Lead Attribution – The Most Direct Route To Great Data

Everything marketing dollar and minute spent should have a well-researched reason behind it. Using a technique called lead attribution can provide these reasons and data to back up every important decision.

What is lead attribution?

Lead attribution is the process of determining which marketing channels bring in the most leads, brand engagement, and ultimately, the greatest ROI. This process will provide data-backed answers on where to spend your marketing dollars and time.

Lead Attribution Models

Lead attribution models are methods of determining the most important step or steps of the customer buying journey. Certain activities or steps are assigned more weight or importance in each model. No model is one-size-fits-all so it could be a trial-and-error process for your business. Don’t feel too bad if you’re unsure which one is right for your business or need time to experiment—78% of companies are unsure if they are using the right one!

Single-Touch Attribution Model

Single-touch lead attribution models are systems that assign 100% of the value to one touchpoint in the customer journey, such as the first ad a customer saw, or the interaction that led to a purchase. While these models can provide great data, they can be an oversimplification of the buying process and attach too much significance to one single source.

There are several types of single-touch attribution models and it’s best to look at them as a whole.

First-touch Attribution

First-touch attribution assigns the value to the first channel that a customer engaged with, such as a social media ad or Google search.

Lead creation attribution

Lead creation attribution assigns value to the step when a customer submits personal information, such as signing up for a free trial or downloading a lead magnet.

Last-touch attribution

Last-touch attribution assigns the credit to the action the customer takes right before making a purchase, such as clicking through a promotional email or signing up for a long-term subscription.

Multi-Touch Attribution Models

Once you’ve worked through each type of single-touch attribution model, it may become necessary to use a more nuanced lead attribution model. Multi-touch attribution models assign a percentage of value to the first touch, lead creation, and last touch steps. The percentage assigned to each step is determined by which multi-touch attribution model you are using. The simplest one is the linear attribution model, where each step is equally weighted, but there are many more models to choose from.

Lead Attribution Tools

There are many lead attribution tools and software your business can use such as a CRM, or specialty customer journey mappings software like Supermetrics or Everflow.

Need help finding the model that’s right for your business?

Lead attribution and customer journey mapping can be a complex, but rewarding process. Let a marketing expert lead you through it—reach out today.