Privacy laws have completely changed the marketing landscape for businesses around the world. With nuanced difficulties and challenges facing user activity tracking and data collection, digital marketers have found strategies that worked a few years ago becoming obsolete.
To shed some light on this, Nathan has invited attribution and analytics expert Jeff Greenfield on eCommerce On Tap, who shares his wealth of knowledge, offering valuable insights on how brands can optimize their ad spend and adapt to the challenges posed by technological changes.
Join us as we explore the nuances of digital marketing, the impact of recent iOS updates, and the strategies that can pave the way for sustainable growth.
The Evolution of Analytics and Attribution: From Boredom to Innovation
Jeff Greenfield’s journey in the realm of analytics and attribution began unexpectedly. While organizing large-scale events for major companies, he stumbled upon a glaring issue in digital marketing: the problem of attribution.
Multiple partners were claiming credit for a single sale, sparking Jeff’s curiosity and innovation. He developed a solution that tracked the entire digital trail, leading to the creation of C3 Metrics. However, the digital marketing landscape faced a seismic shift with iOS updates, rendering traditional methods obsolete.
Undeterred, Jeff founded Provalytics, a company pioneering innovative attribution solutions without the dependence on cookies. How does it work?
By merging Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) and Marketing Mixed Modeling (MMM).
MTA is a method that attributes value to various touchpoints in a customer’s journey, such as clicks, views, or interactions with ads, to understand how different channels contribute to conversions. It provides granular insights into which specific interactions led to a desired action, helping businesses optimize their real-time marketing strategies.
On the other hand, MMM is a statistical analysis that assesses the impact of various marketing activities (e.g., TV ads, online campaigns, pricing changes) on overall business outcomes. It quantifies the contribution of each element in the marketing mix to sales or other key performance indicators, often with a longer-term perspective.
Provalytics integrates these two methodologies to provide a comprehensive view of marketing effectiveness. MTA offers real-time insights for short-term adjustments, while MMM provides a broader, strategic perspective for long-term planning.
Adapting to the Post-iOS Era: The Rise of Creative Testing and Cross-Channel Insights
The introduction of iOS updates, starting with iOS 14, posed a formidable challenge to marketers. Being unable to track user activity due to the lack of data provided by social platforms, many businesses thought their efforts on platforms like Facebook were now in vain.
“The people that you were targeting that were on Facebook when the iOS updates came about, they didn’t stop using Facebook. They’re still there.”
Jeff emphasized the importance of not abandoning established platforms like Facebook but rather thinking creatively. Creative testing emerged as a pivotal strategy, empowering brands to refine their messaging and visual elements. Additionally, Jeff revealed a hidden gem: the cross-channel impact. Brands leveraging Amazon witnessed a substantial “halo effect,” where spending on Amazon positively influenced sales on other platforms and vice versa.
“In the face of challenges, creativity becomes our strongest ally. Exploring new channels and refining our messaging can open doors to untapped audiences.”
The Power of Cross-Platform Synergy: The New Unification Metric
In an omnichannel market, the intricate dance between platforms isn’t just a trend; it’s a dynamic strategy, revolutionizing how businesses expand their digital footprint and engage with audiences.
Jeff states that before all these privacy updates, the unification metric tracked across all platforms was the number of clicks. But he says:
“Podcasts don’t have clicks. CTV doesn’t have clicks. There’s this whole new world of digital channels that I call no-click digital channels. So the only thing you can use to unify is impressions. And luckily you can get impressions out of every single platform. So we just need daily aggregated impression data and spend from all the platforms.”
Social Proof and Credibility:
Positive interactions, glowing testimonials, and user-generated content sparkle as social proof, enhancing a brand’s credibility. Testimonials from Facebook are showcased on Instagram, and positive reviews echo on Twitter – this inter-platform display of social proof becomes a beacon of trust. Prospective customers witnessing satisfied clients across diverse platforms find their confidence in the brand soaring.
Importance of Creatives and A/B Testing:
“One of the most important things to think about is that 70-80% of the impact of your advertising is not where you’re advertising at. It’s not who you’re advertising to. It’s the messaging. It’s your creative. Creative is the most powerful thing. So if you’re not doing creative testing, you need to start working on it and you need to start.”
Jeff cites an example of his daughter running a campaign for A/B testing creatives that involved taking a company’s top-performing locality from Google Analytics and going all in with their marketing budget for a month with a new idea to see how well it fared. All for the sake of trying something new.
Data Utilization and Retargeting:
Data is the heart of informed marketing. By dissecting user behavior on one platform, businesses gain valuable insights. This means using data from platforms like Facebook ads to retarget users on Google, YouTube, Instagram, X (Twitter) and other social sites.
Although the ways to achieve this might differ from those a few years ago, the principle strategy is still consistent: understanding user preferences and behaviors to craft personalized marketing endeavors and expand your reach.
When Should Businesses Use Third-Party Attribution?
When asked about his opinion on when businesses should refer to third-party attribution, Jeff says that it’s a combination of your advertisement budget as well as the number of platforms you’re targeting:
“You could be spending 10 million a month on just Facebook. And if that’s 80-90% of your budget, you don’t need an outside attribution tool because Facebook does an amazing job of being able to optimize within their channel.”
Balancing Growth and Well-being: The Key to Long-Term Success
In the frenetic pace of eCommerce, personal well-being often takes a backseat. Jeff emphasized the importance of a holistic approach, advocating for adequate sleep, balanced nutrition, regular exercise, and moments of relaxation. For founders and CMOs engulfed in the 24/7 demands of their brands, maintaining physical and mental health is pivotal for enduring success. Jeff’s perspective highlights the symbiotic relationship between personal well-being and professional accomplishments.
“Success is not sustainable without health. Prioritizing self-care is not a luxury; it’s an investment in our long-term productivity and happiness.”
Takeaway
As we navigate the intricate pathways of eCommerce, Jeff Greenfield’s insights serve as a guiding light. The fusion of innovative strategies, creative testing, and personal well-being emerges as the formula for enduring success. In a landscape where change is the only constant, adaptability, creativity, and self-care stand as the pillars upon which thriving eCommerce ventures are built. Let Jeff’s wisdom inspire your journey, guiding you toward the pinnacle of eCommerce excellence.
Embark on your eCommerce journey armed with knowledge and creativity. Jeff Greenfield’s expertise illuminates the way forward, reminding us that innovation and well-being are our greatest allies in the face of challenges. Stay tuned for more insightful conversations guiding you through the ever-evolving world of eCommerce.