ALL-Touch Attribution, via Missing Links

In the golden age of television, targeting and segmentation were necessary. By its nature, TV was a mass medium where one message was broadcast out to large audiences. And because there weren't infinite budgets, it was necessary to choose the target audiences that were most likely to respond to the ad. In the new digital world, however, where consumers have constant and instant access to information, the rules of the game have changed irreversibly for marketers. Literally the tasks they have to do in the marketing process are entirely different, or should be.

Segmentation is no longer necessary

Instead of figuring out who to target and what to tell them, in digital we have the opportunity to "listen" for what bits of information they need in order to move themselves along their purchase journeys. This obviously assumes that consumers are in charge and tend to turn to researching things online to inform their purchases rather than simply take the advertisers' word for it in ads. This is literally 180 degrees opposite to the way traditional brand marketers were taught to think and had put into practice for decades.

Instead of getting handed a product (or service) and then asked to answer the following: 1) who do we market it to? (segments); 2) what do we "tell" them about the product to convince them it is awesome? (marketing message); and 3) where do we stick that message? (media placement); in the new digital world they are asked three entirely different questions. These are: 1) what bits of information are customers looking for (we call these "missing links")? 2) do we have the content anywhere online to answer those questions? and 3) can they find those answers so they can move themselves to the next step along their purchase journeys?

Marketing to one is now possible, (only) in digital

In traditional media, we could not create hundreds of versions of TV ads, or thousands of versions of print ads, etc. to target smaller and smaller audiences. These forms of media were "broadcast" in nature. But in digital we have the opportunity to target down to the level of the individual -- because digital is inherently a two-way medium.

But "targeting" does not mean the same thing as it did in traditional advertising. It is not the advertiser shooting a message at the target customer; instead "targeting" means delivering the best answer to the individual user when they are looking for it online during their purchase journey. When they are in digital channels looking for answers via search, that is the best time to "target" them with the answers that they will use to get themselves to the next step of their purchase journeys.

Customer journey "spaghetti" is really hard

Notice that I said "the answers that they will use to get themselves to the next step of their purchase journeys." Again this acknowledges the fact that the users themselves are in control, that they actively look up information to inform their own purchase journeys, and that different users' journeys are going to be entirely unique and different from others' journeys. This makes analyzing and depicting customer journeys really hard - in fact, more and more marketers are realizing these journeys really look like spaghetti.

This means that applying traditional advertising thinking about segments and targeting is also going to be really hard. This is because we are trying to identify common demographics, common interests, common observable activities, etc. among large enough groups of customers so we can decide what to say to them and where to stick our ads. This is counter to the observations above and the fact that as you get more and more targeted, the target audience gets smaller and smaller.

Missing Link Marketing simplifies insights and action

So instead of trying to figure out customer journey "spaghetti" if we focus in on customers' missing links -- the bits of info each person needs as they make their own way down their purchase journeys -- we can more easily take action. In other words, by observing what they are looking for, we can deliver the answers more quickly and efficiently to them. For example, these "missing links" are observable in search (what they search for) and social media (what they ask about).

If ANY link is missing or broken, the entire chain is broken and the customer will not make it to the purchase.

And based on this "big data" we can observe that some searches and some social chatter are common among many users -- much like frequently asked questions. These frequently searched terms and frequently asked questions should be the ones that are addressed most immediately with content (think "content marketing" or "native advertising.") These need to be immediately useful and succinct because modern users are also terribly impatient.

Missing Links are observable and addressable

And having applied the Missing Link framework over the years for many clients in different industries, it is clear that missing links also array across the client journey -- from awareness, to consideration, choice, purchase, and loyalty. In some cases, there are awareness missing links -- they are simply not aware of the specific product or service. In other cases, the missing links are further down the purchase funnel, when users are considering buying the product.

Wherever the missing links, they are observable and addressable. This makes it far simpler than trying to figure out customers convoluted journeys and where to attempt to show them ads. The other crucial thing to realize is that ALL touches matter. If a user cannot find the answer to any one question they have -- i.e. if a single link of the chain that is "missing" -- the entire chain is broken and they cannot make their way all the way to the purchase.

Every customer's journey is different. And the journeys of customers in different industries is also different. Customers of low cost, low complexity products like soda and soup probably won't need to do a ton of research online. But customers of high cost, and high complexity products like cars and computers will do a lot of research before they buy. These differences are beautifully illustrated by Google's recent research on how different digital tactics "touch, or assist, or help to close" customers purchases.

All-Touch Attribution - ALL Touches Are Necessary

By using the concept of missing links, we also solve the challenges of "attribution modeling" because we no longer need to figure out which advertising action or touchpoint caused the purchase -- they ALL do. They ALL contribute. And they are ALL necessary -- hence we use the phrase "all touch attribution."

Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Client Journeys at IBM, said "if we could clearly understand the actions our potential clients would take to solve their business problems, we could proactively plan our marketing to impact them accurately across the entire journey."

Now there are the technologies and platforms that enable marketers to observe all the touches and interactions down to individual users, as they make their way towards the purchase. And the data has indeed corroborated that there are "nearly infinite" paths that users take to get to the purchase event -- the client journey spaghetti we mentioned before.

Missing Link Marketing replaces spray and pray

By focusing on observing customers' missing links and systematically addressing them by answering those specific questions, marketers can help customers move themselves along their journeys and get to the purchase more quickly and efficiently.