

1. Build a business case with real-time data.

Tractive starts every test with real customer signals, such as cancellation reasons, pet type, subscription info, and more. This deep understanding of user context powers smarter campaigns and enables nuanced personalization that feels tailored, not templated.

Take their subscription cancellation journey. Tractive wanted to elevate beyond the generic “we’re sorry to see you go.” The hypothesis was simple: if email templates and offers are personalized based on why a customer cancels, reactivations should increase. 

The test paid off. They saw a 125% jump in click rate and a 30% increase in reactivations by tailoring content to the specific cancellation reason.

It’s a clear reminder: when campaigns are driven by insights, not assumptions, results follow. Thoughtful segmentation and timing (supported by Iterable’s experimentation tools) can directly impact key lifecycle metrics.

2. Embrace the power of small tests.

Zoechbauer emphasized four big reasons why small experiments deliver outsized results:

• Smarter, data-backed decisions
• Lower risk and higher reward
• More efficient use of resources
• Continuous, fast-paced learning

Small tests lower the barrier to entry. They’re fast, cheap, and safe to execute. And when successful, they create a ripple effect of performance improvements across the funnel.

“The biggest danger isn’t a failed experiment—it’s never experimenting at all.” 

– Sanda Zoechbauer, CRM & Lifecycle Manager at Tractive

Test #1: Winback Offer Placement

When users cited “too expensive” as their cancellation reason, Tractive tested a simple change: moving the win-back offer (“2 free months”) into the CTA. That one tweak led to a 313% increase in click rate and a 16% lift in win-backs.

Test #2: Multivariate Testing for Urgency

In abandoned cart emails, Tractive swapped a neutral subject line (“Fur-got something?”) for one that drove more urgency (“30% off ends in 72 hours”). That small change led to a 45% boost in conversions, driven in part by a higher open rate.

3. Fail fast and iterate quickly.

At Tractive, “failure” is redefined not as an endpoint, but as a crucial step in a continuous learning process. Every experiment, regardless of its immediate outcome, provides valuable insights that fuel smarter iterations and accelerate performance. This mindset of speed and continuous learning is paramount in today’s dynamic marketing landscape.

Test #3: Ambassador vs. Customer Testimonials

Tractive’s team explored the impact of featuring a well-known pet advocate (ambassador) versus customer testimonials in their newsletter campaigns. The initial hypothesis was that the ambassador’s endorsement would boost trust and engagement. However, the results revealed a surprising outcome: customer testimonials—showcasing real users and their genuine stories—outperformed the ambassador content with a remarkable 100% increase in conversions. This powerful demonstration of authenticity informed Tractive’s decision to prioritize customer-centric messaging in higher-effort journeys

Test 4: Breed Personalization

This newfound insight sparked a broader question: how far could personalization truly go? Tractive embarked on a multi-stage iterative process focusing on pet breed personalization.

• Version 1: Feature breed in the hero image (23% increase in click rate).
• Version 2: Add breed to the email subtitle and first paragraph (59% increase in click rate).
• Version 3: Create a fully breed-personalised template (82% increase in click rate). 

This step-by-step approach helped them validate impact quickly and scale efficiently. What began as a quick test became a scalable personalization strategy that now informs lifecycle campaigns across Tractive’s entire customer base.

Key Takeaways for Pet Care Marketers

Tractive’s journey highlights essential lessons for any marketer aiming to drive growth through experimentation:

1. Velocity and volume are key.

Failing fast isn’t just about speed; it’s about increasing the sheer number of tests you run. Tractive significantly scaled its testing efforts, moving from A/B testing approximately 12% of campaigns in Q1 2024 to 55% in Q1 2025. This increased velocity led to significantly more learnings and an impressive 500% growth in winning tests.

2. Experimentation drives smarter decisions.

To move beyond guesswork, leverage all available data, including first- and zero-party data, user onboarding insights, surveys, and internal analysis. Prioritize A/B testing within your CRM planning to ensure data-backed confidence in your strategies.

3. Organizational buy-in is crucial.

For long-term effectiveness, secure organizational and management buy-in for your experimentation initiatives. Critically, share all outcomes with the entire organization and key stakeholders, even if the results are not disruptive or represent a “failure”—every test is a learning opportunity.

4. Small wins accumulate.

Don’t chase the elusive “perfect test.” Instead, focus on finding the easiest, cheapest, and most low-effort ways to test hypotheses. It’s the cumulative impact of many small, iterative wins that ultimately drives meaningful growth and continuous improvement. As Sanda Zoechbauer stated, “In business, the biggest danger isn’t a failed experiment—it’s never experimenting at all”.

Want to dive deeper into Tractive’s approach? Watch the full session here: Building Business Case — Iterate Fast with Experimentation.

Reinvent Engagement With Fast, Focused Experimentation

Pet care brands win when they treat every interaction like it matters. Tractive’s test-and-learn strategy is proof that you don’t need massive overhauls or risky campaigns to drive growth. Small, strategic experiments grounded in real-time data can unlock new ways to connect with your audience and convert curiosity into loyalty.