The Macro Approach to Online Acquisition: Maximizing the Impact of Your Campaigns

In the world of digital marketing, it's easy to get lost in the metrics of each platform and lose sight of the ultimate goal: growing your business. The macro approach, as opposed to the platform-based approach, focuses on global indicators to maximize the impact of your campaigns. In this article, we will explore the ins and outs of this approach, highlighting its benefits and implications.

The Pitfall of the Platform-Based Approach Definition of the Platform-Based Approach The platform-based approach focuses on the individual performance of each acquisition channel. Each platform, whether Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or others, is analyzed separately, often focusing on metrics like Cost per Acquisition (CPA).

Limitations and Dangers This narrow vision can lead to erroneous conclusions. For example, even if the CPA of each platform seems satisfactory, it does not necessarily mean that your business is growing. Often, there is stagnation in revenue despite attractive CPAs.

Case Study: Stagnation Despite Attractive CPAs A typical case is a company seeing its CPA metrics decrease across all platforms but not seeing a corresponding increase in overall revenue. This often indicates a problem with the platform-based approach.

The Macro Approach: A Holistic Vision Global Indicators The macro approach focuses on the global indicators of your business, such as revenue, the number of new customers, and return on investment (ROI). These indicators provide a more complete and accurate picture of the impact of your marketing campaigns.

Advantages of the Macro Approach One of the main advantages of the macro approach is that it aligns marketing efforts with the company's growth objectives. By focusing on global indicators, marketers can better understand the real impact of their campaigns and adjust their strategies accordingly.

Comparison Between the Two Approaches Unlike the platform-based approach, the macro approach considers all acquisition channels and their combined contribution to the company's growth. This allows for more efficient resource allocation and overall optimization of marketing performance.

The Importance of Tracking What is Tracking? Tracking involves monitoring and analyzing user behavior across different platforms and advertising campaigns. It involves collecting data on user interactions, conversions, and other relevant actions.

Popular Tracking Tools Among the most used tracking tools are GA4, Meta Pixel, and integrated tracking tools of advertising platforms. These tools allow precise data collection on campaign performance and user behavior.

Importance of Tracking in the Macro Approach To optimize the macro approach, it is essential to have good conversion tracking on your various advertising platforms. Tracking allows algorithms to better understand your customers, profile them, and target the right prospects. Good tracking means more data for algorithms and faster learning, resulting in increased performance.

Observed Conversions vs. Tracked Conversions Difference Between Attributed and Observed Conversions It is important to distinguish between attributed conversions and observed conversions. Attributed conversions are those that advertising platforms, like Google or Meta, can directly identify through tracking. Observed conversions, on the other hand, encompass all conversions made, including those that could not be tracked.

Why is This Distinction Important? Understanding the difference between these two types of conversions is crucial for evaluating the real effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. Observed conversions provide a more complete picture of the impact of your marketing efforts, whereas attributed conversions can sometimes give a partial picture.

Impact on Campaign Analysis By relying solely on attributed conversions, you might underestimate the impact of certain campaigns. By integrating observed conversions, you get a better assessment of overall performance, which can influence strategic decisions and budget allocation.

The Misinterpretation of CPA Definition of CPA Cost per Acquisition (CPA) is a metric used to measure the average cost of acquiring a customer through a specific advertising campaign. It is calculated by dividing the total cost of the campaign by the number of attributed conversions.

Why CPA Can Be Misleading CPA is often misinterpreted as the price to pay for an additional purchase. In reality, CPA is a ratio reflecting the overall cost of conversions attributed to a platform. It does not guarantee an additional purchase for each euro spent, which can be misleading when analyzing campaign profitability.

Alternatives for a More Accurate Analysis For a more accurate analysis, it is useful to combine CPA with other metrics such as Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS), Cost per Click (CPC), and Conversion Rate. This provides a more comprehensive overview of campaign performance.

The Usefulness of Platform Metrics Identifying Tracking Problems Platform metrics, though imperfect, can be useful for identifying tracking problems. For example, a sudden drop in the number of attributed conversions may indicate a tracking issue that needs to be resolved quickly.

Tracking Campaign Evolution Platform metrics also allow you to track the evolution of your campaigns over time. By monitoring indicators such as Click-Through Rate (CTR) and Cost per Click (CPC), Conversion Rate (CR), you can adjust your strategies based on performance.

Comparing Relative Performance Finally, these metrics are useful for comparing the relative performance of different elements of your campaigns, such as ads, audiences, and keywords. This helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of each campaign and optimize accordingly.

Keys to Success for a High-Performance Macro Approach Input/Output Vision Adopting an input/output vision means considering advertising campaigns as a factory that transforms resources (marketing budget) into tangible results (purchases, new customers). This perspective helps better understand the relationship between investments and results, focusing on efficiency and process optimization.

Ensuring Good Tracking Good tracking is essential for allowing advertising platforms to collect precise data and target the right prospects. Without accurate tracking of conversions and user interactions, it is difficult to evaluate the real impact of your campaigns and make informed decisions.

Compliance with Advertising Platform Guidelines Following the guidelines of advertising platforms is crucial to ensure the proper functioning of algorithms and avoid penalties. By following the rules and recommendations, you maximize the chances that your campaigns will be optimally distributed and reach their target audience.

Extending the Audience Reaching a wider audience is a key strategy to maximize the reach of your messages. Using consideration campaigns, for example, allows you to make your brand known to a wider audience and attract new prospects who were not initially targeted.

Quality Content Investing in relevant and attractive content is essential to capture the attention of prospects and convert them into customers. High-quality content not only improves the user experience but also enhances your brand's credibility and prompts action.

Conclusion In conclusion, the macro approach to online acquisition allows you to escape the trap of platform metrics and focus on the real impact of your campaigns on your company's growth. By adopting a holistic vision and focusing on global indicators, you can better align your marketing efforts with your growth objectives and optimize the efficiency of your campaigns.