Combining online and offline channels is key to mastering attribution

In a world where customer journeys are increasingly complex due to proliferated channels, moving technology landscapes, increasing volumes of content and services, as well as purchases online and offline, a simple attribution model has never been enough to measure the effectiveness of marketing. Yet they are still being used by the majority of marketers.

For years, marketers have modelled engagements at campaign and channel level, which gives a general indication of impact and ROI. But now, with tools that give you the ability to link online and offline customer journeys and access to advanced data models, marketers can accurately define the actual attribution path for each individual with a striking degree of accuracy. So why aren’t we using this approach?

Jaywing’s 2017 ‘Data-Driven Marketing Research’ study revealed that while 69% of marketers agreed that accurately attributing value across channels is vitally important to their organisation, nearly half (45%) said they were calculating attribution at channel level, and the majority (82%) said they were only using a single-touchpoint approach to attribution.

It’s only by understanding the full picture of individual customer activity across online and offline channels that you can work out what’s really happened as a result of your marketing activities.

While a single-touchpoint approach, such as ‘last click wins’ or variants of it, gives you a starting point, it’s only by understanding the full picture of individual customer activity across online and offline channels that you can work out what’s really happening as a result of your marketing activities, and decide what to do next.

Our research also revealed that over half (51%) believe they are using the right approach to attribution, with only 3% strongly disagreeing with their organisation’s approach. With every customer purchase, enquiry or application, it’s crucial to evaluate the set of marketing activities and channels that originated it as fully as possible. Only then can you make better decisions and calculate the true value of your marketing as a whole.

That’s why many leading brands are now looking to invest in new technology that links together online and offline channels, while partnering with the right specialists who can build advanced attribution models, to see how all channels work together over years and billions of interactions to drive sales.

Swinton will be able to follow an individual’s journey across online and offline channels and attribute the right value to each interaction for each consumer.

One brand taking the lead on this approach is Swinton Group. By leveraging Almanac, which collects and connects all online data to all offline data, and partnering with data experts to develop an individual-based approach to attribution modelling, the brand is now able to measure, optimise but also predict its entire cross-channel marketing mix.

By adopting this approach, Swinton will be able to follow an individual’s journey across online and offline channels and attribute the right value to each interaction for each consumer, as opposed to only attributing at channel level. This provides the insurer with an accurate understanding of its customer base as individuals, so that it can more effectively focus marketing investment and engage each customer in a targeted, personalised way.

Find out more about how to get started with advanced attribution. Download our new guide to discover six key steps to improve attribution. You can also read more about the Swinton Group attribution modelling case study here.