How to build a modern multi-touch marketing attribution model
“But how much revenue did that campaign drive?”
If you’re a marketer, chances are you’ve been in rooms where this question gets thrown around. Maybe you’ve even tried to justify your campaign strategy by pointing to an increase in engagement, traffic, and lead acquisition. But to be honest – this question makes little sense.
It’s like asking which workout made you strong. Was it strength training, cardio, the last rep you pushed through or the clean eating? The truth is, fitness results come from a combination of consistent efforts, not a single campaign.
The problem with this approach is that it assumes that marketing initiatives can neatly be isolated to demonstrate ROI. In the B2B SaaS context, where buyer journeys are complex, questions about marketing ROI and data to support investment decisions can be answered by looking at the full range of marketing activities. To truly understand how your marketing efforts are contributing to revenue, you need a model that captures the entire customer journey.
That’s where multi-touch attribution comes in. By tracking every interaction—whether it’s a click on an ad, a webinar signup, or page view, a form fill—you can assign credit to the various touchpoints that move prospects through the funnel. This gives you a more accurate and actionable view of what’s working and what’s not.
Let’s break down the four key components of a modern multi-touch attribution model that can help you answer the question – how to build a modern multi-touch marketing attribution model.
1. Cross Channel Tracking
Cross-channel tracking is the foundation of any attribution model. It means tracking every interaction a prospect has with your brand—whether it’s clicking an ad, reading a blog, or downloading a whitepaper. For example, using UTM parameters, you can track which marketing channels drive visitors to your site, such as an email click leading to a webinar sign-up. Once the visitor is on your site, tracking pixels from Google Ads, or Demandbase help monitor their on-site behavior, such as interactions with your retargeting ads, landing page visits or form submissions.
2. Real-time Data Collection
Instead of waiting for weekly or monthly reports, real-time data collection can help you monitor customer behaviour live. Google Analytics 4, for example, can show how many site visitors are on your site at any moment and enable you to understand the interactions they are having with your site. Combine it with tools like Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar heat mapping and you can literally see what visitors are doing on your website to better understand clicking ,scrolling and dropping off behaviour.
3. Machine Learning and AI for Data-driven Attribution
Unlike previously popular attribution models like first or last touch, which were reliant on a predefined set of rules, modern multi-touch attribution utilizes data-driven models that dynamically calculate the actual contribution of each touchpoint based on historical and current data.
Google Analytics 4, for example, uses machine learning (ML) to adjust credit distribution based on which touchpoints are proven to drive conversions. There is another tool called Dreamdata that looks at historical data to evaluate which touchpoints had the most impact in past conversions, allowing you to make smarter decisions for future campaigns.
4. Unified Data Across Platforms
Modern multi-touch attribution models unify customer data across all platforms, from CRMs to ad platforms, email automation, and website analytics. I have used HubSpot which is really good at integrating these various touchpoints. It typically becomes the single source of truth when integrated with Google Ads to create one central view of prospect interactions.
If you are using an ABM Platform, like Demandbase, that too can greatly help you get that visibility for your Target Accounts about intent, firmographics and engagement. Unifying this data across platforms can help you understand the conversion path and assess which interactions are crucial.
Not Everything Can Be Measured. Also, Not Everything That Can Be Measured, Matters
While the goal of multi-touch attribution is to become as data-driven as possible, it’s important to remember that not everything can be measured, and not everything that can be measured truly matters. For example, if your business has done an excellent job of serving your customers, chances are you have created advocates who will refer you to others who are trying to solve the same problems that you have solved for your customers.These intangible factors are crucial but rarely show up in attribution reports unless self-attributed by a prospect at some point in the journey.
Strike the right balance: being data-driven, but without getting so granular that you lose sight of the bigger picture. Peeling back to the campaign or ad level can be helpful in some cases, but ultimately, marketing success is about guiding your prospects through a journey in as much of a self-service manner as possible.
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