So, why are marketing attribution tools important? Let’s discuss this at the hands of an example.
Sarah sees an ad promoting a brand new energy drink on Google, then is served another ad on Youtube promoting the same product before getting another GMail ad and ultimately converting. How do marketers track this journey, and which channel do we attribute the conversion to? This is where marketing attribution tools come in.
Marketing attribution models are designed to track the different touchpoints your consumer experiences throughout your multi-channel efforts. In short, these tools are meant to properly assess which promotional channels were most influential in getting a user to convert. This will help marketers invest more resources in specific channels/creative that are attributing to the highest engagement with their audiences. While there are a ton of attribution models widely available, there are two main ones that most marketers follow.
What are attribution methods?
Attribution methods refer to the approaches and techniques used to assign credit or value to different marketing touchpoints in the customer journey. These methods help marketers understand and measure the contribution of each touchpoint towards desired outcomes, such as conversions or sales.
By utilizing these attribution methods, marketers can gain insights into the effectiveness of their marketing channels, tactics, and campaigns. This understanding allows them to allocate resources efficiently, optimize marketing strategies, and maximize the return on investment (ROI) of their marketing efforts.
What are the 2 types of attribution in marketing?
Single-Touch
Single-touch attribution models pinpoint the one source responsible for getting a user to convert. There are two types of single-touch models that marketers use:
- First-Touch Attribution
- First-touch attribution gives the attribution to the first ad a user sees in their journey while disregarding all other efforts that came after.
- Last-Touch Attribution
- Last-touch attribution gives credit to… you guessed it, the last channel the user encounters on their conversion journey while ignoring the efforts that preceded it.
Multi-Touch
Contrary to single-touch attribution models, multi-touch models look at all of the channels in a consumer’s conversion journey. There are different types of multi-touch models that marketers use:
- Linear
- Linear models give equal credit to each touchpoint in a user’s conversion journey.
- Time Decay
- The time decay model gives an increasingly higher attribution to each of the touchpoints the closer they are to the final conversion.
- U-Shaped Model
- The U-shaped model gives the majority of the credit to the first and last touchpoints, scoring them at 40% each, with the rest of the touchpoints crediting the rest of the percentage of the attribution.
- W-Shaped Model
- The W-shaped model gives equal credit to the first touchpoint, the last touchpoint, and the touchpoint responsible for generating the lead.
As you can see, there’s an endless buffet of different attribution models available. Picking the right one is completely dependent on your business and the specific product you’re promoting. One important note here is that single-touch models are generally more ineffective than multi-touch models as they don’t paint the most picture of the entire promotional journey a user embarks on and only pinpoints one touchpoint.
What is a marketing attribution tool?
A marketing attribution tool is a software or platform that helps marketers analyze and measure the impact of various marketing channels and tactics on customer behavior and the overall success of marketing campaigns. These tools utilize advanced techniques such as multi-touch attribution and machine learning to track and attribute customer interactions across different marketing channels throughout the customer journey.
By using a marketing attribution tool, marketers can gain valuable insights into their marketing efforts’ effectiveness, understand each touchpoint’s contribution to the customer journey, and optimize their marketing strategies accordingly. These tools provide a more sophisticated and accurate view of marketing attribution compared to simplistic approaches like last-touch attribution.
One popular marketing attribution tool is Neustar MarketShare, an enterprise-level platform offering a comprehensive technology service suite for tracking, modeling, and reporting user-level marketing data. They also provide consulting services to help marketers interpret and utilize the data effectively. Neustar MarketShare is particularly known for its expertise in Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM). This technique quantifies the impact of various marketing channels and tactics on the return on ad spend (ROAS).
What are examples of attribution marketing?
Attribution marketing involves analyzing the impact of different marketing touchpoints on desired outcomes like sales. For instance, marketers use attribution techniques to assess how a blog post or social media strategy influences sales. Let’s consider another example: a user comes across a banner ad for sunglasses on a website, clicks on it, and agrees to sign up for a newsletter in exchange for a discount.
After browsing around, they leave without making a purchase. However, a week later, they receive an email reminding them about the product, and they finally purchase it. In this case, the email is attributed with 75% of the credit as the most recent touchpoint, while the banner ad receives 25% of the credit. Attribution marketing allows marketers to gain insights into the contribution of each touchpoint in the customer journey, enabling them to optimize their marketing strategies effectively.
Now that we’ve highlighted some insights on marketing attribution models, below are our top recommendations for attribution tools currently available for marketers:
1. Hubspot Marketing Analytics Software
Description: This software, in both the Enterprise and Professional packages, provides a multi-touch revenue attribution summary that helps you understand how your advertising and marketing campaigns are performing by breaking down all customer interactions and crediting the activity that leads to a sale. Their main attribution tool has an emphasis on contact creation, but there are also advanced attribution methods, such as multitouch revenue, that are offered in the Enterprise collection. Hubspot is definitely worth a try because it’s just one of many tools in the data analytics program, so there are plenty more you can use.
Key Features:
- Analyze marketing performance in one easy-to-navigate dashboard.
- Track the complete customer lifecycle.
- Analyze website performance metrics.
- Get detailed marketing reports.
Best For: Teams already using HubSpot
Pricing: The pricing is available upon request. However, the annual billed pricing starts at $800 per month for the professional plan.
2. Google Analytics – Attribution
Description: Google Analytics is currently running an attribution tool in beta form, which means it is not yet fully developed or 100% implemented. However, if your company works with Google Analytics on a daily basis, then this tool is recommended as a simple add-on. When you take attribution into account, you can take advantage of reports like conversion paths, conversion delay, conversion path length, and more. Additionally, Google’s attribution channels differ from the Analytics version because they dive deeper and dissect channels at a more granular level. These small details make a difference when budgeting for ads and can provide a different perspective on campaign performance.
Key Features:
- Provides insight into your Google Ads performance.
- Easy and more effective ad targeting.
- Understand multi-click and multi-channel journeys.
Best For: Teams running Google Ads.
Pricing: Free (Still in Beta)
3. C3 Metrics
Description: C3 Metrics stands out from other analytics platforms because one of its main focuses is attribution. With their Attribution Data Cloud, C3 Metrics promises cross-platform tracking to credit the ads/campaigns that have won over the client. In addition, C3 Metrics is committed to simplifying the method of attribution by addressing the issues of ad fraud and walled gardens advertising. Other services they offer include marketing mix modeling, unified marketing measurement, TV attribution, and anonymous identification.
Key Features:
- Keep track of everything in real-time.
- Bring digital-level insights to complex, multitouch customer journeys.
- Filter, categorize, process, and model the data.
Best For: Cross-channel full-funnel advertisers.
Pricing: Not available.
4. Looker
Description: If your marketing campaigns include podcasts, this is the tool for you. Chartable provides podcast ad attribution that goes beyond referral links and coupons to capture clicks and downloads from every search engine and podcast playback service. This marketing attribution tool is trusted by major agencies like iHeart Radio and VoxMedia. It’s no wonder, because the signal capture, consisting of IP addresses and device graphs, is modern and effective for ad performance tracking.
Key Features:
- Use SmartLinks to figure out which marketing channels drive listener growth.
- Grow your show by following the playbook that #1 shows use.
- Use consumption analytics from Apple Podcasts and Spotify to guide editorial decisions.
Best For: Podcast marketing campaigns.
Pricing: Not available.
Description: From one of the leading enterprise Saas vendors, Bizible enters the competition for the best marketing attribution tools. As you would expect from a product from Adobe, Bizible is designed to enhance your ROI with insights to optimize your advertising strategy. With the every-touch attribution model, you can see your customers’ clear path to conversion. Bizible is designed with intuitive model building and automation in the source attribution process. Finally, this innovative attribution tool also has Machine Learning tools and other advanced methods to help you take the next step and drive your marketing forward.
Key Features:
- Measure the value and ROI of every interaction across the customer journey.
- Optimize your strategy and channel mix at every stage of your demand funnel.
- Align lead-based and account-based marketing with sales teams using data both teams can trust.
Best For: Companies already using the Adobe ecosystem.
Pricing: Only available upon request.
Description: Marchex’s Marketing Edge is the right tool for you if your business does much of its marketing through phone calls and text messages. Marchex offers a holistic approach to marketing attribution with call and text tracking that includes trend identification, expert help, and hassle-free integration with your favorite CRMs. This marketing attribution tool has two types of services, each offered at different price points, so even those with a limited budget can benefit. Finally, Marchex has a comprehensive dashboard that also allows you to summarize your data and create reports that can be quickly used for optimal decision-making.
Key Features:
- Local and toll-free call tracking numbers.
- Spam protection.
- Call verification.
- Microsoft advertising.
Best For: Call tracking analytics.
Pricing: Not available.
9. Dreamdata
Description: Dreamdata is the go-to tool for B2B revenue attribution. With three main products Revenue Analytics, Customer Journeys, and Performance Attribution, this tool is precisely designed to know your customers and thereby achieve higher profitability. Dreamdata’s solutions enable you to understand the pipeline and revenue generated by your customers and ensure that you capitalize on it by moving in the right direction.
Key Features:
- Optimize your ad spend and content against revenue.
- Reveal every customer journey and intent.
- Automate your B2B go-to-market data in one data warehouse.
Best For: Customers in the B2B space.
Pricing: There is a free version available, the paid plans start at $599 per month for teams, and there is a free trial available.
10. ActiveCampaign
Description: ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive marketing and sales platform that helps you and your business grow through automation and valuable insights. Their focus on customer experience is top-notch, as evidenced by their superior customer segmentation methods and dynamic content creation for specific groups. All of this, combined with the easy-to-create Conversion Attribution reports, will take your marketing capabilities to the next level. Using the last-touch method, ActiveCampaign allows you to identify the exact moment your customers were sold to and ensure you keep track of your most successful promotional strategies. Plus, ActiveCampaign provides plenty of guides and videos on how to set up your attribution reports, so you don’t have to worry about being an expert in the field before you start your credit-tracking journey.
Key Features:
- Trigger automations and create segments based on where customers come from.
- Optimize your ad spend.
Best For: Users already familiar with ActiveCampaign.
Pricing: There is a free trial available. The pricing varies depending on the plan chosen.
11. Attribution
Description: There is no way you can go wrong with this tool. Attribution is a cutting-edge marketing attribution company that focuses on innovative methods with multi-touch attribution. By doing so, they guarantee to improve your marketing with better customer conversion data to maximize ROI. Their patent-pending technology is second to none, having been awarded by the G2 crowd in areas such as High Performer, Best Est. ROI, Easiest Setup, and much more. Automated data collection frees up your time to focus on reaching more customers. Their custom multi-touch attribution models are built using machine learning fundamentals and also have traditional models to choose from. The attribution platform also provides a dashboard-like environment where you can manage customer enrollment and offers, plus compare conversions and sales from all your different channels and apps.
Key Features:
- Attribution keeps a full browsing history for each user across multiple devices.
- Get credit for conversions that occur months after your marketing investment.
- Compare sources by channel, or campaign over time.
- Get powerful customizations “out of the box” — no special coding or implementation necessary.
Best For: Customers that need a custom model.
Pricing: Not available.
12. Segmetrics
Description: Segmetrics is an excellent tool for advanced attribution in marketing. Their advanced marketing attribution consists of Ad Attribution, Lead Attribution, Lead Tracking, Customer LTV, and much more. Through these tools, Segmetrics allows you to gain granular insights and get a picture of where your strengths and weaknesses lie. With this finer understanding of your conversions, you can allocate money to the right ad campaigns and maximize ROI. Segmetrics also offers an extensive list of integrations to various CRM platforms, guaranteeing that your data will last more than just one report. You no longer have to compare your data across multiple platforms, Segmetrics keeps it all in one place.
Key Features:
- Understand how customers progress through the whole marketing journey.
- Unlimited attribution windows – measure success with sales, not leads.
- See the exact purchases attributed to each ad with transparent data.
Best For: Customers seeking a lifetime attribution window.
Pricing: The pricing starts at $146 per month (billed annually). A 14-day free trial is included with every pricing plan.
13. Twik
Description: Twik takes customer experience to a higher level by automatically personalizing customers’ experiences, mostly related to their interests. Using artificial and business intelligence, Twik adapts to its customers’ needs and collects the data that matters most. With this data, you can see what works best for each individual customer. Twik’s automated personalization allows you to optimize the interactions that led to conversion, automating your attribution process as well. This tool was built specifically for eCommerce and will likely be very useful considering the AB testing tools and related product recommendation algorithms.
Key Features:
- Twik’s user profiler and cookie-less tracking solutions enable accurate and real-time user profiling for personalized shopping experiences.
- Monitor website performance without the need for manual configuration.
- store tons of deep data user journeys throughout the web and process it in real-time.
- Their AI-driven personalization suite combines their decision-making and post-DOM delivery engines to deliver real-time, personalized experiences.
Best For: Customers seeking an autonomous personalization platform.
Pricing: The pricing starts at $29 per month, and there is a 14-day free trial included in each pricing plan.
14. Adroll
Description: Adrolls Cross Channel Attribution is a tool found at Growth Marketing Platform that has an impact on your budget allocation and sales/revenue. As a full-funnel tool, you have the ability to quickly monitor the ad campaigns that are attracting customers, the complete customer journey from Google search to your latest blog post, and more granular details on conversions. Aside from great services, Adroll has served over 37,000 brands and was recently awarded the G2 Spring 2021 Momentum Leader. So what are you waiting for? Optimize your conversions with this tool.
Key Features:
- AdRoll’s Growth Marketing Platform comes complete with a suite of free, powerful cross-channel attribution tools.
- With a unified view, you’ll see insights like the top channels, events, and devices your customers interact with
- Uncover opportunities to optimize conversion paths across audience segments, geographies, and devices.
Best For: Customers looking for a suite of free, cross-channel attribution tools.
Pricing: There are two pricing plans. The first one is pay-as-you-go for display and native ads. The second option starts at $36 per month, which includes up to 50% back in ad credits.
15. Everflow
Description: This next tool is an integrated part of Everflow’s great performance marketing platform. The attribution tool offered here is part of a suite of tools created to make tracking efficient and easy. By using View-Through Attribution, you can gather information about all the impressions in your channels, so you will never miss a potential customer. You also don’t have to worry if you ever don’t get the right information or have trouble merging information from different sources, as Everflow offers 24/7 support to help you get back on track in no time.
Key Features:
- Attribution – See influencer through retention.
- Automate insights into actions.
- View channel performance by placement and city.
- Align marketing and partnerships through tracking.
Best For: Customers seeking a partner marketing platform.
Pricing: The pricing starts at $750 per month for full platform access.
16. CallRail
Description: Conversion Intelligence – AI-powered phone transcript analysis, Call tracking – marketing campaigns track to know the ad campaigns that are working, Form tracking phone and web. The fascinating intelligence of conversion intelligence is that you get to change the automation rules, so you can partly design the algorithm to catch the phrases and keywords that you want to target.
Key Features:
- Automatically transcribe and analyze all of your inbound and outbound calls.
- The calls that need attention are highlighted and summarized.
- Improve customer experience, train sales staff, and stay ahead of shifting customer preferences.
Best For: Customers looking to analyze inbound and outbound calls.
Pricing: There are four pricing plans available. The pricing starts at $40 per month, plus additional usage (billed annually).
17. LeadsRx
Description: LeadsRx is one of the most productive attribution tools available today, offering attribution tools specialized for different markets. With attribution tools designed for retailers, agencies, and broadcasters, LeadsRx makes attribution analysis a must-have for everyone. As if that wasn’t enough, they offer customer support that can help your business with any burning questions or issues with your analytics. Finally, this platform offers premium services for those who need an extra helping hand that can provide further customer insights and even helps you with onboarding.
Key Features:
- Effortlessly evaluate all advertising mediums.
- Review ROAS to quickly compare channel performance.
- Calculate customer acquisition cost using a bottom-up approach.
- Connect attribution to popular reporting platforms.
Best For: Retailers or broadcasters looking for an attribution platform.
Pricing: The pricing is not available.
18. Roivenue
Description: Roivenue is a platform that, in addition to increasing your ROI, aims to use attribution data to technically optimize your capital allocation. With intuitive graphics, cross-channel connections to fully see the customer journey, and attribution model comparison, Roivenue creates a platform that drives success. This tool is smart and reliable, as evidenced by the kind of clients like AXA Insurance that have entrusted them with their attribution analysis.
Key Features:
- Compare different data-driven attribution models to get simple and actionable insights.
- Understand how your different attribution models work together with marketing data integration.
- Monitor performance by instantly getting insights into the whole marketing funnel.
- Identify oversaturated or undersaturated channels and get recommendations for budget reallocation based on your goals.
Best For: Customers looking to connect data from many CRM, web analytics, and marketing platforms.
Pricing: The pricing starts at $449 per month (billed annually).
19. Openprise
Description: Openprise changes the entire playing field as their attribution tool is designed to automate parts of the analysis process, allowing you to reclaim valuable time. This amazing tool comes packaged with bots and algorithms that are programmed to handle mundane tasks like data cleansing and merging. Openprise also offers template models but also leaves room for those who want to create their own. Whether it’s first-touch, last-touch, or multi-touch attribution, Openprise lets you implement them with ease.
Key Features:
- Automate the process of cleaning up your data.
- Tailor attribution models to fit the needs of your business.
- Push data-relevant fields to your CRM marketing automation platform.
Best For: Customers looking to automate the entire marketing attribution process.
Pricing: The pricing starts at $24K per year for up to 250K records. However, they offer various tailored pricing options.
20. Onclusive
Description: Onclusive was developed with PR as the primary focus, with the idea of honoring the content a customer saw that actually turned them into a prospect. Scale the impact of your social media and blog posts to quantify their effectiveness and profit. It’s important to know the content that actually changes a customer’s mind. That’s why Onclusive focuses on tracking those moments and consistently using that data to make budget allocation decisions.
Key Features:
- Measure and optimize the real impact of your campaigns.
- Validate your assumptions regarding which contact is delivering the most value.
- Discover new publications and authors.
Best For: Customers seeking a PR attribution platform to see the effectiveness of earned media.
Pricing: The pricing is not available.
21. Demandbase
Description: This attribution tool stands out from other tools because it focuses on account-based marketing as a whole rather than just looking at your individual marketing campaigns. Demandbase offers comprehensive types of attribution, which include engagement minute attribution and journey attribution. Having these types of crediting under your wing is very helpful because they offer further customization than traditional attribution methods and can give you an overall picture of the customer journey to make optimal decisions.
Key Features:
- Give sales all the intelligence.
- Orchestrate channels at scale.
- Personalize web experiences.
- Mesure account analytics.
- Discover buyer intent earlier.
Best For: Customers looking for a platform that focuses on account-based marketing as a whole.
Pricing: The pricing is not available.
Just like the different models available for marketers for attribution, there are several software currently available to help with your marketing attribution efforts, each with pros and cons specific to your industry and product. It’s important to assess your current goals and most important needs to ensure you’re picking the right tool and model for your analytics efforts.
