Channel and touchpoint sheets – our GPS through the CLM data jungle
Part three of our whitepaper series on our tried-and-tested system for creating, implementing and optimizing sustainable campaigns answers these and other questions with our extensive catalog of over 50 detailed channel and touchpoint sheets. These are clearly laid out slides that contain all relevant information about a channel or touchpoint, show relationships and can contain further relevant information.
In our previous white paper, we presented a system for creating campaigns easily. To decide which channels and touchpoints are suitable, we created a catalog of channels and touchpoints and defined them in detail. The result is a campaign kit consisting of increasingly detailed building blocks. The advantage of this approach is that complexity is only ever considered where it is necessary.
The sheets are campaign building blocks that we use to collect and catalog channels and touchpoints, and to record standardized evaluations and dependencies. With our tried-and-tested approach, we want to support you in bringing simplicity to complexity and making standardized, efficient and sustainable marketing processes manageable.
Why are channel and touchpoint sheets an indispensable asset in data-driven marketing?
One thing is certain: the number and associated complexity of channels, touchpoints and data streams will continue to grow. With the growing number of possibilities and the sheer volume of information, there is an increasing risk of losing track and using resources inefficiently. Channel and touchpoint sheets offer a systematic basis for making sure everybody clearly knows what they have to do (whether in a team or throughout the company). They provide the foundation for company-wide standards. The sheets help to align concepts with specific requirements – between different specialist groups such as marketing, omnichannel, engagement or IT.
Less “We’ve always done it this way!” more “Let’s set ourselves up for data-driven marketing in 2025.”
Gain an overview: Clear mapping and cross-linking
The sheets are a structured overview of channels and touchpoints in digital marketing. They help to better understand the interrelationships, and to plan targeted and efficient measures. They work in both directions: Channel ZYX uses which touchpoints? And on which channels can touchpoint XYZ be found? With a uniformly documented set of knowledge, teams can make decisions and communicate more quickly.
Example: an additional channel needs to be added to a planned marketing campaign. The sheets not only show the associated metrics and targets, but also which touchpoints must be used. This not only saves time, but also results in clear requirements for content creation and the technical configuration of the systems, avoiding frictional losses and unnecessary effort.
Uniform standards for a common understanding
One of the challenges we solve with the sheets is standardization. Different interpretations of metrics and KPIs lead to misunderstandings and incorrect conclusions. The sheets define the important terms and explain them and their functions. They ensure uniform definitions and harmonize the metrics that serve as a common basis for analyses and decisions.
This ensures that everyone involved is working with the same data and that their assessments are comparable. Even if it may sound trivial, it takes time and resources to repeatedly discuss with an agency or another department what a CTA or landing page is, what it is used for and how performance is evaluated. It is important to have clear definitions even in day-to-day details. Otherwise it can happen that for one person the CTA is just a button on the website, for another the entire landing page.
So what do these sheets look like?
Example channel sheet: “Infield Mail”
What information does a channel sheet contain?
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Channel description: What distinguishes the channel, what makes it different from other similar channels and where is this channel usually used?
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Relates to: Thematically similar channels.
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Touchpoint: Which touchpoints are typically associated with this channel?
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Analytics: All analytics measurement points provided by this channel.
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Tracking: All tracking measurement points provided by the touchpoint.
Example touchpoint sheet: “Website – Download”
What information does a touchpoint sheet contain?
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Touchpoint description: What characterizes the touchpoint, what makes it different from similar touchpoints and where is it usually used?
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Relates to: Thematically similar touchpoints.
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Typical input channels: List of channels with which the touchpoint is typically or possibly used.
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Performance indicators: Which specific values from analytics and tracking or cumulative engagement value values are recommended to evaluate the performance of the touchpoint and the individual interactions.
- Early warning indicators: Which specific values from analytics and tracking or even cumulative EV values (engagement value values) are recommended for this touchpoint as early warning indicators or lower limits in the current campaign.
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Analytics: All analytics measurement points provided by the touchpoint.
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Tracking: Tracking measurement points provided by the touchpoint.
Understanding data and using it: Analytics and tracking
Data-driven marketing requires a lot of correctly collected data. The sheets make it easy to see which data can be collected at which points. The source of the data and the data itself are always linked. Where and how data was collected is significant for its evaluation. In addition, the sheets always make an explicit distinction between aggregated analytics information, such as the total number of visits, and individual tracking data that sheds light on the behavior of individual users. In our view, this differentiation is essential to create a clear distinction between aggregated analytics and detailed tracking data. The aim is to keep an eye on both the big picture and the details in order to be able to make a well-founded assessment of the performance of a channel or touchpoint.
In subsequent sheets, we then describe the systems in which the data is collected and recorded, depending on the technical infrastructure. This process efficiently creates a structural plan and seamless documentation at the same time.
Action orientation via indicators
An important added value of the sheets lies in the performance and early warning indicators they describe. They provide concrete information on how success is measured and which indicators signal potential problems at an early stage. The sheets are therefore not only a tool for documentation, but above all a practical aid for monitoring and the ongoing optimization of measures.
Once written down, however, the indicators are not set in stone. Well-maintained sheets are living documents whose content needs to be scrutinized, optimized and, if necessary, supplemented. In this way, the sheets become effective tools that establish a living performance baseline in teams or companies and can be referenced in planning, implementation and evaluation.
Further whitepapers in this series:
Tim Neugebauer // Digital Engagement Consultant
Tim is an expert in engagement of any kind. Whether digital or analog, he ensures that your content finds the optimal route to its target. Vault Platform Associate Administrator & IQVIA OCE Digital certified.