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Attribution should not be a battle for credit. The real purpose of attribution in marketing is to understand how much incremental growth you're driving to the business from your marketing efforts. Anytime someone in the company asks about attribution, what they are really trying to get at is hey, that thing that we did ... did it cause the business outcome of more sales? Nothing else matter. Listen to Pranav Piyush and this masterclass on thinking about Marketing Attribution. Search for B2B marketing with Dave Gerhardt or Exit Five podcast everywhere you listen and you can get this masterclass on marketing measurement on the go right now ...
An additional angle: In SaaS, attribution also helps motivate the dev team. While the data is just guiding at best due to data privacy, GDPR, etc., I have always used the data in my dev teams to show: 1) There’s data we have gathered or shown on Google, social media, etc., that this pain point exists. 2) When the feature is built, show the sign-ups and paid customers that result from that work. It's not perfect in a world where cookie banners eat a lot, and buying cycles are long. But people tend to use those limits as a reason not to share anything. The battle for credit? In my opinion, a lot of it is due to the data not being collected and shared.
First comes first-step, then last-step, and next thing you know budget is rearranged in an order that favors silos, not incrementality. For example, SEO, PR, events, etc., could have solved pain points for years before someone had enough trust to type this brand name into Google and click on an ad to buy.
A.T.T.R.I.B.U.T.I.O.N. • Ask the Right Questions – Focus on whether your marketing efforts are driving measurable sales. • Track Incremental Growth – Measure how much each action contributes to overall business outcomes. • Test and Learn – Run experiments to understand what drives results, not just vanity metrics. • Refine Your Approach – Use insights to tweak your strategy for greater impact. • Involve the Whole Team – Everyone should understand how their work contributes to business goals. • Build the Data Foundation – Ensure you have the right tools and processes to accurately measure success. • Understand the Bigger Picture – It’s about results, not credit. Attribution isn’t about claiming victory—it’s about learning what truly moves the needle. Keep focusing on the sales impact
100%. Unfortunately management usually needs attribution to justify spend and so they end up with the wrong strategy
Attribution isn't just about assigning credit; it's about understanding what truly drives growth.
That IS the real question "how much incremental growth you're driving to the business from your marketing efforts"
Attribution is like solving a mystery to see which part of marketing really made people buy more. This idea feels like a new way to see how marketing works!
Agreed! I hate when it turns into a fight for credit Every interaction and event and piece of content helps
Attribution is about clarity, Dave Gerhardt. Understanding the ‘why’ behind our metrics helps refine strategies and drive meaningful results.
CMO @ Defendify
2wThe more I dig into our pipeline and qualified opps the more I realize our best deals come from accounts that have been touched by marketing, SDRs, etc. It’s your GTM ecosystem as a whole that makes the engine run. Dissecting the contributions of each piece is important, but should be looked at from its entirety not from siloes