Football or soccer depending on which part of the world you are, where 11 players determined to place the ball to other end of the field and crowds goes “GOAALL”! The coach is one on the sidelines watching every move and strategizing the player line up to achieve the common objective. Similar to that executive strategizing resources to achieve business goals within the ecosystem.
For a business football field represents the customer journey to reach the common business goal of conversion or sale. The players are touch points or marketing channels which connect with the customer/user across different phases.
At the QBR, when stakeholders are planning on which marketing channels to invest, teams are crunching the numbers on Attribution IQ to visualize performance at each touchpoint towards final goal of sale. Let’s look at the various attribution models used to answer business questions about how marketing channels have performed in the last quarter.
Last Touch |Visitor
Business Question: Which were the marketing channels just before user completed the order?
From a football perspective, the business is looking for players that scored the most number of goals in the last quarter. Here we do not consider factors that caused the goal such as a penalty shootout, that would miraculously shorten the customer journey across stages.
Above dashboard shows marketing channels that take credit for being the last channel used before the user placed order on the site. To enhance the ROI from last mile marketing channel, the business can continue investments in these channels. Though the scare remains that target audience can be over exposed to these channels and optimization methods should be used to keep the rewards flowing.
First Touch | Visitor
Business Question: Which were the marketing channels that introduced a user that lead to conversion? Which marketing channels would help beat competition, reach & convert new or prospective customers? Any product recommendations or personalization efforts helped start the conversion process.
Using this attribution model, business is looking at marketing channels that started the customer journey towards conversion. Similar to a play where the ball is tackled from the opposition by a defender and passed on to other players in the same side or kicked off by the goalie to be received by a midfielder or a free kick in the opposition’s defense converted to a goal, thanks to smart placements.
The business’s digital transformation seems to be successful as Direct outperforms other marketing channels to be the first touch point for 21% of orders. Customers seem to have a high recall for the brand and have reached the website directly to complete an order. Just like Amazon.com is recalled when you plan to buy something or look up (better!) prices while shopping at a store.
Linear | Visitor
Business Question: Besides the first and last interactions, which marketing channels contribute equally to the final conversion?
The team just scored, and this attribution model credits all players that have passed the ball within themselves before the goal happened. Likewise, when there are multiple touch points to a single conversion/order, this attribution model credits all channels equally. It helps business visualize the need for touch points that help beyond the first and last interactions of the user towards conversion.
U Shaped | Visitor
Business Question: Which marketing channels are mostly used during first & last touchpoints of the conversion?
In most goal scoring scenarios, first touchpoint happens when goalie kicks off or defender intercepts opposition’s pass. This attribution model credits 40% to the goalie/defender, 40% to the forward who takes the shot and divides 20% credit between other players who participated.
Display and text continue to stand out as marketing channels that drive orders beyond first & last touchpoints. An important callout for Direct that brings immense opportunities for the business to enhance their brand recall and contribute towards conversion.
J Curve | Visitor
Business Question: If the business focuses on marketing channels that help close the conversion, which are the top marketing channels to invest?
When the football coach is looking for an aggressive line up, they would look at most goal scorers followed by contributing midfielders and defenders. This attribution model credits 60% of the goals to the goal scorer, 20% to the goalie/defender that started the goal journey and 20% to the remaining participants.
Display and Text have been clear top players, while Email and Podcasts are upcoming players for driving orders for the business. The investments can be continued going into the next quarter.
Inverse J Curve | Visitor
Business Question: Which are the top marketing channels that drive user acquisition and contribute towards conversion in the later stages of the customer journey.
The football coach is looking at strengthening the defensive line up which not only defends but also makes the right passes towards the goal. This attribution model credits 20% to the goal scorer, 60% to the goalie/defender that started the goal journey and 20% to the remaining participants.
Display continues to champion orders as a starter and contributor, closely followed by Direct and Email. Increasing investments to drive brand recall in the upcoming quarter, would result in significant ROI for the business.
Custom | Visitor
Business Question: Which marketing channels assist towards conversion?
The team is set for the upcoming league finals, but the question remains – can the team play together? Football is a team sport and at the right opportunity players should be comfortable to pass to the other team members. To demystify the best contributing players, they plan to credit 100% of the goal to players that helped but none to starter or closer.
Display, Email and Text stand out as the most used channels during the entire customer journey towards conversion. Business can look at enhancing ad suppression to prevent over exposure of ads to target audience and invest towards brand recall so that they reach the website directly without any paid initiatives.
Hope this long read was helpful and you have clarity on which attribution models to use. Please share your comments about any your experience with attribution models, any particular you would recommend and business insights gained.