Cohorts
Applying economics fundamentals to acquisition marketing
Multiple-touchpoint marketing strategies will often incorporate various marketing mediums that don't naturally fit into "touchpoint" attribution models. These mediums often generate considerably profitable campaigns, at what often seems like very little incremental marketing spend. To accurately measure your cohort profitability, your attribution model must consider both the revenue and cost implications of these support channels.
Attribution is rarely straightforward. While some of your sources have direct-response tracking, other sources will rely heavily on methods of matchback attribution. A robust methodology will define attribution in order of likelihood that a particular conversion originated with a specific campaign. Moving "down" the scale of likelihood is synonymous with attribution decay.
Key to robust attribution modeling is the breadth of data points available for analysis. Blending historical data points together is the basis of matchback analysis, and when used properly, it can guide your monetary and time marketing efforts towards those activities that generate the highest comparative value.
Unattributable revenue is a common frustration for marketers and managers alike. After all, how do you know which campaigns to scale if some of your best performing cohorts lack attribution? The methodology I frequently revert to is a weighted reattribution of unattributable revenue to the most likely source of acquisition.
