Measuring marketing incrementality: Best of the MarTechBot

Best of the MarTechBot showcases the MarTechBot’s responses to prompts submitted by readers. See more about how marketers are using MarTechBot here. The language model is based on content from MarTech embedded on top of ChatGPT. The editors of MarTech selected this response for its usefulness and have supplemented it with additional relevant content.

I am the first generative AI chatbot for marketing technology professionals. I am trained with MarTech content. Here’s something somebody asked me! After that, how to improve prompts to get even better answers from me.

Prompt:

What is the best measurement technique to work out marketing incrementality?

Answer:

The best measurement technique to determine marketing incrementality often depends on your specific goals, resources, and the nature of your marketing activities. However, several widely recognized methods can effectively measure incrementality:

1. A/B testing (split testing): This is one of the most straightforward and effective methods for measuring incrementality. By dividing your audience into two groups — one that receives the marketing intervention (treatment group) and one that does not (control group) — you can directly compare the sales or conversions between the two groups. This method allows you to isolate the impact of your marketing efforts.

2. Geo-testing: This technique involves running marketing campaigns in specific geographic areas while keeping similar areas as control groups. By comparing sales performance in the test regions against the control regions, you can assess the incremental impact of your marketing activities.

3. Time series analysis: Analyze sales data over time, focusing on periods before and after marketing campaigns. By examining trends and fluctuations, you can identify changes in sales that may be attributed to your marketing efforts. This method requires careful consideration of external factors that could influence sales.

4. Multi-touch attribution (MTA): While not as precise as A/B testing, MTA models can help allocate credit to various marketing channels based on their contribution to conversions. This approach can provide insights into how different touchpoints work together to drive sales incrementally.

5. Customer surveys: Conduct surveys to gather insights from customers about their purchasing decisions. Ask questions related to how they learned about your product and whether marketing influenced their decision to buy. This qualitative data can help you gauge the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

6. Control groups: Similar to A/B testing, you can create control groups for specific campaigns or promotions. By comparing the sales performance of these groups with those exposed to the marketing efforts, you can estimate the incremental sales generated.

7. Sales funnel analysis: Examine conversion rates at different stages of your sales funnel. By tracking how many leads convert to customers before and after implementing marketing strategies, you can estimate the incremental impact of your efforts.

8. Incrementality testing platforms: Consider using specialized incrementality testing platforms that provide tools and methodologies for measuring marketing effectiveness. These platforms often combine various techniques and offer insights tailored to your specific marketing context.

Ultimately, the best approach may involve a combination of these techniques to triangulate your findings and gain a comprehensive understanding of marketing incrementality. It’s essential to continuously refine your measurement strategies based on the insights gained and adapt to changes in the marketing landscape.

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Updated prompt:

Here’s one way this prompt could be refined to gather more specific, actionable information. MarTechBot now has 10+ personas to provide more targeted responses. For this prompt, try selecting the business analyst persona. There are many possibilities, depending on the human user’s industry and main objectives:

• Before we start, you are a business analyst for a direct-to-consumer line of beauty products that also sell in some regional retail chains. Please list three ways to measure marketing incrementality for social media and email campaigns. For each strategy, please list KPIs, insights about marketing effectiveness and any martech tools that help in measurement. Please keep language simple so everybody on the marketing team will understand.

The key elements and enhancements to this prompt are as follows:

(Task)

Please list three ways to measure marketing incrementality for social media and email campaigns.

(Context)

You are a business analyst for a direct-to-consumer line of beauty products that also sell in some regional retail chains.

(Format)

Please list three ways…For each strategy, please list KPIs, insights about marketing effectiveness and any martech tools.

(Tone)

Please keep language simple so everybody on the marketing team will understand.

Updated answer:

Certainly! Here are three effective ways to measure marketing incrementality for social media and email campaigns, along with relevant KPIs, insights, and martech tools:

1. A/B testing

A/B testing involves running two versions of a campaign (A and B) to see which one performs better. For example, you could send one email with a specific subject line to half your audience and a different subject line to the other half.

KPIs:

• Open rate: Percentage of recipients who opened the email.
• Click-through rate (CTR): Percentage of recipients who clicked on a link in the email.
• Conversion rate: Percentage of users who completed a desired action (like making a purchase).

Insights:

• Helps identify which messaging, visuals, or offers resonate more with your audience.
• Provides clear data on what drives engagement and conversions.

Martech tools:

• Mailchimp: For email A/B testing.
• Optimizely: For website and landing page A/B testing.

2. Control group analysis

This method involves comparing a group that receives the marketing campaign (treatment group) with a similar group that does not receive it (control group). This helps isolate the impact of the campaign.

KPIs:

• Sales lift: Difference in sales between the treatment and control groups.
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC): Cost to acquire a new customer in both groups.
• Return on investment (ROI): Revenue generated from the campaign compared to its cost.

Insights:

• Provides a clear picture of how much additional revenue is generated by the marketing efforts.
• Helps understand the effectiveness of different channels in driving sales.

Martech tools:

• Google Analytics: To track sales and user behavior.
• HubSpot: For managing and analyzing marketing campaigns.

3. Multi-touch attribution

This approach assigns credit to different marketing channels based on their contribution to a conversion. For example, if a customer sees a social media ad, receives an email, and then makes a purchase, each channel gets some credit for the sale.

KPIs:

• Customer journey analysis: Understanding the paths customers take before converting.
• Conversion rate by channel: Measuring how well each channel converts leads into customers.
• Average order value (AOV): Average amount spent per order, segmented by channel.

Insights:

• Helps identify which channels are most effective at different stages of the customer journey.
• Provides a holistic view of marketing performance across channels.

Martech tools:

• Google Analytics: For tracking user interactions across channels.
• Attribution tools like Segment or HubSpot: For detailed multi-touch attribution analysis.

By implementing these strategies, your marketing team can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of social media and email campaigns, allowing for data-driven decisions that enhance overall marketing performance.

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