I am on my way to Hawaii to meet my family for a vacation and looking forward to the beach, sun, and surf but what a journey it will be with 3 kids all under 6 years old, including a one year old.

When I arrive at the hotel in Maui I am sure I will be greeted at the front desk with a fresh Hawaiian lei and a warm smile followed by, “Aloha, where did you folks come from?”  That answer really depends on whom you ask.

The bellman at the hotel in Hawaii will say “From a taxi “
The taxi driver in Hawaii will say “From the airport”
The pilot of the plane will say “From Los Angeles”
The taxi driver in Los Angeles will say “from Newport Beach”

Who do we attribute the correct answer to? What if we could give credit to each point of contact from the beginning to the end of the trip?

This same type of thing can happen when we attribute a sale or conversion in performance marketing. We want to ask, “Where did they come from?”

However, we don’t have the luxury to ask the user where they came from, we only look at what information is provided in association with each purchase or conversion.

Today most companies limit where they attribute conversions, sales, or paid events to the first or last touch points in the customer journey. So on my trip to Hawaii there would only be two choices to attribute how I got there; the last touch (the taxi driver in Hawaii) or the first touch (taxi drive in Los Angeles). Looking at my entire journey this just does not make sense, even my 4 year old would tell me, “Dad, you can’t drive to Hawaii”.

I have seen some of the most innovative campaigns and strategies develop from the affiliate space only to lose the credit for the sale at the last mile.  Customers are alerted of an opportunity early in the sales process from one ad but often times will not convert or buy until they are reminded or see another ad.  All of these customer touch points are important and need to be recognized. Technology can track the customer journey but the advertisers need to commit to using this information and understand that each channel is important and it all contributes to the entire journey.

CAKE has the technology, advertisers have the opportunity, and affiliates are open to improved methods of attribution and payment. I am committed to working with our community of users as well as the industry as a whole to find a standard method of tracking and recognizing the appropriate value each part of the journey represents.

Aloha 

-Jeff