Drivers for attribution

As we know, there are numerous benefits to gaining the transparent view of channel performance that attribution provides:

To optimise marketing performance and budget allocation

While most standard analytics tools measure channel performance in isolation, assigning credit for conversion to the last touchpoint in the user journey, attribution will help you understand which channels are actually working. This allows you to optimise your activity accordingly – whether that be removing ineffective PPC keywords or re-assigning budget from display to affiliate advertising, for instance.

Removing inconsistent channel reporting

Many businesses struggle for a ‘single source of truth’ when it comes to attributing their sales to marketing activity, with different sets of figures being quoted by different channels more often than not. With employees responsible for sales reporting spending up to 50% of their time searching for data, correcting errors and seeking sources to confirm data they deem questionable, it’s easy to see why achieving a true picture of where sales are coming from can be difficult.

Understanding complex user journeys

Whether joining multiple devices to a universal user, or understanding how online marketing activity impacts offline sales, brands are increasingly needing to identify each touchpoint in the consumer journey and determine what role each one plays in generating a conversion. For brands who want a true picture of how their marketing efforts are working, it’s no longer enough to simply look at each channel or device in isolation.

Why Build a Business Case?

Once you’ve made the decision to go ahead with attribution, you’ll probably need to convince your boss and sell attribution into the business as a whole.

A business case offers you the opportunity to pitch what can be a complex subject, in a way that is identifiable and relevant to your business. You should focus on the value that attribution modelling will bring to your brand specifically, rather than losing colleagues trying to explain the process behind the modelling.

Producing a business case can also help manage expectations for the attribution project from the wider business (both in terms of timings and outputs) and help you raise the budget needed to get started. Ultimately, your business case is your chance to get buy-in from key stakeholders at the start of your attribution journey and prove why your business should be investing in it.

The Business Case

Calculate the ROI

If nothing else, the business case needs to justify your spend on attribution. This isn’t as difficult as you might think. As Marketing Technology Manager at Virgin Holidays, James Libor puts it:

Budget is often seen as a big blockage, but the way I look at it is just 1% of your budget can tell you what the other 99% is doing. With that perspective the cost doesn’t seem significant.

- James Libor Marketing Technology Manager, Virgin Holidays

By identifying 1-5% of your media budget that you can reallocate to attribution, you will ensure that the remaining budget is being spent in the right way. Once you apply attributed insights to the rest of your marketing spend, you’ll usually find 15-20% of ineffective spend (within 12 weeks) which can then be reallocated to where it will see the best return. #

For example, spending 1% of a £2 million marketing spend, which saves you just 10% of the remaining budget means a spend of £20,000 on attribution will result in a saving of at least £198,000 (based on a 10% saving on the remaining £1,980,000 budget).

Don’t forget to explain the ongoing return from attribution for your business, across the initial 6 months, first year and beyond. For instance, attribution modelling may allow you to identify a cost saving in your PPC budget, by removing ineffective keywords which are not driving conversions, without having any negative impact on your sales.

Address key questions or concerns

Attribution is a cross channel project and all stakeholders must be on-board. Before you start writing your business case, it is useful to conduct some research internally. This could take the form of 1 on 1 conversations, or structured meetings with all key people in a room together. Either way, the aim is to identify any burning questions that the business is likely to have on attribution.

For instance, there might be concerns from managers of currently siloed channels about how attribution is going to affect the perceived success (or not!) of their particular channel. Or, perhaps your MD wants to know what activity is driving new customers, or needs to realise the lifetime value of these new customers.

By capturing and answering these questions in the business case, you will save yourself a lot of time further down the line. What’s more, asking key stakeholders for their input can help reassure them that their concerns are being addressed and gets them onside at the start of the process.

Explain the value that will be achieved, and when

It’s useful to be upfront about what value attribution will uncover for your business, and specifically when. This manages expectations, brings others on the attribution journey with you and ensures transparency about the project. This is important for gaining trust and buy-in from your stakeholders.

Pricing

There is a perception in the marketplace that volume based pricing is standard. This method means that the more successful you are, the more you will end up paying. However, by going for a fixed price model instead, you will not be penalised for your success! What’s more, you’ll know the costs upfront at the start of your project, which makes budgeting far easier. Including these actual costs in your business case makes getting sign off for easier than having to rely on projected costs.

Remain focused

A lot of people can get hung up on the algorithms and technology behind attribution modelling. When it comes to the business case, remember to step back from that and stay focused on the value it drives. It’s worth reiterating throughout that a shift in budget from ineffective activity to activity proven to be effective is not only avoiding further wasted spend, but it will also generate additional revenue at the same time. Your business case should include a plan that allows you to start taking action and answering the key questions that you’ve identified as relevant to your business quickly, rather than being too preoccupied with the attribution algorithm.

As this guide explains, there are many reasons why building a business case is a vital first step in any attribution project. A good business case will address the key points outlined above to help ensure that any potential detractors or blockages find it difficult to argue with why attribution should be a priority, now. In short, creating a business plan should really allow you to focus on the aspects of the project that are most in need your time as a marketer.