Setting up campaigns is one job, but understanding which marketing investments are generating leads and sales is something else. “To measure is to know” is what it often rings true at Be Bold. But how do you measure and compare the right data? That starts with choosing the right attribution model.
An attribution model is a set of rules for collecting and analyzing information. One of the most important aspects of a marketing report is its ability to show the connection between revenue and the campaigns responsible for generating that revenue. By measuring and analyzing marketing investments’ results, marketers can decide how to spend future budgets. Attribution provides insight into which channels and campaigns are most effective in converting leads into customers.
Attribution models come in all shapes and sizes. In this blog we tell you all about why you should choose a Multi-Touch Attribution model for your business.
What is single-touch attributie?
Multi-touch attribution? So what does single-touch mean? Single-touch attribution is when you give all the credit for a conversion to a single marketing touchpoint. So, if a customer saw 20 ads before converting, single-touch attribution would say that only 1 of the 20 ads was responsible for the conversion.
Two different types of single-touch attribution models
First-touch attribution
A first-touch attribution model gives all the credit for a conversion to the first marketing interaction that a customer has with your brand. This model is helpful if you’re trying to grow your customer base, as it shows which channels are introducing people to your brand. However, it doesn’t consider any interactions that happen after the first one, so you won’t be able to see how effective your down-funnel marketing is.
Last-touch attribution
With last-touch attribution, all the credit for a conversion goes to the last marketing interaction the customer had with your brand. Some people argue that this is the only interaction that matters since it led to the conversion. However, this model doesn’t consider the other interactions a customer has with your brand before converting, so you don’t get a complete picture of your marketing effectiveness.
Downsides of a single-touch attribution model
The main downside of using a single-touch attribution model is that it can be inaccurate and misleading. With the increase in the number of touchpoints leads typically have before they buy something, it becomes less accurate to credit just one source campaign with the entire sale. This inaccuracy can make it difficult for marketers to understand the true impact of their campaigns and make informed decisions about future marketing efforts.
You can use a multi-touch attribution model to solve the inaccuracy of the single-touch attribution models.
What is multi-touch attribution?
Since prospects and leads often interact with multiple marketing activities and channels before they make a conversion, it is important to map them well. Multi-touch attribution, or fractional attribution, is an approach to marketing that considers every touchpoint a customer has with a brand when attributing credit for a conversion.
Benefits of a multi-touch model
The ability to specify all channels that contribute to conversion is precious. It can be used by marketing to help improve the customer experience by ensuring that all those channels work together effectively to influence conversions.
Marketing can use multi-touch attribution to understand better what matters most to the target audience and which aspects of the customer experience are most influential when deciding.
All this data is essential in enhancing your marketing strategy and ensuring that your campaigns are as effective as possible.
Multi-touch models
Even-Weight model
The even-weight attribution model is the simplest of the multi-touch models and gives equal credit to each touchpoint in the buyer’s journey. This model is easy to understand and implement but has some drawbacks.
The main drawback is that it doesn’t consider each touchpoint’s relative importance. All touchpoints represent the same value, regardless of whether they had a significant impact on the conversion or not.
Time-Decay model
The time decay attribution model is more sophisticated than the even-weight model and considers each touchpoint’s relative importance. Touchpoints are organized based on their percent influence on conversion, with the least-influential touchpoint (with the lowest percentage) being first and the most-influential touchpoint (with the most significant percentage) being last. This model is more accurate than the even-weight model but can be more challenging to understand and implement.
U-shaped model
The U-shaped attribution model, also known as the bathtub model, is similar to the time-decay model in that it considers each touchpoint’s relative importance. However, the U-shaped model gives the first and last touchpoints in the buyer’s journey a higher percentage of credit than the touchpoints in the middle.
W-shaped model
The W-shaped model is similar to the U-shaped model. But it is different because it gives importance primarily to the first, last and middle touchpoint in the buying journey. All remaining touchpoints receive an equal score.
The ideal attribution model for your business will depend on several factors, including the type of business, the products, or services you offer, and the buyer’s journey.
Want to gain more insight into your ROAs and need help determining which model best suits your marketing goals? Our digital marketers are happy to help you out. Get in touch now.
