Short answer
Marketing attribution assigns credit for revenue or conversions to the marketing touches that influenced them, such as an ad, a webinar or an email. Models include first-touch, last-touch and multi-touch approaches that spread credit across the journey.
Marketing Attribution explained
First-touch credits the interaction that brought someone in; last-touch credits the final interaction before conversion; multi-touch models such as linear, U-shaped, W-shaped and time-decay share credit. HubSpot offers multi-touch revenue attribution in Enterprise editions, and Salesforce uses campaign influence. Accurate attribution needs consistent UTM tracking, campaign tagging and CRM data on deals.
No model is perfect; the goal is a consistent view leadership trusts for budget decisions.
How Vantage Point helps: we set up attribution in HubSpot and Salesforce, including tracking standards and the reports leadership uses.
Frequently asked questions
Which attribution model is best?
There is no single best model. Many firms use first-touch to understand acquisition and a multi-touch model for overall budget decisions.
Why is attribution data missing?
Common causes are missing UTM parameters, ad blockers, offline touches not logged, and deals not associated with contacts.