Rocket Powered Performance, Not Rocket Science
US
Introduction
The user journey is becoming increasingly complex, which has led to further pressure on marketers to gain a fuller omnichannel view of how their marketing channels interact and impact consumer behavior. Attribution is the only marketing analytics solution that measures the full user journey - online and offline. With the right model and level of service in place you will be able to: 1. Gain a full view of the user journey 2. Truly understand how consumers behave 3. Optimize marketing spend across all channels 4. Drive sustained business growth and ROI
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand attribution. In this booklet, we will cover the key steps marketers can take to ensure that attribution is implemented in the right way, to drive the most value to your business and prove ROI fast.
Here are 5 steps you can take for rocket powered marketing performance with attribution . . .
1 Know What You Want First
The first step is to document any key challenges and frustrations that need to be solved in your business. This could be channel specific or just a general need to optimize marketing spend. Here are some common challenges that may sound familiar: • Inconsistent channel reporting • Inefficient marketing mix • Pressure to meet growth targets • Understanding the true value of affiliates • Optimizing creative content • Understanding the O2O relationship If you are able to communicate your key challenges early, your attribution provider will be able to tailor the solution and help you to defend your spend quickly with clear goals in place for the first three, six and twelve months.
2 Involve Everyone From the Start
Gaining buy-in from key stakeholders early will help to boost rocket powered performance. It would be a good idea to have these types of conversations early on: • Channel Managers - invite them to help you with step one and explain how attribution will impact any other areas, such as reporting • Development Team / Agency - give them a heads up that tags will need to be deployed on the website • Third Parties - explain how attribution will help them to optimize peformance and that you will keep them in the loop with regular reports • Key Stakeholders - agree on milestones for the first three, six and twelve months
3 Unlock Existing Data
Make sure that you are able to provide your attribution provider with everything they need to begin the onboarding process. Your attribution provider should work closely with you ahead of time, but here is a checklist to help get you started: • Access or logins to any marketing platforms • Contact information for any key contacts or tech resources • Clear understanding of your goals, enabling a tailored solution • Offline feeds such as in-store, TV ads, direct mail or call center sales, can be helpful if available
4 Refine Reporting Outputs
Make sure that the reporting outputs serve the goals and challenges you highlighted in step one. Liaise with channel managers on the content, format and distribution of reports to ensure that it works for everyone involved. It is also important to be vocal with your attribution provider. Be clear on your objectives and work with them closely, ensuring that the reporting outputs work for you.
5 Take Action & Optimize Spend
Once you have enough data and insight to work with, it is important that you take action based on the results as soon as possible.
Here are some key actions you should be able to take within three to six months: • Affiliate - true value of publisher content • Experiment with new publishers • Discontinue with low performers • Restructure commission payments • Paid Search - true value of keywords • Reduce spend on low performing keywords • Increase spend on top performers • Automate bid optimzation • Display - true value of ads • Reduce spend on low performing ads • Confidently spend on top performing ads • Experiment and optimize campaigns • Automate bidding • O2O - the link between online and offline • Reduce brochure waste • Find the best TV ad schedules • Secure extra budget • Optimize channels accurately
Summary
Attribution answers your questions and enables you to confidently take actions that deliver sustained business growth. Our five top tips for rocket powered performance are: 1. Understand your key challenges 2. Get buy-in from stakeholders early 3. Plan ahead for implementation 4. Configure reports to work for you 5. Take action based on the results
It is not just about the technology. You also need to find an attribution provider that can help you connect the dots and truly understand the customer journey. At Rakuten Attribution, we can provide you with the information you need to defend your spend and boost your marketing performance.
Are you ready to take off with attribution? Rakuten Attribution (formerly DC Storm) arms digital businesses with performance measurement tools, analysis and reporting, powering great decisions and driving success. www.rakutenmarketing.com/attribution rm-salesus@mail.rakuten.com graphics sourced from freepik.com