Wicked Reports is a multi-channel, multi-touch attribution platform relying on verifiable first-party conversion data. Other ad platforms are typically single-channel.
Watch this detailed 8-minute video, or simply read below.
There are a lot of reasons why Wicked Reports conversion data can't, won't, and shouldn't match Facebook & Google and other Channel conversion data. This is a good thing, it's how we give you an edge on your competition!
Multi-Channel vs. Single-Channel Attribution
Think about all the campaigns you have running on all the channels. This is a small representation – a lot of you have at least a dozen campaigns running on 3 channels, and with the success of Snapchat, Pinterest, and Bing, plus Facebook groups, and organic, most advertisers have 5-10 channels running. Wicked Reports looks at all of them and only gives credit to 1 of them for a given conversion point.
A single-channel view, such as the one taken by Facebook conversion tracking, ignores all the other channels. Look at all the circles on this timeline that would be ignored by any single channel. It doesn’t make sense to ignore them, your marketing conversion reporting is like a horse running around with blinders on.
1-Day Look Back Attribution vs. 28-Day Look Forward Attribution
Ad platforms look forward 7 days. Usually this is 7 days after a click, but sometimes it’s 7 days after a view, which is a very short window.
Wicked Reports starts with the conversions that happen in your CRM or shopping cart. We look back 1 day prior (the default attribution window) to the actual conversion, across all channels, to see what deserves credit.
We do allow the look-back window to expand when it makes business sense for you. Our experts can advise you on the best time window for your marketing strategy.
1st Party Data Conversions vs. Pixel-Based Tracking
On thinkwithgoogle.com, there is an example of someone shopping for headphones and having 375 touch-points. Do you think you can configure 375 different pixel fires to be accurate when the most basic ones already have issues? You can’t. What if you correctly set up 275-pixel fires out of the 375 touch-points, how would you know you are firing the pixel on the best touch-points? You wouldn’t.
Our solution to that is 1st party data conversions detected automatically. We mine your CRM and your shopping cart for the conversions that move the needle. We then measure them across all your marketing channels and your marketing funnel steps. We map the conversions to attribution models that support the most common marketing strategies, so you can understand and act on them.
Click Tracking vs. View-Through Attribution
We use clicks in most cases. Ad platforms use a combination of clicks and views. A click is usually a higher intent signal.
I am sure there are campaigns where a view is important to your marketing success. Wicked Reports is just not a great fit for measuring that specific campaign, use us for all the other ones.
We only use view data from Facebook at the bottom of the funnel to determine what made a sale, IF we do not already have a tracked click from one of your other marketing channels. I call these pessimistic view-through conversions you can trust.
Lifetime Value Reporting vs. Single Sale Value
Understanding and acting on customer lifetime value allows you to outspend your competition in the targeted areas you are finding the great leads that bring high value over time.
In some cases, leads generated by an ad years ago may still be buying today. The Wicked Reports New Lead ROI attribution will continue to give revenue credit to that search phrase because, without it, you don’t have this future customer!
Lifetime value as part of your marketing attribution also helps you measure campaign impact properly when leads take time to buy. In some cases, an ad may initially look like it's losing money in the first weeks and may be turned off. But our reporting could show that maybe those leads started buying down the road - an indicator that maybe you'd want to turn that ad back on because it was working after all.
If you have lifetime value as part of your marketing campaign ROI you might be able to acquire leads at a loss and make a great return over time.
Subscription Rebill Attribution vs. Initial Sale Reporting
If you are selling subscription products, those customers are usually the most valuable. They also usually take longer to convert. Last-click attribution used by the ad platforms usually will miss these customers.
Wicked Reports correctly tracks and attributes these customers to the top, middle, and bottom-of-the-funnel conversions that deserve credit. When you can map top-of-the-funnel lead gen to the subscription rebill high LTV customers, you can buy more of the right leads.
So Is Ad Platform Conversions Meaningless?
Absolutely not.
They are some cases where ad platform conversions can help move people along your funnel. And machine learning on ad platforms needs conversion data to work. So you still need to use them.
If you see a lot of pixel conversions and 0 conversions inside of Wicked, there might be a setup issue on our side.
Also keep in mind that individual channels are optimizing for reach and conversions within themselves, which is definitely valuable to you as a marketer. Wicked Reports is reporting across your entire marketing stack so you can optimize your overall strategy, now where you're making money and where you aren't, and where to find more of your highest LTV customers.