E340:🎙️WHY DOES ECOMMERCE MARKETING ATTRIBUTION MATTER & WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT IT?

Navigating Modern Marketing with Rohit Maheswaran from Lifesight

Welcome to another episode of the eCommerce Edge Podcast, hosted by Jason Greenwood. Today, we’re diving into the world of marketing analytics with Rohit Maheswaran, co-founder & CPO of Lifesight. Lifesight is transforming the way eCommerce and Omni-channel merchants approach marketing analytics and spend.

Born in the golden era of digital advertising, Lifesight helps marketers make better decisions through universal attribution, marketing mix modeling (MMM) and incrementality testing. Let's explore the insights from Rohit's journey and learn how Lifesight is positioned to help brands thrive in a privacy-first world.

The Rise of Lifesight

Rohit Maheswaran isn't just another tech entrepreneur. He’s a digital nomad who’s lived in several cities around the world, gaining diverse perspectives that shaped his career. Starting as a product designer, Rohit spent over 20 years at the intersection of creativity and technology, eventually co-founding Lifesight.

Lifesight is more than just an analytics platform. It’s a unified marketing measurement tool that guides brands on where to spend their marketing dollars most effectively.

From Early Beginnings to Modern Analytics

The concept of Lifesight emerged in the mid-2010s, a time when digital advertising was booming. Brands shifted focus from traditional methods like TV and radio to digital identifiers that could track individual behaviors. However, this also meant that many other valuable marketing channels were sidelined.

Rohit saw this misalignment and built Lifesight to connect the dots between various data sources – digital identifiers, offline data, and PII data – without violating consumer privacy. The Lifesight name itself signifies giving marketers a comprehensive view into consumers' lives while maintaining confidentiality.

With growing privacy regulations and technological advancements, Lifesight adapted by integrating cloud and AI technologies. This evolution has allowed Lifesight to create more accurate and informed marketing strategies.

The Shift in Marketing Measurement

One core lesson from Rohit's journey is the shift from deterministic to probabilistic models. While earlier methods focused on exact matches between marketing efforts and conversions, today’s models focus on probable outcomes. This shift helps marketers achieve sustainable growth.

Continuous Marketing Measurement and Optimization

At Lifesight, continuous marketing measurement is vital. This involves a foundation of solid data collection, combining both individual and aggregated data. Rohit emphasizes that accurate marketing decisions need to be backed by robust data – whether it's event data from websites and apps or third-party data like competitor pricing and weather.

The ultimate goal is a feedback loop where fresh data continuously refines marketing models, providing brands with actionable insights and improved marketing strategies.

Addressing Privacy and Data Loss

Privacy changes, such as the death of third-party cookies and iOS privacy updates, have altered the landscape of marketing analytics. Rohit stresses the importance of first-party data collection and probabilistic modeling to overcome these challenges. By focusing on first-party and zero-party data, Lifesight helps brands collect valuable customer information directly, enabling more effective marketing strategies.

Emphasizing Long-Term Brand Building

One recurring challenge in the marketing world is the short-term focus of many brands. Rohit points out that an overemphasis on immediate returns can be detrimental. Instead, investing in brand building and thinking long-term often yields higher returns.

Brands should move beyond vanity metrics and focus on true incremental revenue. For example, spending heavily on branded search might show high ROAS but often fails to bring new customers who wouldn't have purchased otherwise.

Integration and Future Enhancements

Lifesight is an all-encompassing platform that integrates with various marketing channels and tools like Klaviyo for email marketing. Through continuous work on causal AI and predictive AI, Lifesight aims to go beyond just answering "what happened" to explain "why" and "what if" scenarios.

The Road Ahead

The future for Lifesight involves enhancing causal AI and leveraging large language models (LLMs) to provide deeper insights. These advancements will help brands make more informed decisions across all aspects of their business, from marketing to supply chain optimization.

Conclusion

Rohit Maheswaran's journey with Lifesight highlights the critical need for robust data-driven marketing strategies. With a focus on continuous measurement and long-term brand building, Lifesight is poised to help brands navigate the complexities of modern marketing.

Connect with Rohit on LinkedIn or reach out via email at Rohit@Lifesight.io to dive deeper into how Lifesight can transform your marketing efforts.

To learn more, check out the related THE eCommerce EDGE Podcast episode below: