Marketing Attribution

Lesson 29: Understanding the Customer Journey

Understanding marketing attribution, best ad practices, and technology to drive online marketing.

Understanding the customer journey is essential for effective marketing attribution. It allows marketers to identify touchpoints and optimize their strategies accordingly.

The customer journey refers to the entire process that a customer goes through from the moment they become aware of a product or service to the moment they make a purchase and beyond.

Stages of the Customer Journey

The customer journey is typically divided into several stages:

Awareness: The customer becomes aware of a need or a problem. Recommended Reading on Awareness
Consideration: The customer researches and evaluates different solutions. Recommended Reading on Consideration
Decision: The customer decides on a specific product or service. Recommended Reading on Decision
Purchase: The customer completes the purchase. Recommended Reading on Purchase
Retention: The customer uses the product and, ideally, remains loyal to the brand. Recommended Reading on Retention
Advocacy: The customer recommends the product to others. Recommended Reading on Advocacy

Customer Journey Diagram

journey title Customer Journey section Awareness Search_Engines: 5: Google Social_Media: 3: Facebook section Consideration Product_Pages: 4: Website Reviews: 3: Yelp section Decision Pricing_Page: 5: Website Comparison: 4: Third-party section Purchase Checkout_Page: 5: Website section Retention Customer_Support: 4: Phone Newsletters: 3: Email section Advocacy Word_of_Mouth: 5: Referral

Mapping Customer Touchpoints

The next step involves mapping out all the touchpoints where customers interact with your brand. Touchpoints can include:

Website visits
Social media interactions
Email opens and clicks
Customer service calls
In-store visits

For more on mapping touchpoints, see our lesson on Mapping Customer Touchpoints.

Example Touchpoint Map

Analyzing Customer Behavior

Analyzing the customer journey involves understanding customer behavior at each stage. Common metrics include:

Conversion rates
Engagement metrics
Customer satisfaction scores
Retention rates

Tools like Google Analytics can be used to track and analyze these metrics.

Example of Tracking Code

Utilizing Journey Maps for Attribution

Journey maps can be leveraged to improve attribution models. By understanding each touchpoint, marketers can assign appropriate credit to different stages of the journey.

Journey Map Example

graph LR Start["Start"] Awareness["Awareness"] Consideration["Consideration"] Decision["Decision"] Purchase["Purchase"] Retention["Retention"] Advocacy["Advocacy"] Start --> Awareness Awareness --> Consideration Consideration --> Decision Decision --> Purchase Purchase --> Retention Retention --> Advocacy

Conclusion

Understanding the customer journey is crucial for effective marketing and accurate attribution. By mapping out customer touchpoints and analyzing behavior, marketers can optimize their strategies for better results.