You need to track your marketing campaigns with attribution software. What's the best way to get started?

I recommend the following steps to get started with attribution software effectively: 1. Define Your Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Define specific, measurable goals for your marketing campaigns, such as increasing website traffic, generating leads, or boosting conversions. 2. Implement Tracking Across All Channels The goal is to capture data on every interaction customers have with your brand, from the first touchpoint to the final conversion. 3. Train Your Team They should understand how to interpret the data and apply insights to optimize campaigns. 4. Analyze and Optimize Look for patterns in how different marketing channels and campaigns contribute to your goals.

The biggest mistake people make is that they confuse 'attribution' with 'accuracy'. A better form of measurement is using "Marketing Mix Modeling" (MMM). Attribution is limited to tracking click path journey data - whereas, MMM quantifies ALL market variables (i.e. offline, price discounts, promotions, competitor activity etc). Attribution is also less effective due to cookie deprecation - MMM is privacy secure and not reliant on cookies. Attribution can over value digital acquisition channels, whereas MMM considers non-digital touch points, i.e. TV, Radio etc. Essentially, MMM provides an overall view of the marketing mix as a whole, while attribution modeling focuses on individual touchpoints.

In my experience, 1. Choice of attribution model depends upon whether you are measuring your branding impact ( say first touch or time decay ) or a lead generation impact ( say last touch) and would be relevant only for measuring from a channel perspective. 2. You may want to get into attribution modelling only if you are seeing significant volume ( say 5000+ daily website visits ) & channel spread ( say linkedin, adwords, blogs/SEO, instagram,youtube etc.) with access to huge budgets across channels. 3. This is also a marketing + data scientist role in data analysis & deducing insights - else, it may lead to incorrect interpretations of data.

Getting started with marketing campaign attribution software involves several key steps. As a product marketing manager, here's a guide to help you navigate through the process: 1. Define Your Goals and Objectives 2. Identify Key Metrics and KPIs 3. Research Attribution Software Options 4. Evaluate Integration Possibilities 5. Conduct a Cost-Benefit Analysis 6. Set Up Tracking and Attribution Models 7. Test and Iterate 8. Establish Reporting and Analysis Processes 9. Stay Updated and Evolve

These days, the model matters less than ensuring it accounts for signal loss i.e. gaps in data that complicate or prevent attribution. One example of "signal loss" is Apple's 2021 iOS14 update curbing availability of device ids for mobile attribution purposes, or 3P cookies deprecation by Google. If not accounting for these gaps, you risk over- or more likely under-attributing credit/ROAS to your acquisition channels, losing opportunities to grow valuable channels by thinking they underperform. One remedy is to avoid solely relying on deterministic attribution, instead blending it with outputs from alternative and resilient approaches such as geo-lift experiments and media mix modeling. Consider vendors with those added capabilities.

Jumping into Marketo was a game-changer. It turned the chore of juggling marketing tasks into something genuinely exciting. Personalizing campaigns and connecting with our audience has never been more intuitive. Then, there’s the analytics—truly enlightening. It’s like Marketo handed me a flashlight in a dark room, revealing which strategies really light up our ROI. Thanks to its insights, we're not just guessing anymore; we’re making informed decisions that genuinely drive our success forward.

Integrating data sources for comprehensive marketing campaign tracking involves a systematic approach. Begin by identifying relevant data sources such as Google Analytics, CRM systems, and advertising platforms. Utilize integration tools like Zapier or Integromat to connect these sources seamlessly. Standardize data formats and ensure consistency across platforms. Employ UTM parameters for accurate tracking in URLs. Integrate marketing automation platforms to centralize data, streamlining analysis. Leverage APIs for direct connections between platforms, enhancing real-time data synchronization. Regularly audit and update integrations to adapt to evolving campaign needs.

In my experience, this is the most important aspect of marketing attribution. You must rigorously track where your traffic came from and how engaged each person was from a certain channel. This is crucial because finding out the best channel allows you to double down on getting more from that channel.

Attribution works when the discovery--> purchase cycle is short(think an ecommerce store running an ad on facebook). When it comes to B2B marketing though, it's almost impossible to put a peg on which channel can be attributed for a sale. The most important touchpoints in a B2B buyer’s journey actually happen in places that can’t be tracked. Most times, one channel will work as a force multiplier for the other channel. The best you could do as a modern day marketer is to orchestrate different channels that work for your audience. In the end all these channels work in tandem to get you closer to your hard/soft goals. Ex: You convert an account to SQO in an event but there might be a 100 touchpoints online or offline which led to that.

Luego de tener claro, qué quieres medir, recomendaría implementar un software de atribución confiable. Hay diversas opciones en el mercado que ofrecen distintas funcionalidades y características. Es importante analizar tus necesidades y elegir una solución que se adapte a tu estrategia de marketing y pueda gestionar y rastrear eficientemente tus campa?as. Además, es fundamental contar con un equipo capacitado que pueda aprovechar al máximo las capacidades del software de atribución. Esto implica tener profesionales que entiendan cómo interpretar y analizar los datos generados por el software, así como tomar decisiones informadas en base a esos insights.

In my experience, 1. Customer journeys are becoming more complex, so set up a multi-touch attribution model covering customer engagement across channels to get a comprehensive view. 2. You do not have to stick to standard reporting - build custom reports / leverage integrations to connect with all requisite tools - You have a better view of what should be your reporting structure. 3. Don't get lost in the maze of metrics - ultimately, look at RoI and optimize your campaign accordingly. 4. Leverage freelance data scientists who can help you in configuring the attribution modelling or interpret the data/reporting in the right way.

To keep it simple, my first step is to define my (acquisition) campaigns into three buckets: #1 - Inbound Funnel: Pure hand raisers like Google Search demo requests, measured by funnel reports in conversion rates and times from stage to stage #2 - Demand Capture: In B2B this means account activation or increased "engagement" measured by multi-touch attribution report on "opportunity creation" (W-Shape Model) #3 - Deal Acceleration: Targeting existing opportunities to driven them towards closed-won, measured by multi-touch attribution report on "deals closed won" (Full Path Model) Based on these three campaign types I then used three reports to visualize our various campaigns and determine which ones to do double down or cut.

Leveraging attribution model software is instrumental in analyzing and optimizing marketing campaigns. Begin by selecting a robust tool like Google Analytics or specialized platforms such as Adobe Analytics. Define clear campaign objectives and set up the chosen attribution model within the software. Analyze data generated by the model to identify high-performing channels and touchpoints. Gain insights into customer behavior and conversion paths, enabling a nuanced understanding of campaign impact. Use this information to allocate budgets effectively, optimizing resources for the most impactful channels. Regularly monitor attribution reports to adapt strategies in real-time, ensuring continual campaign optimization.

The final step to using marketing attribution software is analyzing the data and insights it provides. It helps you understand which marketing channels and campaigns are driving the most conversions and revenue. By analyzing this data, you can make informed decisions about your marketing strategies and optimize your efforts for better results. It just really helps you see what's working and what's not . Also you can determine what channel to intensify your marketing efforts

I actually think that optimizing your campaigns happens at a messaging level more so then at a channel level. The campaigns you run should be a derivative of messaging and positioning you have created AFTER you have done ample research with your customers. This way you leave less room for the campaign to NOT PERFORM across ALL channels.

Technology is an amazing enabler to validate your strategy and measure your performance. But beware on relying solely on your digital sensors to monitor and manage your business. Interact with customers, experiment with the journey touch-points yourself. Watch your customers interact with them. Check those of your competition too. Look at how different industries plan their journeys and touch-points and be sure that one of those industries will disrupt yours sometime. I recommend re-reading Drucker’s Theory of business.

Consider using your CRM to report. You'll save money and time using the tool Sales and SDRs already work in rather than investing more money in a 3rd party tool that takes time to integrate and costs more money to operate. It is also infinitely more flexible to support YOUR business model instead of buying software built to handle ALL GTM models.

Digital transformation involves integrating digital technologies to enhance operations, customer experiences, and innovation. It's crucial for staying competitive, improving efficiency, accessing data insights, fostering agility, driving innovation, reaching a global audience, and saving costs.

Attribution is definitely more art than science. During one of my campaigns, we were initially using passphrase promo codes but they kept getting published in all the wrong places and messing up our attribution model. After initially throwing up my hands, I did more research into past top-campaigns throughout the company. I found that unique code promotions were harder to game and therefore had much better attribution. I modified my campaign from a passphrase to a unique code architecture and lo and behold - my attribution numbers dramatically increased. Key takeaway: Never be afraid to experiment until you get it right.

- Data quality: Ensure that the data being collected by your attribution software is accurate and reliable. Regularly audit and validate your data sources to maintain data quality. - Customization: Customize your attribution software settings to align with your specific business needs and reporting requirements. Tailor attribution models, attribution windows, and other settings to best reflect your unique marketing ecosystem. - Training and education: Provide training and education to your marketing team on how to effectively use the attribution software. Ensure that team members understand how to interpret the data and insights provided by the software to inform decision-making.