The High Cost Of DIY: Why Building A Daily Cohorted MMM/Experimentation Platform Is A Risky Investment
Let’s be honest, DIY projects can be fun. Building your own bookshelf? Sure. Crafting a custom marketing mix modeling and experimentation platform from scratch? Not so much. The idea of having a custom, in-house platform sounds appealing, however, the reality is that it can also be an expensive, time-consuming, and risky endeavor. Here’s why trying to build a daily cohorted MMM platform yourself might be one of the worst business investments you can make.
1. Excessive Resource Drain
Creating a daily cohorted MMM platform isn’t a one-person job. You need a dream team of data scientists, engineers, software developers, and statisticians. Meaning that you will be responsible for paying each of these individuals their hefty salaries. Oh, and don’t forget the infrastructure costs. Unlike weekly or monthly cohorted MMM models, daily cohorted MMM exponentially increases the data volume and complexity. More data means more storage, more processing power, and ultimately, more money. Unless you have an unlimited budget at your disposal, this can be a serious financial strain.
2. Prolonged Time-To-Value
Building a custom MMM platform can take years. Yes, you read that right. YEARS. That’s years of your competitors optimizing their marketing strategies and increasing revenue, while you’re still stuck in development. Marketing moves fast, and by the time your platform is ready it will likely already be outdated. The lost opportunity cost alone makes DIY a risky choice.
3. Daily Cohorted Data Is A Beast
In theory, daily cohorted data sounds great. More insights should mean more accuracy, right? Not exactly. The reality is that daily data is noisy, volatile, and often difficult to model correctly. Unexplained variance can make your insights unreliable. Plus, seamlessly integrating multiple daily data sources like social media, web traffic, sales, and ad spend is incredibly complex. If your models aren’t precise, you could be making decisions based on flawed data.
4. Ongoing Maintenance And Constant Updates
MMM isn’t a “set it and forget it” type of deal. Once it’s built, your platform will require ongoing maintenance, updates, and refinements to stay relevant. Advertising platforms frequently update their APIs, and compliance regulations shift constantly. Keeping up with these changes in-house means hiring even more specialists and investing even more resources creating a never-ending cycle.
5. The In-House Expertise Gap
Even if you manage to build a functioning daily cohorted MMM platform, maintaining it at a high level requires expertise in advanced statistical techniques, machine learning, and data science. The challenge isn’t just hiring top-tier talent, it also means that you have to retain them. Turnover in the tech industry is high, and losing key team members could set you back months or even years.
6. Security And Compliance Risks
Handling sensitive daily data isn’t just about processing numbers, it’s about security. Keeping up with evolving privacy laws is a full-time job. If you build in-house, your company is solely responsible for updates related to data security, and any compliance slip-ups could lead to hefty fines or reputational damage.
Why Licensing Is The Smarter Choice
Instead of sinking millions into an in-house platform, consider licensing from a vendor that specializes in MMM and experimentation. Here’s why it’s the better move:
1. Cost-Effectiveness
Licensing gives you a predictable, subscription-based cost model instead of a massive upfront investment. No need to worry about hiring an entire data science team or maintaining expensive infrastructure.
2. Rapid Deployment
With a licensed platform, you can start using daily cohorted MMM insights almost immediately. Vendors provide ongoing support, updates, and maintenance so you can focus on optimizing your marketing strategies instead of troubleshooting software.
3. Access To Industry Expertise
Vendors live and breathe MMM. They stay ahead of API changes, regulation updates, and emerging best practices so you don’t have to. You get access to proven methodologies without having to reinvent the wheel.
4. Scalability And Security
Licensed platforms are built to scale with your business. They come with built-in compliance measures, security protocols, and the ability to handle massive data volumes without breaking a sweat.
Final Thoughts
Building a daily cohorted MMM/experimentation platform in-house might seem like a great idea until you realize the financial, operational, and strategic burdens that come with it. The costs, delays, and risks often far outweigh the benefits. Instead, licensing from a trusted vendor allows you to leverage industry expertise, get up and running quickly, and focus on what actually matters: making smarter marketing decisions and driving revenue. At the end of the day, some things are worth DIY-ing. Your MMM platform should NOT be one of them.
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