Multi-Touch Attribution: What It Is and Why You Should Care

Marketing attribution models are a way to assign credit to marketing touchpoints, including campaigns, programs, channels, events, and more. They explore different models, why they matter, what your choices are, and how to pick the one that’s right for your business—and shared insider tips about how to get started with the most complex of the models: multi-touch attribution. The 3 Main Attribution Models There are three main marketing attribution models: first touch, last touch, and multi-touch. What are first and last touch attribution? First touch gives 100% of the credit to the first marketing touchpoint a prospective customer encounters while last touch gives 100% of the credit to the last marketing touchpoint before a prospect converts. What is multi-touch attribution? How to decide which marketing attribution model is right for you Now you know what marketing attribution models are and why you might want one. Pro tips for setting up a multi-touch attribution model Every organization is different, so what works for one may not work for another. When getting set up, ask the sales team: what’s the most important thing that marketing can be doing right now? Does your organization use a marketing attribution model?

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Credit where credit is due.

It’s a simple mantra, but an important one. After all, who doesn’t like to be acknowledged for their work (especially when it goes well)?

Marketing attribution models are a way to assign credit to marketing touchpoints, including campaigns, programs, channels, events, and more. Attribution models allow us to see how what marketers are putting out into the world helps move prospective customers along the buyer’s journey.

We recently hosted a webinar all about marketing attribution models. Our own Cailin Radcliffe, Director of Analytics and Strategy, and Maile Johnson, Director of Demand Generation at LeanData, got together to dig into attribution.

They explore different models, why they matter, what your choices are, and how to pick the one that’s right for your business—and shared insider tips about how to get started with the most complex of the models: multi-touch attribution.

Watch the on-demand session below or read on for key insights.

Why marketing attribution is important

There are three main reasons why marketing attribution matters, according to Maile. With it you can:

See how different campaigns, channels, and content are contributing to pipeline and revenue, as well as how they work together—giving them the information necessary to make data-driven decisions
Prove marketing contribution to pipeline creation and revenue generation
Help align marketing and sales regarding goals, tactics, etc.

The 3 Main Attribution Models

There are three main marketing attribution models: first touch, last touch, and multi-touch.

There’s no one-size-fits-all; each model can tell an organization different things.

What are first and last touch attribution?

The simplest models—and the most similar—first and last touch attribution simplify who gets credit for pulling prospective customers into the marketing funnel.

First touch gives 100% of the credit to the first marketing touchpoint a prospective customer encounters while last touch gives 100% of the credit to the last marketing touchpoint before a prospect converts.