When you’re launching a large-scale marketing campaign, calculating the return on investment (ROI) for each marketing tactic can be challenging.
Here’s what we mean:
Let’s say you spend $400 on Facebook Ads, resulting in 100 leads at $4 each.
Initially, this seems cost-effective, right?
Not so fast…
Now, consider less direct efforts like blog posts or webinars. These might not generate leads directly, but they’re crucial in guiding potential customers through the buyer’s journey.
The challenge is in quantifying their impact on final sales conversions.
That’s why evaluating lead quality is also essential.
For example, if the $4 leads from Facebook Ads don’t convert into opportunities, they’re not so cost-effective anymore.
Another campaign where you spend $400 for 10 leads that result in two opportunities might seem less efficient—but it’s actually a better investment.
This example shows the importance of looking beyond initial metrics like cost per lead.
To truly understand what drives sales, we need to examine the entire sales funnel, recognizing that certain steps are vital in nurturing potential opportunities, even if they don’t appear to be “lead generating activities” on the surface.
This is where attribution reporting comes into play.
It’s a strategic tool that clarifies the impact of sales, marketing, and customer support efforts on driving revenue.
Today, we’re going to explore:
- The importance of setting up attribution reporting
- The benefits of choosing the right attribution model
- How reporting can vary across different marketing automation (MA) tools
As you can see, it’s not as easy as 1, 2, 3. However, there is a method to the madness. Let’s discover it!
Is Attribution Reporting Worth the Trouble? Here Are the Practical Benefits…
While metrics like views and clicks offer basic insights, they don’t tell the full story.
Understanding how these activities drive revenue is crucial. Without proper attribution reporting, you might find yourself asking questions like:
- How well is a specific marketing channel performing?
- Which activity is most profitable: social media, blogging, or ads?
- Are partnerships delivering better results compared to other initiatives?
Setting up effective attribution reporting allows you to track the entire buyer’s journey, guiding strategic decisions for:
- Content creation
- Resource allocation
- Identifying cost-effective strategies
Let’s be more specific.
Imagine that you’re the CEO of a B2B company. Last year, your team’s marketing efforts generated $2 million in revenue from a $500,000 investment.
Attribution reporting revealed the revenue contribution of each channel:
- Affiliates and referrals: $600,000
- Google Ads: $200,000
- Meta Ads: $500,000
- Organic content marketing (social media, blogs, etc.): $700,000
But the expenditure context is crucial. Let’s say you spend $450,000 on Meta Ads and only $20,000 on Google Ads. This perspective shows that Google Ads offered a much higher return on investment.
And what about initiatives that don’t immediately convert into sales?
For example, if a whitepaper was read by 75% of people who eventually became paying clients, that would demonstrate a significant impact on revenue, right?
That’s why we recommend you use a multi-touch attribution model, where multiple campaigns and assets receive credit for each sale. By comparing cost of the campaign with “revenue influence”, we can get deeper insights on what initiatives are truly driving sales. This allows us to avoid over-investing in campaigns which “look” high-performing on the surface, but which aren’t actually impacting the bottom line.
For example, perhaps a certain webinar is very popular, but it ends up not targeting the right audience – so very few attendees actually convert to a customer. Surface level, this can look like a great initiative (high registration, high attendance), but if we look deeper, we can see it might not be impactful on your actual KPIs.
As you can see, this approach allows you to optimize your marketing budget and reduce spend on less efficient channels.
See how impactful attribution reporting insights can be?
If your current reporting processes don’t give you this level of insight, it might be time to make a change.
Types of Attribution Models
Attribution models provide a framework to analyze which touchpoints in the customer journey contribute the most to conversions and how they relate to your marketing efforts.
Choosing the right attribution model can significantly impact how you allocate your marketing budget and shape your strategy.
Here’s a look at some commonly used attribution models:
- First-Touch Attribution: The first touch credits the initial interaction a customer had with your brand for the conversion. It’s useful for understanding which channels are most effective at generating net new high quality leads.
- W-Shaped Attribution: This model assigns 30% of the credit to three key touchpoints: the first interaction, the lead conversion, and the opportunity creation stages, with the remaining 10% distributed across other interactions. It emphasizes the importance of the initial engagement, lead conversion, and the steps that turn a lead into a qualified sales opportunity.
- Full Path Attribution: It extends beyond the W-Shaped model by adding credit to the final deal closing. It provides a comprehensive view of the entire customer journey from first contact to sale completion.
How Attribution Reporting Differs Between Marketing Automation Platforms
If you’ve read our previous blog posts, you probably already know this—but not all MA platforms are created equal.
Each platform handles reporting differently, and they also present data in their own ways.
This variance means you can’t apply the same setup uniformly across different platforms.
For example, Marketo does not distinguish between leads and contacts, whereas Salesforce does. Marketo offers six types of attribution models, while HubSpot provides nine.
Does that mean one tool is better than the other?
Not at all. However, it does mean that attribution reporting must be tailored to each platform’s specifications.
So, the bottom line is that your reports must align with your marketing channels, initiatives, and objectives.
This is another area where the value of certified MA consulting services shines through. Expert consultants can help determine the most effective setup for your needs. They’ll ensure you set up the optimal tools and attribution models without creating a complicated mess.
Our Attribution Reporting Experts at MAC Are Ready to Help!
At MAC, our certified consultants have deep expertise across all major marketing automation platforms, including:
- Marketo
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Pardot
- Eloqua
We tailor each setup to meet your business objectives. No more relying on guesswork or spending money on low-return marketing initiatives!
Partnering with us means eliminating the risks associated with overly complicated attribution reporting—which can be worse than guessing, believe it or not!
Get in touch with our experts today to save significantly on your marketing campaigns, achieve higher returns, and maximize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
