Many businesses make the mistake of focusing their marketing strategy primarily at the bottom of the sales funnel. However, marketing strategies dedicated to these tactics will ultimately fail compared to strategies that also place focus toward the top and middle of the sales funnel. If you can add value to those earlier touchpoints that help bring people to the bottom of the sales funnel, you'll be able to increase conversions.

Some of our past clients saw the benefits of focusing more on prospects near the beginning of their journey, as opposed to spending too much time on efforts close to conversions. For instance, Wente Vineyards wanted to increase attendance at their luxury concert venue. With the help of attribution models that focused on branding efforts and other earlier engagements with the company, they were able to attract more attendees.

What Is an Attribution Model in Marketing?

An attribution model is a way to determine which touchpoints are helping to convert more leads into customers. For example, you might attribute a conversion to a single display ad that leads the customer to make an immediate purchase after clicking on that ad. In contrast, other prospective customers might navigate a more complex buyer's journey that requires the analysis of different touchpoints.

Ultimately, an attribution model will help businesses understand how and when different efforts lead to conversions, with each marketing channel serving as a touchpoint that can lead people down the sales funnel. The resulting data can then help assign a monetary value to specific touchpoints based on the overall value of the conversions they acquire.

Why It's Best to Look Beyond "Last Touch" Attribution

There are several types of attribution models to use in marketing strategies, but the one many companies focus on is "last touch" attribution. "Last touch" attribution is a model that gives all credit to the last touchpoint the customer encountered before conversion. The problem with focusing on this model is that it doesn't account for any other touchpoints that led the customer to that last touch.

Putting all marketing efforts on "last touch" attribution can take away from efforts spent on branding and positioning. Companies don't take the time to strategize for the beginning of the buyer's journey. "Last touch" attribution also neglects certain issues that can occur along the path to conversion that deters high-quality leads. This essentially means you might perceive the end of the sales funnel as weak due to poor conversion rates while the real weakness is actually near the top.

While it's not bad to use a "last touch" attribution model, a well-rounded marketing strategy could include others, such as:

"First Touch" Attribution

Like "last touch" attribution, "first touch" uses a one-touch model that only gives credit to the first action the customer took when engaging with a brand. It doesn't focus on any of the following steps the customer took to lead them toward a conversion. "First touch" can be useful if you want to discover which campaign is gaining the most traffic or brand awareness. If you're focusing mainly on branding and awareness efforts, "first touch" is often ideal.

"Linear" Attribution

"Linear" attribution uses a multi-touch approach to focus equally on each touchpoint throughout the buyer's journey. This attribution model is good to use if you don't want to give credit solely to one channel. The customer could encounter many touchpoints, including display ads, emails, social media ads, media ads, and search engine results that lead them to a conversion, all of which "linear" attribution acknowledges.

"Time Decay" Attribution

This attribution model is similar to "last touch" in its focus toward the bottom of the sales funnel. "Time decay" credits the touchpoints that were closer to the moment when the lead converted. The closer a touchpoint is to the time the lead converted, the more credit it gets in this model. This model is often best if you want to measure longer sales cycles and timed campaigns, focusing on the time between channel interactions to gauge which touchpoints were the most effective at converting.

Choose the Attribution Model That's Right for Your Business

There is no right answer when it comes to which attribution model is best. Depending on your goals, campaign types, products, and other factors consider how each attribution model might apply before getting into the specifics of your marketing strategies. However, even if you're tempted to focus on the bottom of the sales funnel focusing on "last touch" attribution, this could limit your campaigns and, subsequently, your success.

Instead, determine which attribution models are best-suited based on your company's specific needs and objectives. You'll be able to develop a more effective marketing campaign that yields the most favorable results.