Marketing Attribution & The Buyer Journey

The buyer journey is becoming more complex, with consumers interacting with brands across multiple touch points before deciding which product or service to buy. As more and more of these touch points are online, marketing technology is becoming increasingly complex and marketers are generating an increasing amount of data with every campaign that they run. 

The Modern Consumer Journey

Modern consumers find themselves interacting with brands online in a number of different ways, and often, no two buyer journeys will be completely the same.  For example, one consumer may find your blog through an organic search, sign up for your newsletter when they get to your website and then receive a product promotion that convinces them to buy.  While another customer might click your display ad after seeing it on a news site they are browsing and directly fill out an enquiry form on your site. What does this mean for digital marketers? That their campaign has to reach the right contacts with the right messaging, at the right point in the buyer journey. 

This isn’t necessarily an easy task, but marketing attribution models can help.  These models allow you to understand what channels are converting and creating opportunities across the buyer’s journey.

Full Path Marketing Attribution Models

First and last touch attribution models may have worked well for digital campaigns previously, but now with so many touch points to keep track of, full path attribution is necessary.  With a full path attribution model, you can assign value to both the channels that convert and channels that assist with conversions.

In order to identify the most appropriate attribution model for your business, you have to work out how your customers are finding and interacting with you online. You can then find an attribution solution that allows you to comprehensively analyse your data and optimise the digital channels and the buyer journey.  

Consider the following:

1. In terms of first and last interactions, what are the top converting channels?
2. Do non-branded campaigns generate awareness and lead to branded conversions?
3. Are users interacting with certain campaigns then converting when they come back through other channels, like remarketing?  
4. What is the average number of touch points before a user will convert? 
5. Are there certain channels that are better at assisting than converting? 
6. Are certain channels you think are currently under or overvalued?

Trying to hit every point in the customer journey requires many different marketing tools. From paid to owned to earned media to retargeting, the process can be convoluted. If all of this tech-speak is going over your head, get the help of a digital marketing agency. Digital Squad is a digital marketing company Auckland with expertise in SEO services Auckland and proven white hat techniques. We can get those articles on the first page and much more! Reputation extends far beyond the SEO efforts but also social media marketing NZ. Give us a buzz and let’s grab some coffee and we can discuss your entire digital media strategy.