Funnel Attribute

The funnel attribute is available in the following scopes: Visit and Visitor.

How it works

The funnel attribute tracks a sequence of steps, measuring the visitor’s progress from start to finish. A step is recorded when the configured rule occurs. When a step is recorded, attribute values can also be captured as a snapshot of information about the step. Funnel steps can be required or optional, except for the last step which is always required.

Example funnels include: Checkout Funnel, Purchase Funnel, or a Lead-Generator Funnel.

Size Limits

There are no storage capacity limits for funnel attributes, but these attributes are still limited by the maximum size of the profile after encryption and compression (400 KB).

Required and optional steps

When setting up a funnel, you define all the steps (both required and optional) in the expected sequence.

Required steps

Steps marked as required are recorded as they occur in the sequence that is defined in the funnel configuration. If a visitor performs a required step out of sequence, it is not recorded in the funnel. In other words, required steps are only recorded when they occur in sequence.

Example funnel behavior with three required steps: Step #1, Step #2, Step #3:

Steps performed by visitor	Steps recorded by funnel
Step #1	Step #1
Step #3 (out of sequence)	Step #1
Step #2	Step #1, Step #2
Step #3	Step #1, Step #2, Step #3

Optional steps

Steps not marked as required are considered optional. Optional steps are only recorded if they occur in the exact sequence that is defined in the funnel. Optional steps can be skipped by the visitor and the funnel continues recording subsequent steps. However, when an optional step is skipped, and then performed later, it is not recorded or back-filled in the funnel. In other words, if an optional step is performed out of sequence, it is not recorded in the funnel.

Example funnel behavior with one optional step: Step #1, Step #2 (optional), Step #3, and Step #4:

Steps performed by visitor	Steps recorded by funnel
Step #1	Step #1
Step #3 (option Step #2 skipped)	Step #1, Step #3
Step #2	Step #1, Step #3 (Step #2 not back-filled)
Step #3	Step #1, Step #3

Capture attribute data

In addition to recording each step of a funnel, you can also capture the value of one or more attributes when a step occurs. Captured data provide more information about the state of the visitor when the step occurred.

Funnel attributes are accessible in AudienceStore, but not in AudienceDB or via Data Layer Enrichment.

Funnel enrichments

Create a step

Use this enrichment to create a step in the funnel. As you add funnel steps, the step listed at the top of the list is the first step in the funnel and the step listed at the bottom is the last (required) step. New steps are added to the top of the list.

To create a funnel step:

1. Click Create a Step.
2. Enter a step title.
3. (Optional) To capture attribute values, select an attribute and click Add Attribute.
4. For optional steps, clear the Is Required checkbox.
5. Select a timing option and a rule.

Repeat these steps for each step in the funnel.

After entering all the steps, drag them into the proper sequence.

Example

A basic purchase funnel: the path from a product page through the cart page and checkout page to the purchase page.

Step 1: View Product Capture Data: product_name
Rule: tealium_event equals "product_view"

Step 2: View Cart
Capture Data: none
Rule: tealium_event equals "cart_view"

Step 3: Checkout
Capture Data: none
Rule: tealium_event equals "checkout"

Step 4: Purchase Complete
Capture Data: order_id and order_total
Rule: tealium_event equals "purchase"

Usage example

Free trial registration funnel

Let’s assume you allow your visitors to try a premium product for free before buying it. The trial product, however, is only available to visitors who complete a simple, three-step registration process. You define all the steps in your Funnel and arrange them in the order the visitor must complete them. There are two ways to do this:

• Add them in the reverse chronological order.
• Or add them in a random order, then drag each step to the appropriate position.

For this example, you will follow the reverse chronological method. Be certain to mark each step as ‘Required’. It’s how you will know who successfully registered and who dropped off before the end.

1. Add the Funnel Attribute. Give it a title and set the scope.

Funnel Title: Free Trial Registration
Funnel Scope: Visitor

2. Create the final step of the registration, one that brings the visitor to the ‘Thank you’ page. Being the only step at this point, it is automatically set to Required. No Attribute data is captured here.

Title: Step 3-Trial Complete
WHEN: ANY EVENT
Rule: Free Trial - Thanks
  Current URL contains (ignore case) "freetrialthanks.html"

3. Create the intermediate step that requires the visitor to click the ‘Register’ button. This step is ‘Required’ but no Attribute data is captured here.

Prior to this step, you have to track the button with a jQuery listener and capture the category and action data when it is clicked by a visitor. In Tealium iQ, add two UDO variables, ga_category and ga_action, then configure the jQuery Extension. Only then will the data sources be available to the rule condition.

Title: Step 2-Trial Engaged
WHEN: ANY EVENT
Rule:
  ga_category contains (ignore case) "free trial"
  AND
  ga_action contains "engaged"

4. Create the first step that brings the visitor to the free trial registration page. This step is ‘Required’ but no Attribute data is captured here.

Title: Step 1- Trial Landed
WHEN: ANY EVENT
Rule: Free Trial Landing
  Current URL contains (ignore case)"freetrial.html"

Result

When a required step is completed, it is immediately funneled out while the visitor advances in the registration. This pattern of tracking and funneling continues until the visitor has successfully registered for the product. On the other hand, the registration is deemed incomplete should the visitor fail to complete any step in the Funnel.

Conversion funnel

Create a funnel attribute name Conversion Funnel. Then click Create a Step for each step of the funnel.

Step 1 - Viewed a Product

Step 2 - Viewed Cart Page

Step 3 - Viewed Checkout Page (optional as the user may already be logged in)

The following steps are all required and mirror Step 2.

Step 4 - Viewed Billing Page

page_name EQUALS billing

Step 5 - Viewed Shipping Page

page_name EQUALS shipping_method

Step 6 - Viewed Payment Page

page_name EQUALS payment

Step 7 - Viewed Order Review Page

page_name EQUALS review
 AND
 page_type EQUALS checkout

Step 8 - Viewed Order Success Page

page_name EQUALS cart success
 AND
 order_id IS ASSIGNED

Funnel fallout

Knowing where a user dropped from the funnel is an important piece to many marketing campaigns, and AudienceStream can tell you the last step completed.

First, several rules must be created for each step of the funnel. For example the rule Conversion Funnel - Step 1 Complete checks if Step 1 - Product has been completed.

Then, create a string attribute named Conversion Funnel - Last Step Completed. This string attribute will have an enrichment for each step of the funnel and will check for each step of the funnel being completed using the rules above.

Abandonment

Abandonment must be determined at the end of the session to ensure that all page views have been accounted for. This can be done by creating a badge titled Cart Abandoner that looks at the conversion funnel at the end of the visit and checks to see if the funnel was started but not completed.

We also want to remove the badge upon the Page View event when the conversion funnel is completed.

Audience

We can then add an audience that makes use of the newly created badge. The audience should also verify we have some sort of identified about the customer, such as the email address, so that they are able to be targeted.

Action

This audience can now be used to trigger any connector (for example, to an ESP) to help get the customer back to the website and convert.

The who: in our example this customer email address is used to tell the vendor who is the user.

The what: we are telling the vendor the visitor abandoned the cart and at which step.

Trace

To see how this works, perform a trace and navigate through each step of the conversion funnel.

Notice how the trait is updated to show the last step completed, and the funnel is updated to show all steps completed.

Upon session end, the Cart Abandoner badge is assigned, the Cart Abandoners audience is joined, and related connectors are triggered.