The “Attribution” Mapper

What It Is

A comprehensive system that captures every marketing touchpoint across the buyer journey and applies attribution models (first-touch, last-touch, linear, time-decay, position-based) to determine which efforts drive revenue.

Why It Matters

Without attribution, marketing is flying blind. You can't optimize what you can't measure. Knowing that content marketing drives 35% of pipeline (not 10% as last-touch suggested) changes budget allocation decisions.

Who It's For

• Marketing leaders allocating budget
• Demand gen teams optimizing channels
• RevOps building reporting infrastructure
• CFOs validating marketing ROI

Required Tools

• Segment/Rudderstack (data collection)
• BigQuery/Snowflake (data warehouse)
• HubSpot/Salesforce (CRM)
• Looker/Tableau (visualization)

Required Fields/Properties

• UTM parameters on all campaigns
• Website visit tracking
• Form submissions with source
• Opportunity/revenue data
• Account/contact linkage

Definitions Required

• Touchpoint definition (what counts)
• Attribution window (90 days typical)
• Conversion events (MQL, SQL, Closed Won)
• Attribution model weights

Monthly Attribution Report

📊 *Marketing Attribution Report - {{month}}*

*Revenue Attributed (Linear Model):*
| Channel | Revenue | % of Total | MoM Change |
|---------|---------|------------|------------|
| Paid Search | ${{paid_search}} | {{ps_pct}}% | {{ps_change}} |
| Organic | ${{organic}} | {{org_pct}}% | {{org_change}} |
| Email | ${{email}} | {{email_pct}}% | {{email_change}} |
| Paid Social | ${{paid_social}} | {{social_pct}}% | {{social_change}} |
| Direct | ${{direct}} | {{direct_pct}}% | {{direct_change}} |

*Top Performing Campaigns:*
1. {{campaign_1}} - ${{camp1_rev}} attributed
2. {{campaign_2}} - ${{camp2_rev}} attributed
3. {{campaign_3}} - ${{camp3_rev}} attributed

*Insights:*
• {{insight_1}}
• {{insight_2}}
• {{insight_3}}

<{{dashboard_link}}|View Full Dashboard>

UTM Taxonomy Documentation

| Parameter | Purpose | Values | Example |
|-----------|---------|--------|--------|
| utm_source | Traffic source | google, linkedin, newsletter | google |
| utm_medium | Marketing medium | cpc, organic, email, social | cpc |
| utm_campaign | Campaign name | q4-promo, webinar-oct | q4-brand-campaign |
| utm_content | Content variant | cta-blue, banner-a | homepage-hero |
| utm_term | Paid keywords | crm software | crm software |

Attribution Model Selection Guide

**When to Use Each Attribution Model:**

**First-Touch Attribution**
- Best for: Understanding awareness channels
- Use when: Optimizing top-of-funnel marketing
- Limitation: Ignores conversion-driving touchpoints

**Last-Touch Attribution**
- Best for: Understanding conversion drivers
- Use when: Optimizing bottom-of-funnel
- Limitation: Ignores early-journey influence

**Linear Attribution**
- Best for: Fair view of full journey
- Use when: All touchpoints roughly equal importance
- Limitation: Doesn't distinguish touchpoint value

**Position-Based (U-Shaped)**
- Best for: B2B with long journeys
- Use when: First and last touches are most important
- Limitation: May undervalue middle journey

**Time-Decay**
- Best for: Short consideration cycles
- Use when: Recent touches drive conversion
- Limitation: May undervalue awareness building

Test Cases Checklist

• Verify touchpoints link correctly to opportunities
• Confirm attribution weights sum to 100% per opportunity
• Test all models produce expected results on sample data
• Validate UTM parameter capture on test campaigns
• Check multi-contact attribution includes full buying committee

Common Failure Modes

• Missing touchpoints: Ad blockers, privacy settings, or tracking gaps miss interactions. Accept some data loss; cross-validate with platform data.
• Contact-opportunity mismatch: Touchpoints exist but can't link to revenue. Ensure robust identity resolution and account matching.
• UTM inconsistency: Teams use different UTM conventions. Enforce taxonomy and use normalization layer to handle variations.

Troubleshooting Tips

• If 'Direct' is too high, check for missing UTMs or referrer stripping
• For low touchpoint counts, verify tracking deployed on all key pages
• If attribution doesn't match platform data, check for attribution window differences

KPIs to Track

• Touchpoint Coverage: >85% of opportunities have touchpoints
• Channel ROI: >3x return on marketing spend
• Attribution Accuracy: Model correlates with outcomes
• Data Freshness: Attribution updated within 24 hours

Suggested Dashboard Widgets

• Channel Attribution Comparison: Side-by-side comparison of all attribution models by channel
• Campaign Performance: Top campaigns by attributed revenue with spend data
• Journey Path Analysis: Most common touchpoint sequences for won deals
• Attribution Trends: Channel attribution changes over time