Providing a targeted approach delivers a far greater return
Online customer insight expert Celebrus Technologies and attribution specialist Shomei have built and implemented a client data hub for specialist insurer Hiscox to gain unprecedented insight into the value of search activity, influence of display ads and the role brand plays in driving up client value.
To date, the insight has revealed a 10% saving in search spend without reducing online sales, as a result of Hiscox re-evaluating its strategy to invest its budget more effectively across online channels.
The client data hub allows the company to see individual visitors’ precise and real-time activity on the Hiscox.co.uk website. Celebrus Technologies’ online client insight technology collected data on every visitor’s interactions with the website to built individual user profiles. These were populated with data from every new interaction with the website and included details such as behaviour, preferences, frequency of visit and details of conversion.
‘With better optimisation of search, Hiscox can save 10%, without affecting sales; or opt to lose a small number of sales annually and save as much as 17%.’
This data was then fed to attribution specialist Shomei who combined Celebrus’ data with off-site online advertising data from DoubleClick. As a result it was possible to see a complete view of the influence of all relevant individual digital advertising sources, including paid search, display advertising, affiliates, organic search and those visitors coming to the website directly.
Together, the data sources formed a detailed client data hub which for the first time showed the entire journey to and through the site of every individual visitor. It provided insight for the precise responses to various advertising activities, as opposed to the last campaign to have influenced an arrival on the Hiscox site.
Simon Wood, Online Marketing Manager, Hiscox, commented: “Typically campaign attribution is determined, recorded and measured by ‘last click’, which overlooks the entire client journey through search, display, affiliates and exposure to brand messages. Looking at the attribution process in detail uncovered how each channel had influenced one another. From this we were able to identify what additional value each channel had generated, linking it explicitly to return on investment and maximising the value of the online spend. By understanding which channels are delivering the greatest return as a proportion of the budget spent, and not just the most traffic, we can optimise channel investment, messaging and creative effectively. This targeted approach delivers a far greater return.”
As a result of the insight gleaned from the client data hub, the company plans to realign budget towards certain key words and campaigns for both paid and natural search – critically cutting all activity related to those search words that are now proven to play no role in the customer journey whatsoever. Wood confirmed: “With better optimisation of search, Hiscox can save 10%, without affecting sales; or opt to lose a small number of sales annually and save as much as 17%.”
