How Backbone Media Uncovered a Hidden Sales Spike from Earned Media with KnoCommerce

At Backbone Media, a forward-thinking agency focused on connecting brands with outdoor enthusiasts, success is all about integrating the right tools to drive smarter marketing strategies. 

Their team, spread across Carbondale, Denver, and beyond, serves clients in a variety of sectors, including ecommerce, Amazon, and retail. But when it came to enhancing attribution for their clients, there was one tool they couldn’t ignore—KnoCommerce.

“We were excited about KnoCommerce because of its ability to enhance our attribution stack,” says Connor Jackson, Media Director at Backbone. “It’s not just about attribution, though. The insights we can gather about consumer sentiment, demographics, and the products they’re engaging with are huge for us.”

The main appeal for Backbone? KnoCommerce’s ability to ask customers about both their first and last interactions with a brand, which is critical for understanding how different touchpoints influence a purchase.

Connecting the dots across marketing channels

Using Kno, Backbone’s team has been able to leverage data not just from paid media but across all marketing channels—PR, affiliate, and social. 

For example, they can track consumer responses to questions about how they first heard of a brand, which helps inform decisions for all marketing efforts.

“We’re able to collect insights from paid media and pass them along to other teams,” Connor explains. “This helps everyone—whether it’s paid, social, or affiliate marketing—make smarter decisions based on the full customer journey.”

This cross-channel insight proved invaluable for one particular client. Backbone had recently wrapped up an aggregate summary of KnoCommerce findings from the last six months for a high-end outdoor brand. 

The results? Not only did Kno reveal where consumers were first hearing about the brand, but it also validated long-standing hunches about consumer behaviors.

“One of the coolest things KnoCommerce showed was how long consumers were taking to purchase—sometimes months or even years,” Connor recalls. “For this premium product, it’s not always an immediate purchase. The data showed the journey is much longer, and that’s helped us reshape how we market the product.”

Example: Cracking the mystery of the sales surge

But the results weren’t just insightful; they were actionable. For example, one client experienced a recent spike in sales that left the team scratching their heads. They couldn’t trace it back to any specific marketing efforts they were managing, so they turned to KnoCommerce for answers.

“We saw this spike in Shopify sales, but we couldn’t correlate it with any of the usual signals from the channels we manage—paid media, PR, or affiliate,” says Connor. “So, we went straight to KnoCommerce. The data was clear: We saw a significant uptick in people mentioning Consumer Reports, a major publisher in the bedding space, as the source of their first interaction with the brand.”

By diving deeper into the data, Backbone discovered that a popular review from Consumer Reports had been driving a large portion of the traffic to their client’s website.

“We were able to see that this review, which had been syndicated across multiple channels, was really making an impact,” Connor explains. “Once we saw that, we jumped into action. We amplified the endorsement on social media, ensuring more people saw the review and its impact on sales. It was great to be able to take that insight and turn it into action so quickly.”

A trusted partner in attribution and customer insights

The results didn’t just speak for themselves—they also showcased the speed and ease of KnoCommerce’s integration.

“My favorite feature of KnoCommerce is how easy it is to add text boxes to surveys for customers to share additional insights,” Connor says. “We’re always surprised by how much people are willing to share—whether it’s feedback on new products or details on their purchasing journey. That kind of data is so valuable.”

But beyond the powerful features, the team at KnoCommerce has been a big part of Backbone’s positive experience.

“The KnoCommerce team has been amazing to work with. They’re quick to answer questions and provide solid advice, which is huge for us. We never feel like we’re waiting for answers,” says Connor.

For any agency looking to deepen their understanding of customer journeys and attribution, KnoCommerce is proving to be a reliable partner that helps brands understand their customers like never before.

“It’s about data that you can trust and take action on. KnoCommerce lets us make smarter decisions in real-time for our clients, which is a huge advantage in today’s fast-paced market,” says Connor.

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