• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, December 8, 2020

It’s one thing to measure email opens and clicks. It’s another to understand the metrics from all levels of the funnel -- right down to lifetime value, according to panelists speaking at MediaPost’s Email Insider Summit on Tuesday. 

“A lot of programs are missing the more macro view,” said Heather Grimstead, senior director, global email marketing for The Knot Worldwide.  “We need a broader perspective of program health.” That means understanding the customer.  

Shannon Hampton, director, CRM & email marketing for Fracture, agreed. “You have to look at everything holistically from the top of funnel, where they come from -- lead source, what pages they’re viewing, what actions led up to them signing up,” Hampton said.

All the panelists feel that attribution is challenging.  

“Why can we not figure this out as an industry?” Grimstead asked.

Case in point -- TechStyle looks at metrics on a “weekly, even daily basis,” Vitero said. But it can’t always “connect the different dots and connect email to other channels," said Erin Vitero, director, CRM and email marketing, TechStyle Fashion Group.

Give these brands credit for trying. 

TechStyle uses a mufti-touch attribution model for acquisition channels to determine where to spend money. But it tends to take a last-click view of CRM channels like email and push.

One channel affects the others. When it tried push, the company saw declines on the revenue contribution from email — but push was “more than making up for it,” Vitero said.

Fracture has a business intelligence and advanced analytics team. But its CRM team also maintains a dashboard.

Why have different teams reporting their own numbers?  “Checks and balances,” Hampton said. 

KPIs vary by campaign. “If it’s a brand awareness or sweeps campaign, you’re looking for engagement, clicks,” Hampton explained. “At the bottom of the funnel, you’re looking for the sale or abandoned cart.” 

TechStyle has four brands, and all four must look at the major metrics in the same way, Vitero added. 

Any advice for small teams trying to make sense of attribution? Yes -- try Excel.  

“As a one-woman show, Excel was my best friend,” Hampston said. “We underestimate the power of Excel,” Grimstead concurred.