Multi-touch Attribution (MTA)

Definition

Multi-touch attribution models are designed to assign credit for marketing success to various touchpoints on the buyer’s journey. Traditional attribution models, like last-touch or first-touch, fail to capture the influence of other touchpoints across the buyer journey. This results in oversimplified analyses that don’t reflect the full picture. MTA, on the other hand, is a data-driven approach to marketing attribution that identifies which touchpoints are most effective throughout the entire funnel.

Why is MTA Important for Marketers to Understand?

At its core, it’s about making better decisions. By implementing an MTA model, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of which touchpoints, channels, and campaigns influence the buyer’s journey most effectively. With this knowledge, you’ll be better equipped to optimize your marketing resources, budget, and messaging. If you’re still relying on last-click attribution, you may not be allocating resources to the channels that are contributing the most.

What Does Using Multi-Touch Attribution Allow Marketers to Do More Effectively?

One of the primary benefits of MTA is its ability to accurately attribute ROI and measure the impact of each touchpoint across the buyer journey. MTA allows you to test and optimize your campaigns, based on what works, reducing the risk of suboptimal decisions. MTA can also help you measure the cross-channel impact of your marketing campaigns, allowing you to adapt your messaging and strategy to changing market conditions.

How to Get Started with MTA

If you haven’t already implemented an Multi-touch attribution model, it’s time to start exploring your options. The first step is to identify the key metrics you want to track, and the specific touchpoints that influence them. This may require changes to your data and analytics infrastructure. More comprehensive MTA models may require more time to establish, as they may necessitate more in-depth data analysis and attribution modeling. However, with the right platform and guidance, you can start implementing an MTA strategy that works for your specific needs.

Multi-touch attribution is a powerful tool in the arsenal of Marketing Leaders everywhere. It allows you to optimize your marketing resources, budget, and messaging, based on a comprehensive understanding of what works (and what doesn’t). Implementing an MTA model can also help you measure the cross-channel impact of your marketing campaigns and adapt your messaging and strategy to changing market conditions.

Related

• Average Order Value (AOV)
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
• Recency, Frequency, and Monetary (RFM)
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Resources

Articles

• The Power of Continuous Experimentation in Marketing
• The Importance of Tying Your Marketing Analytics Back to Your Business KPIs
• Data Democratization enables self-service analytics

Book: House of the Customer (2023) by Greg Kihlström

Platforms