Introduction: In the competitive landscape of online retail and quick commerce, effective ad revenue management and analytics can significantly impact your bottom line. This guide explores three approaches—Build, Buy, or Buy and Enhance—to help you select the right solution for managing ad inventory, optimising ad revenue, and gaining deep insights into your advertising business.
1 – Build Definition: Creating a custom ad revenue management and analytics solution from scratch using in-house resources or external developers.
Pros:
- Tailored to your specific ad inventory management and reporting needs
- Complete control over data analysis and custom metrics
- Ability to create unique workflows for managing contextual, conversion-focused ads
Cons:
- Significant time and resource investment, potentially delaying other e-commerce innovations
- Challenges in keeping pace with evolving ad tech analytics capabilities
- Ongoing maintenance may divert resources from core e-commerce functionality
ROI and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership): High initial costs, but potential for strong long-term ROI if the solution significantly improves ad inventory management and conversion rates. TCO may increase over time due to necessary updates and maintenance.
Scalability: Can be designed to grow with your product range and ad inventory, but may struggle to adapt quickly to new ad formats or marketplace dynamics.
Integration: Custom-built to integrate with your e-commerce platform, but may face challenges connecting with external ad networks or new data sources.
Security and Compliance: Can be built to address specific e-commerce regulations and data protection laws, but requires constant updating to maintain compliance.Perfect Use Case: Established e-commerce giants with highly specific ad inventory management needs and substantial in-house tech capabilities.
2 – Buy Definition: Purchasing an off-the-shelf ad revenue management and analytics solution from a third-party vendor like Voiro.
Pros:
- Rapid deployment, allowing quick improvement in ad inventory management and insights
- Access to advanced analytics for optimising contextual and conversion-focused ads
- Regular updates to keep pace with changing e-commerce advertising landscape
Cons:
- May have limitations in customisation for unique product categories or ad placements
- Potential learning curve for teams accustomed to legacy systems
- Less control over development roadmap for new features
ROI and TCO: Faster initial ROI due to quick implementation and immediate access to advanced analytics. Predictable TCO based on subscription models.
Scalability: Often designed to handle various types and volumes of ad inventory data, easily scaling with business growth.Integration: Usually offers standardised integrations with major e-commerce platforms, ad servers, and relevant systems in the ad tech stack.
Security and Compliance: Typically includes built-in compliance features for e-commerce regulations and data protection standards.Perfect Use Case: Mid-sized to large e-commerce platforms looking to quickly enhance their ad inventory management capabilities and gain deeper insights into their advertising business.
3 – Buy and Enhance Definition: Purchasing a core ad revenue management and analytics solution like Voiro and customising it to fit specific e-commerce advertising needs.
Pros:
- Balances quick deployment with customization for unique product categories or ad placements
- Leverages vendor expertise while allowing for proprietary enhancements
- Flexibility to adapt to changing retail strategies and consumer behaviours
Cons:
- Requires clear vision of enhancement needs to avoid scope creep
- Potential conflicts between vendor updates and custom features
- Ongoing coordination between vendor and in-house teams for maintenance and updates
ROI and TCO: Moderate initial investment with the potential for high long-term ROI as enhancements drive better ad performance and conversion rates. TCO can vary based on the extent of customization.
Scalability: Core solution provides a scalable base, with enhancements allowing for scaling in specific areas (e.g., flash sales, seasonal promotions, new product categories).
Integration: Offers a balance of standard integrations and custom connections to retail-specific systems (e.g., inventory management, CRM).
Security and Compliance: Builds on vendor’s compliance features with additional layers for specific e-commerce regulations or consumer protection needs.Perfect Use Case: Omnichannel retailers with a mix of standard and unique ad inventory management and analytics needs across various shopping formats.
Conclusion: For commerce companies, the choice between Build, Buy, or Buy and Enhance should align with your retail strategy, growth plans, and technological capabilities. Consider how each option impacts your ability to manage and optimise ad inventory, gain deep insights into ad performance, and maximise revenue from both product sales and advertising. The rising importance of contextual advertising, AI-driven optimization, and the need for granular control over ad placements adds new dimensions to this decision. Ultimately, the best choice will enable you to focus on your core commerce operations while ensuring optimal monetization through advanced, flexible ad inventory management and analytics that enhance the shopping experience and drive conversions. Ready to Upgrade your Ad Monetisation Tech? Talk to us today
