Buying Efficiencies : Continued ... CPA ( Cost Per action)

So we are back to the basic again. 

Buying CPA or Cost per Action / Acquisition. Now people would say, what are we talking about here, this is the last currency that you can buy digital media on, so what efficiency are we talking about. 

People understand that CPM / CPC inventories are where efficiencies will yield better results with CPA. So what would CPA efficiencies yield. 

Good question my dear Watson. But the answer resides with the question it self. 

CPA or cost per action is often confused with cost per sale(CPS) campaigns. That should not be the case. Action = any fundamental or desired user behavior predefined by the advertiser.  so it could be any on the followings 

1. Cost per sale 
2. Cost per registration / signup 
3. Cost per download 
4. Cost per resume upload 
5. Cost per lead
6. Etc.

or Hell.. it could well be

1. Cost per visitor on the site.

So here are the some of the tricks of the trade that you should know while dealing with CPA purchases.

It all about efficiencies so think of this all the way.

1. Cost per lead.
1. They all say, a lead is a lead is a lead...I say "qualify them". Use every trick in the trade to do so as this is the starting block for the business that works on leads. 
2. Qualified lead will drive efficiencies all the way to better sales. 
3. Better quality lead with a higher intent will get at-least 30-40% efficiencies on the call center.[the call center people will love you for this.]
2. Cost per registration 
1. Registration = future distributions lists so ensure that they are reachable 
2. Registration data should be slice-able.
3.  Cost per sale 
1. First rule : Attribution has to be present. with out it, Its a "no go".
2. Do a balancing act with first time buyer and repeat buyer.
3. Handle repeat buyers a little differently.

  So what are the validation process that you can incorporate while you are doing cost per action performance campaign. 

1. Voice Call authentication 
2. SMS Verification 
3. CLIP based verification
4. Email Verification 
5. Captcha Verification
6. IP validation 
7. Using Facebook connect

So let me try and explain a few of them and the various  nuances of each verifications process.

1. Voice call Authentication : In this the user is called on his phone and pre recorded message is played, which has certain cal fro action like " Would you want our sales representative to call you" etc. and also disqualification lines  like "press 3 if you dont want our sales representative to call you."

This will yield you interested parties from the campaign in which the Intent to engage with the brand is very high.

Some issues : Due to TRAI guidelines, calling can only be initiated if you are closing a sales process, so only some type of companies are allowed to do so like travel agents , airlines etc.
[NOTE : Pls check the updated TRAI guidelines before implementing]

2. SMS Verification : In this the process user is sent an SMS while he is registering on the site. the SMS carries a pin code that the users needs to enter at the time of registration. this insures that the number in genuine and is reachable for future communications. This process is also governed by the TRAI guidelines.
[NOTE : Pls check the updated TRAI guidelines before implementing]

3. CLIP based verification  : or "Caller Line Identification Presentation" this has been used in a lot of places internationally but only came to limelight recently in india. here the user has to dial a number which captures the CLIP and informs the server that "A" specific number called. In this some bit of coding is required at the server side to insure that the number called information is notified to the session in which the user is registering enabling him to get verified. A live example of this can be found on "http://timesdeal.com/campdgm.php"

4. Email Verification : This is pretty standard procedure, user is sent a link on his email id to verify the email address. "Interestingly I have seen with one of the advertisers that this process has increased his sale thru rate, not sure why but it has. Maybe it is to do with the fact that user has to log into an other system to verify and he would only do so if has a desperate need for the services being offered."
 
5. Captca & IP validation : I am sure you are aware of these, they eliminate the use of BOTS or automated tools to register. The IP validation is also used for elimination of clicks that come from the same IP address on a COST per VISITOR model.

 
6. Facebook Connect : An interesting way to eliminate all kinds of issues this also gives a lot of insight into the user profile. the only question is that the offering has to be superb enough to get the user to sigh on using Facebook connect as it can potentially give the advertiser a lot of information some times even more information than desired.
 

Pls note verification process in a CPA kind of efficiencies buying is important as it enables the better conversions / sales / interaction / engagement with the user.
 

Happy buying & a great campaign execution.