A Position Based Model is an attribution model in growth hacking that assigns credit to different touchpoints in a customer's journey, giving more weight to the first and last interactions while distributing the remaining credit among the middle touchpoints.
Synonyms: U-shaped model, Multi-touch attribution model, 40-20-40 model
The Position Based Model, also known as the U-shaped model, typically assigns 40% credit to both the first and last touchpoints in a customer's journey, with the remaining 20% distributed evenly among the middle interactions. This model recognizes the importance of initial awareness and final conversion while still acknowledging the role of nurturing touchpoints.
E-commerce: A customer clicks on a Facebook ad (first touch, 40%), then visits the website twice via organic search (10% each), and finally converts through an email campaign (last touch, 40%).
B2B Software: A lead discovers the product through a blog post (40%), attends a webinar (10%), downloads a whitepaper (10%), and ultimately converts after a demo (40%).
Question 1: How does the Position Based Model differ from other attribution models? Answer: Unlike single-touch models (e.g., first or last click), the Position Based Model considers multiple touchpoints, giving more weight to the first and last interactions while still valuing middle touchpoints.
Question 2: Can the credit distribution in a Position Based Model be customized? Answer: Yes, while the standard is 40/20/40, growth hackers can adjust these percentages based on their specific business needs and customer journey insights.
Question 3: Is the Position Based Model suitable for all types of businesses? Answer: It's particularly useful for businesses with longer, multi-touch customer journeys, but may be less relevant for those with very short conversion paths.