The Opportunity
In a landscape cluttered with diverse advertising platforms, both online and offline, determining true ROI can be daunting for business owners. This project aimed to create a solution that seamlessly integrates data from various sources, turning the elusive goal of precise ROI measurement into a tangible reality.
The Ask
The goal was to engineer a platform capable of meticulously tracking and logging traffic from a wide array of ad sources. This included both online and offline channels. The platform needed to compare conversions at critical stages against expenses and incoming traffic from multiple campaigns, ultimately enabling the calculation of an accurate ROI.
The Challenge
The project's central challenge was to integrate data from at least six different platforms. This was necessary to unify diverse data sets and activities to accurately compute a true ROI, all while presenting the findings in a user-friendly format.
The Solution
The developed platform adeptly tracks user activities following their interaction with ads, including website visits and purchases. It compares incoming traffic to actual sales, allowing the client to discern the real revenue generated by each ad campaign. The system provides insights into user responses to ads, website engagement, and purchasing behavior. Additional features were later added to track long-term customer value, thereby offering a comprehensive view of the revenue generated by each ad campaign over extended periods.
Overcoming Challenges
A significant obstacle was navigating the complexities of Google's APIs. The intricate documentation and scarcity of specific examples presented a considerable challenge, requiring innovative problem-solving to find effective solutions.
Valuable Lessons
This project deepened my understanding of integrating with intricate sales funnel processes at a granular level. It reinforced the idea that by tapping into low-level processes, one can capture a wealth of actionable information accessible via the web, thus empowering informed business decision-making.