Let’s explore the fascinating realm of marketing attribution today. As marketers, our constant goal is to comprehend the effects of our work so that we can make wise decisions that will lead to success. These insights are unlocked by attribution, which also reveals the covert conversion pathways. In this post, we examine the four different methods of marketing attribution, each with distinct advantages and viewpoints. As we explore the intricacies of first-touch, last-touch, linear, and multi-touch attribution models, we invite you to join us on this illuminating adventure. Get ready to learn more about your marketing initiatives with us.
What is Marketing Attribution?
Marketing attribution is a way of evaluating the success of your marketing strategies. In simple terms, it is the way in which marketers understand how their customers came to know about their product or service and what made them buy it eventually. Let’s consider an example of this. On your hectic day out at work when you were busy with your daily schedules, Zomato pings you up with an email notification of grabbing a quick bite and a coffee to freshen up. There’s when your mind gets triggered that you might need it, and as soon you click on that newsletter, it redirects you to the alluring space of choices where you place an order from your favorite restaurant. So considering this complete scenario of the order, it seems quite complex to understand the entire process. But with the enhancing mobile app attribution techniques it’s quite simpler.
There are different types of marketing attributions to consider. Let’s discuss them in detail.
First Touch Attribution: According to the first-touch attribution model, a customer’s first marketing touchpoint is credited before conversion. It is assumed that the first touchpoint had the greatest impact on conversion. For example, if a consumer finds a product through organic search and then purchases it, the organic search channel would get all the credit for the conversion. When marketers want to evaluate the success of their awareness initiatives and measure the results of early brand exposure, they often use this approach.
Last Touch Attribution: In the last-touch attribution model, unlike the first-touch model, the last touchpoint or marketing channel that directly contributed to the conversion is credited. It is assumed that the last touchpoint had the greatest influence on the customer’s decision to act in the desired manner. For instance, the social media channel would be fully credited for conversion if a shopper clicked on a social media ad and immediately made a purchase. When marketers want to evaluate the immediate impact of their marketing efforts and optimize the channels that directly impact conversion rates, they often use last-touch attribution.
Multi-Touch Attribution: Multi-touch attribution models allow for the attribution of different marketing touchpoints based on set criteria or algorithms, recognizing that the customer journey is rarely linear and includes numerous touchpoints. Unlike first touch and last touch, multi-touch attribution provides a more comprehensive view of the customer experience and credits the various touchpoints accordingly.
Some popular multi-touch attributes include the following:
- Linear Attribution: In this model, every touchpoint in the customer journey is attributed the same value. Regardless of where or when it occurs, each touchpoint is considered equally important in influencing conversion.
- Time-Decay Attribution: In this model, touchpoints closer to the conversion event are given more weight because they are assumed to have had a greater impact on the customer’s decision-making process. Earlier touchpoints on the client journey are hardly taken into account.
- U-Shaped Attribution: This U-shaped attribution model illustrates how important the first and last touchpoints are in the customer journey. These touchpoints are attributed a greater share of the merit, and the remaining merit is divided equally among the touchpoints in between.
- Full Path Attribution: An advanced technique to attribute marketing touchpoints along the entire customer experience is full-path attribution. Full-path attribution uses advanced data analytics and machine learning techniques to dynamically assign a value to each touchpoint based on its contribution to conversions or desired outcomes, as opposed to single-touch or multi-touch attribution models that use predefined rules or algorithms.
Weighted Multi-Source Attribution: A deeper attribution model, called weighted multi-source attribution, gives each marketing touchpoint a specific weighting based on how it influences and impacts conversions. Weighted multi-source attribution allows marketers to individually weigh different touchpoints in accordance with their own goals and data analysis, as opposed to other attribution models that distribute credits uniformly or in accordance with established standards.
Conclusion
In the world of marketing, the accurate attribution of credit to various touchpoints is critical to optimize marketing strategies and allocating resources. The four types of attribution models-first-touch, last-touch, multi-touch, and weighted multi-touch attribution -all have their own strengths and limitations, but together they offer insights into the effectiveness of marketing efforts at different stages of the customer journey. By understanding these attribution models and using them appropriately, marketers can make informed decisions to increase the impact of their campaigns, improve ROI, and deliver a personalized and effective experience to their target audience.