Attribution Model
An attribution model is the rule a company uses to assign credit for a conversion, such as a lead or a closed deal, to the marketing and sales touchpoints that came before it.
Also called: marketing attribution, first-touch attribution, last-touch attribution
Why it matters
Attribution decides which of those get credit, and that credit drives budget decisions. A model that credits only one touch can make some channels look far better or worse than they really are.
Common single-touch models are first-touch, which credits the first interaction, and last-touch, which credits the final one. Multi-touch models spread credit across several interactions. No model is exact, because many influences, such as word of mouth or private conversations, are never tracked. Many teams pair a model with self-reported attribution, asking new leads how they heard about the company.
Example
A deal closes after the buyer clicked a LinkedIn ad, read two blog posts, attended a webinar and replied to a sales email. Under last-touch attribution, the sales email gets all the credit. Under first-touch, the LinkedIn ad does. The team reviews both views, plus the buyer's own answer on the demo form, before deciding on next quarter's budget.
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