For over a year now, marketing departments have been navigating the challenges of reduced budgets, fewer resources and access to less channels than ever before. And while the world edges ever closer to ‘normality’, the reality is that marketing, sales, and indeed general business operations – will never return to what they were pre-pandemic.
With so much emphasis on digital-first and hybrid strategies, the importance of digital channels in modern marketing has never been greater.
So, if you’re concerned that your digital channels might be lacking, here’s a four step guide that will help you ramp them up in just 30 days….
Step 1 – understanding revenue attribution
Most marketers would probably agree that first interaction and last interaction models are a bit antiquated in today’s world of digital, cross channel marketing because they fail to account for the many steps in a customer journey. It also fails to account for the role that marketing may have played before sales takes credit for the ‘last touch’ – which is why alignment across functions is absolutely crucial.
Utilising multiple models will help to future-proof the approach as the way buyers consume content continues to change. Just think about the changes we’ve seen come into play over the past year alone…
Marketing needs to customise, test and refine attribution models to determine the most accurate channel contributions, especially when transitioning to digital channels you might not have used before.
Step 2 – evaluating your current landscape
We know that there’s fewer channels, less budget and reduced resources – but we still have to hit the same targets.
But what do you know about the performance of your existing channels? Are there massive question marks over cost per conversion and cost per lead?
When it comes to multi-channel reporting, it’s not enough to just look at the volume of leads.
Step 3 – using revenue attribution to drive growth
The digital footprint of a prospect is indirect and diverse as compared with scanning a badge at a trade show – this means putting the right technology and processes in place to inform and drive your revised marketing strategies.
There’s three areas you need to consider when it comes to driving growth through revenue attribution.
- Leads
- Pipeline
- Revenue
Remember, it’s not just about lead volume. You need to gather the data and track lead progress through to opportunity, won/close, and beyond that to the lifetime revenue value of the customer. Using digital multiple attribution will help you to identify the best performing channels and direct budget spend accordingly.
Step 4 – transitioning to digital channels
When transitioning to digital channels and revenue attribution, the natural assumption may be that you have to invest in a whole new suite of tools. This is a myth.
The reality is that you could undertake a one-time project which integrates every channel you have, accurately attributes the contribution of these channels, and does this all within your existing marketing automation platform. So, no capital expenditure – simply mobilise functionality you can already access.
