Unlocking Growth With Smarter Marketing Attribution

Key Takeaways

• Most early and growth-stage startups don’t have proper marketing analytics in place to determine what activities are driving revenue.
• It’s critical to implement basic funnel tracking from initial visit through to revenue in order to understand what’s working.
• Set up Google Analytics, a marketing automation platform like HubSpot, and connect data flows across tools for full-funnel visibility.
• Clearly map out your funnel stages in your platforms to enable tracking conversion rates through the entire journey.
• Regularly analyze full-funnel reports broken out by both original traffic source and most recent campaign influence.
• Apply basic attribution models like first touch, last touch, and multi-touch campaign influence to see marketing’s impact.
• Avoid over-engineering complex attribution models prematurely. Examine data through a balanced lens.
• Use historical funnel data and assumptions to forecast marketing’s pipeline and revenue contribution bottoms-up.
• Getting the right basic marketing analytics in place shows where to double down on high-performing activities and cut inefficient spend.

Show me a startup marketing team and I’ll show you an organization lacking proper analytics.

Founders either avoid reporting complexity entirely or prematurely over-engineer multi-touch attribution models. Both extremes lead to the same result: flying blind on marketing spend.

You end up dumping money into activities of questionable impact. Strategic priorities seem dictated by whims or gut feel versus data. All while growth stagnates and tensions mount across go-to-market.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Applying basic attribution may sound mundane on the surface. But implemented correctly, it unlocks transformative growth.

With clear analytics, you know exactly which strategies drive results. You double down aggressively on what works while ruthlessly culling ineffective programs. Resources get reallocated to proven success patterns.

This post shares battle-tested lessons for unlocking startup growth through smarter attribution. We’ll cover:

• Simplifying your marketing data stack
• Mapping customer journeys properly
• Analyzing full-funnel conversion reports
• Applying basic attribution models
• Forecasting bottoms-up based on trends

Let’s dive in!

Simplify Your Marketing Data Stack

First, take stock of your current analytics tools. Many founders accumulate fragmented suites over time. Various datasets reside disconnected across platforms.

Step one is consolidating disparate sources into a simple, integrated stack. At minimum, use Google Analytics for website data and a marketing automation platform like HubSpot to track campaigns.

Resist the temptation to over-engineer a complex stack across countless niche point solutions. The added fragmentation hampers clear analysis.

Instead, focus on connecting core platforms to enable comprehensive funnel tracking. Pass UTM parameters from ads into your CRM. Implement campaign and form data integrations.

With unified data flows, you gain complete visibility into the entire customer journey. This establishes the foundation for smarter attribution and faster growth.

Map Journeys to Track Conversion Rates

With the data infrastructure set up, take time mapping your entire funnel thoroughly. Identify each major milestone a prospect passes from initial contact through to becoming a loyal customer.

Plot the key stages even if journeys zig zag unpredictably. Outlining goalposts illuminates how prospects convert (or where they drop off). This includes phases like visitor, lead, marketing qualified lead, sales qualified lead, opportunity created, closed won deal, upsell, renewal.

After defining milestones, instantiate them as corresponding stages in your platforms. This enables tracking conversion rates through the full sequence. Analyze changes in funnel velocity as you scale.

One key stage is when a prospect first raises their hand via a form submission. But also mark an interim “qualified” stage once leads demonstrate legitimate interest. This signals transition from marketing to sales.

With tight funnel tracking established, generate full conversion reports to derive insights.

Analyze Full Funnel Reports

Regularly pull conversion rate data for your entire funnel, spanning initial visitor to closed won deal. Break this out by both the original traffic source and the most recent marketing campaign influencing prospects.

If examining by original source only, sales prospecting efforts often get overcredited in driving revenue. Instead, also analyze the final touch guiding leads to become qualified. This balances the attribution picture holistically.

Review conversion rates between each stage. Seek to understand acceleration opportunities and blockers at each level. Diagnose why some sources reliably move prospects further down the funnel than others.

Additionally, assess conversion through the funnel by cohort, not just aggregated monthly data. This accounts for multi-month sales cycles more precisely.

Armed with full visibility into the customer journey, apply basic attribution models to demonstrate marketing’s true impact.

Apply Basic Attribution Models

With thorough reporting established, implement basic attribution to connect marketing activities with downstream revenue. Resist over-engineering complex models like algorithmic multi-touch attribution before product-market fit.

Instead, examine your funnel through a few simple lenses to triangulate marketing’s influence:

• Original lead source (first touch)
• Campaign influence on revenue
• Final touch driving qualified conversion (last touch)

Also regularly assess the impact of specific high-dollar campaigns and initiatives. For example, analyze how leads from a particular webinar series perform over time.

The goal is holistically reviewing across attribution models — not seeking a single definitive answer, but rather balancing different data perspectives. Marketing impact rarely fits neatly into one rigid model.

Ultimately, analysis should realign budgets, staffing and KPIs around proven high-performing activities rather than theoretical models. With clear visibility, the path to faster growth comes into focus.

Forecast Bottoms-Up Based on Historical Data

Finally, leverage your attribution insights to forecast marketing’s pipeline and revenue contribution bottoms-up. This grounds analysis in historical trends versus top-down guesses handed down through the organization.

First, establish a baseline full-funnel report displaying past conversion rates by source and stage. Then layer in assumptions on visitor growth, campaign performance lift, expanded average contract value, etc.

The output estimates future period results based on granular modeling of what’s worked previously. This anchors aspirational goals in realistic trends.

Of course, even the smartest models will prove somewhat incorrect. But approximating the future through historical data provides confidence to efficiently plan budgets, hiring and capacity.

Final Thoughts

Applying basic attribution unlocks transformative growth potential. Stop flying blind on marketing spend. And don’t overcomplicate measurement prematurely. Consistent examination of core reports through a balanced lens will illuminate your highest potential growth levers.