Why Total Attribution is a Lie

In today's digital world, marketers are obsessed with tracking every click, pageview, interaction, and conversion. They aim to map out a customer's journey from first glance to final purchase with something called total attribution. But here's the twist: claiming to pinpoint the exact reason a customer decides to buy a product is more of a marketing myth than a reality. Why? Because human behavior is complex, and what influences our decisions goes way beyond just seeing an ad.

Think about it this way: You see an ad for a new vehicle. Thirty days later, you purchase it. Did the ad make you do it? Maybe. But maybe it was also because your friend wouldn't stop talking about how cool the care is, or maybe your current vehicle broke down. The truth is, our decisions are influenced by a mix of many factors - emotions, peer opinions, personal needs, finances and yes, advertisements. Marketers might want to attribute your purchase to that one ad you clicked, but it's hardly ever that simple.

Moreover, in the era of digital overload, we're saturated with countless ads every day. To say that a single interaction led to a purchase oversimplifies the consumer journey. It overlooks the numerous touchpoints, both online and offline, that can influence decision-making. So, while total attribution in digital marketing offers an appealingly neat solution for understanding consumer behavior, it's more of a convenient fiction than a reflection of reality. We might know they were exposed to an ad, but is that really what tipped the scales?

Another issue with total attribution is the matter of cost. Chasing the dream of perfect attribution often leads companies to invest heavily in complex analytics tools and specialists to decipher the data. However, this quest for precision can become a costly endeavor with diminishing returns. Rather than funneling more funds into the elusive goal of pinpointing the exact cause of consumer actions, it might be wiser to redirect that budget into buying more media. Investing in additional advertising space or diversifying the platforms you advertise on can broaden your reach and potentially attract a larger audience. After all, increasing your presence and visibility across different channels is a straightforward strategy that doesn't just aim to understand consumer behavior but actively influences it. By focusing on expanding your media presence, you're likely to capture more interest and drive action more effectively than if you were obsessing over attributing every conversion to a specific touchpoint.

If you are ready to expand your media presence, contact SilverBack Advertising today!