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The tax trailblazer

Overview:

Our client offers online tax preparation technology for Americans—consumers and tax professionals—allowing them to electronically file state and/or federal returns. But with limited visibility into the customer journey, they were unable to personalize messaging, attribute leads, or optimize the user experience. Our solution provided crystal-clear visibility, transforming a blurry digital setup into a lean, lead-generating machine.

Services:

  • Analytics tech stack deployment
  • Attribution modeling tech deployment
  • Conversion rate optimization (CRO)

The challenge

Our client was unable to follow leads and users through multiple touch points, which severely limited their understanding of the customer journey to conversion. Specifically, there was a glaring void between when an account was created and when the actual conversion happened. This obscured the ways in which different personas moved through the conversion funnel across distinct web sessions. Inevitably, accurate lead attribution was almost impossible in this kind of environment.

  1. Map a complex user journey
  2. Design and deploy sophisticated lead attribution modeling
  3. Implement a robust CRO framework and culture

The solution

Our response was built on three distinct phases: selecting and deploying the right tools for the job, observing user traits and behaviors in minute detail, and using our findings to inform real-time media decisions.

Graphic showing weighted lead attribution for a tax e-file

TECH SELECTION

After careful assessment of our client’s needs and business model, we recommended Adobe’s analytics and data management platforms—Adobe Analytics and Adobe Audience Manager—as well as Nielsen Visual IQ for lead attribution modeling. Through close collaboration with the client and the technology platform providers, we deployed the solutions to ensure we can “follow” users through the multiple touch points.

PAINTING A PICTURE

Adobe Audience Manager allowed us to collect the different user traits observed on the website and merge those traits with customer attributes from the client’s customer data. The result? A detailed, well-rounded picture of the customer that could be used by media teams for high-accuracy message targeting—and also to create personalized on-site testing programs.

FROM CHAOS COMES ORDER

Attribution modeling was key to not only give the conversion credit where it was due but truly understand different media channels’ performance and adjust budgets accordingly for maximum efficiency. To achieve that, we selected and deployed Nielsen Visual IQ based on our client’s business requirements and budget allocations. Through close collaboration between our media and marketing technology teams—along with the client and platform provider—we successfully implemented Visual IQ to deliver the timely, actionable, audience-driven intelligence needed to maximize marketing effectiveness.

The engineer
The Engineer
The architect
The Architect
The pragmatist
The Pragmatist

The bold decision

  • Analyzing customer journeys and identifying key points of dropoff allowed us to streamline the signup experience – particularly on mobile devices, which allowed our client to successfully invest more in reaching the growing mobile device audiences
  • Advertising spend was substantially re-allocated: toward audiences more likely to be high value customers, and at different times during the tax season that were proven to be more influential moments
  • Television spend was optimized down to the channel and even program level based on offline-to-online response as measured by the VisualIQ model

The impact

Knowing your audience is the key to success—and the truths we continue to reveal about these customers are now an integral part of our client’s marketing endeavors. With accurate attribution modeling, they now have the right levers to not only adjust media budgets in real time but produce accurate revenue forecasts based on different investment models.

$2MM

waste recovery through harmonized CPA model and vendor accountability

5%

increase in net-new online tax filings

3x

mandate expanded three times (and counting)

Ready to get started?

We can help you create transformational change if your data has become an afterthought, untapped resource, or decision-making blind spot—and it all starts with a friendly chat. Let’s get started!