Overcoming Resistance to Change for Ad Fraud Detection

When launching any new initiative, there’s always a need to get others to “buy in” to that initiative. Whether you need to get approval from investors to fund the initiative or convince those who will implement the new initiative to learn the new systems and processes required for it, there’s always a chance that you’ll encounter some resistance to change.

Knowing how to overcome change resistance is a key part of launching a new ad fraud solution. What does resistance to change have to do with fighting ad fraud? What are some of the common reasons others might hesitate to fight fraud? Most importantly, how can you get buy-in for your fraud prevention strategy?

What Do Ad Fraud Solutions Have to Do with Change Resistance?

Implementing a strategy for fighting ad fraud is no different from starting any other new operational initiative. Both leaders and marketers looking to prevent fraud in their marketing campaigns have to overcome potential objections to launching a new ad fraud solution.

Without support from the decision-makers and purse-string holders in your organization, it can be almost impossible to secure approval and funding for your ad fraud strategy. Meanwhile, if the marketing team members who will be working with your ad fraud solution don’t adopt the new technology and processes required, you may struggle to see any results even with the best ad fraud prevention tools.

So, overcoming resistance to change is a crucial part of launching an ad fraud solution.

Common Reasons for Resistance to Change in Ad Fraud Prevention

So, what are some of the most common reasons others might openly object to (or passively refuse to implement) a new ad fraud solution? After all, the benefits of having a system to fight fraud far outweigh the costs. So, it would make sense for everyone to get on board and adopt the new ad fraud solution.

However, the benefits of ad fraud solutions aren’t always readily apparent to investors, top-level execs, and even the marketers who have to contend with the effects of ad fraud on a daily basis. Some of the objections that you may have to overcome include (but aren’t necessarily limited to):

1. Having to Learn a New Technology

One frequent barrier to technology adoption from people at all levels of an organization is resistance to learning a new system. Resistance can be especially firm if there have been a lot of changes in the organization. As noted by BetterUp:

“If you are constantly changing programs, leadership, or systems, employees are less likely to fully adapt to and accept future change… employees who were going through changes currently or within the previous year were more likely to feel stressed out, have less trust in their senior leaders, planned to find new jobs, and reported more health concerns.”

Whoever will be in charge of managing the ad fraud solution and responding to fraud reports—whether a single person or a team—will need to spend time learning the solution. This can create an urge to push back against the new solution. So, it’s important to demonstrate why the solution is worth the time investment.

2. The Cost of an Ad Fraud Solution

One of the more common objections to any initiative from high-level execs, investors, and others is the cost of implementing an ad fraud solution. Proving ROI for something like ad fraud prevention can be difficult—especially if you don’t know what your current fraud risks and impacts are.

In many organizations, controlling costs is a vital part of keeping the whole enterprise afloat. Wasteful spending can lead to shortages in liquid assets during critical events. This can make it harder to respond to emergencies or take advantage of new opportunities.

So, hesitation to invest in an ad fraud solution is understandable. However, it’s important to note that, without a reliable set of tools for fighting ad fraud, money will still be wasted because of the fraudsters who take advantage of a vulnerable set of ad campaigns.

3. Fear of Being Replaced by Technology

New technologies that can automate key processes are sometimes seen as a threat by employees that would normally be doing that work. In the case of ad fraud solutions, some personnel tasked with monitoring marketing campaign effectiveness and identifying potential cases of fraud might assume that the technology tool will render them redundant.

So, these individuals might try to avoid implementing a new ad fraud solution or convince others to avoid using it even though it would help them save time and achieve more consistent results that improve marketing ROI—which would actually increase their value to the organization.

Overcoming Resistance to Change

When it comes to ad fraud, the cost of inaction can be extreme. Ad fraud costs the economy billions of dollars every year. Some estimates put the annual cost of ad fraud as high as $120 billion (Source: The Drum).

Between direct losses from wasted ad spend, potential TCPA violation fines and lawsuits, lost business opportunities, and reputational damage to the brand, the impact of ad fraud on a business can easily be millions of dollars. The more your organization spends on ads, the higher the cost is likely to be.

So, it’s important to overcome resistance to change and get people at all levels of your organization to eagerly endorse your ad fraud prevention strategy as well as the tools needed to make it effective.

Quick tips for getting members of your organization invested in your ad fraud prevention strategy:

• Highlight the Potential to Save Money.

  When getting resistance from others based on the cost of an ad fraud solution, it can help to showcase how much ad fraud costs your organization already. Based on past Anura customer data, ad campaigns tend to have a roughly 25% rate of ad fraud. In other words, at least 25% of your online ad spend is being wasted on fraudulent impressions, clicks, and leads that will never lead to a conversion. Not having to pay for fraud or for potential TCPA class action lawsuits can easily offset the cost of a new ad fraud solution. Highlighting how an ad fraud solution can actually reduce costs in the long term can help get buy-in from cost-conscious investors and decision-makers.

• Set Aside Time to Address Team Concerns. 

  Your marketing team will likely have to spend a significant amount of time learning how to access and use your ad fraud solution. While they might not necessarily have the final say in your ad fraud prevention strategy, their participation can have a major impact on its success. Setting aside time to talk to the team members who will use the solution and address their concerns can be incredibly helpful for improving technology adoption for a new ad fraud solution.

• Show How Ad Fraud Solutions Can Improve Marketing ROI. 

  If you knew that there was a tool that would make your marketing campaigns 25% more effective while keeping your ad budget the same, wouldn’t you want to use it? By eliminating the 25% of marketing campaign results that are fraudulent, you can improve your marketing dollar ROI. Removing fake leads from your sales team’s workflows means they can get to real leads sooner—potentially winning over more business and keeping competitors from poaching your customers.

• Make the Ad Fraud Solution Relevant to Your Audience. 

  One of the key steps in maximizing the adoption of any new technology is making that tech relevant to the person you’re trying to get buy-in from. Showing the positive impacts of an ad fraud solution for the person you’re talking to can go a long way toward improving their opinion of the solution. For example, if you’re trying to get the sales team on board, it can help to point out how they’ll waste less time with bad leads—helping them improve their numbers and earn bonuses. For financial execs, highlighting potential cost savings can help. Marketers can be shown how their results would improve with an ad fraud solution weeding out the bad leads so they can expand their budget and increase their relevance within the organization.

• Get Your Stakeholders Involved in Implementing the Change. 

  Giving team members a sense of involvement or control can help encourage the adoption of new processes and technology. Harvard Business Review (HBR) cited a study of four groups of workers who were all introduced to a new business process. The first group had no representation or part in implementing the change while the rest had varying degrees of involvement in the change implementation. HBR noted that, in the first group, “Resistance developed almost immediately after the change occurred… There were 17% quits in the first 40 days.” Meanwhile, the other groups “showed a smaller initial drop in output and a very rapid recovery not only to the previous production rate but to a rate that exceeded the previous.” In short, getting people involved in implementing a new ad fraud prevention strategy can be an excellent way to improve buy-in and eliminate resistance. The increased participation helps create a sense of ownership and makes the employee feel empowered and valued.

These are just a few rudimentary tips for overcoming resistance to adopting a new ad fraud prevention strategy.

Need help stopping ad fraud in your online marketing campaigns? Reach out to Anura today to get started.