The Value of Multi-Touch Attribution for Auto Dealers

By Catherine Nasers on 06/22/21
Updated on 02/14/24

As an auto dealer, how do you know which marketing tactics are most worthwhile for your store?

Today, there’s so much data available at our fingertips that it’s hard to decide which information is most useful for automotive marketing.

Technology follows us everywhere we go. That makes it easier than ever for owners and marketers like us to understand our consumers.

Prior to the tools we have today for attributing lead traffic, we had to devote a lot of time and work to calculate the cost of an online lead. Now, with tools like LeadsRx, that busywork has been taken out of the equation.

With multi-touch attribution, the door to generating more automotive leads has been opened.

Now, you can get down to the brass tacks of what strategies are converting the most leads at your dealership.

What Is Multi-Touch Attribution?

You know that a typical customer does not simply see one Facebook ad, hear one radio spot, or walk into a dealership to purchase a new vehicle without some prior awareness and consideration.

There are many touchpoints a future car buyer hits before purchasing. (And of the most common ones, 78% are digital!)

It can be tricky to understand what each touchpoint is worth — both in how it influences customers and in how it contributes to business growth. This is why multi-touch attribution is so important.

Multi-touch attribution uses person-level data to measure past marketing performance.

It calculates the impact of every touchpoint on every key performance indicator (KPI) in near-real time to produce metrics that reflect the credit each channel and tactic deserves for its contribution.

Depending on the tool you’re using, there are options for giving a little more weight to one medium over another. But the key takeaway for multi-touch attribution is following the buyer’s journey and seeing where customers actually spend their time before converting.

By learning exactly how much revenue each marketing effort has generated, you are able to calculate your return on ad spend (ROAS) — which helps you decide where to direct your efforts next.

How ROAS “Zooms In” on Your Marketing Strategy

How Does Attribution Bridge the Gap Between Traditional and Digital Marketing?

The main aspects of the buyer’s journey remain true, whether or not you’ve invested in a multi-touch attribution tool.

The question is, How do you capitalize on this attribution knowledge to the best of your ability?

In order to deliver not just clicks and views but also long-term growth, you must adapt to the digital era.

Simply promoting the latest models or specials your dealership offers is an attempt to meet your need of selling cars, but helping leads with their questions is meeting their needs.

Knowing where leads originate, what they want, and what to do if your lead strategy doesn’t work are all key to automotive lead generation.

If you’re currently spending all your time (and money) on TV or other forms of traditional marketing, but you aren’t seeing new leads or sales, it’s time to dig deeper and adjust your strategy.

In our experience, unifying your message across multiple platforms can garner better results.

Midwest Dealerships Create a Unified Message Across All Marketing Channels

Next Steps for Automotive Lead Generation

Okay, so you know what multi-touch attribution is and how it can help inform your marketing strategy.

So what are the next steps for generating more leads?

The reality is that all customers (and their interactions) aren’t the same. Rather than rely on channel-specific metrics, dealers can and should use attribution tools to measure person-level data across tactics and channels.

The ability to analyze multi-touch attribution is a game-changer.

If you’re interested in using this model to inform your automotive lead generation, watch our attribution webinar to learn more.