As you’re likely already aware, Perkuto, Marketo and Bizible—along with special guests Uberflip and Outreach—recently wrapped up our four-city series of Marketing Impact Talks. Held in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, these talks gave us a chance to lead a discussion about attribution and analytics, and also to learn from marketers across Canada what specific challenges you are facing and where you foresee the biggest opportunities.
I’m delighted to say that these Talks were a huge success, connecting us with hundreds of marketers representing companies in a variety of different industries. And the insights we shared—and gathered—were invaluable. Here’s a sampling:
If you aren’t measuring attribution, you’re flying blind
Attribution shows you everything from the first touch—when the cookie is dropped on the browser— to lead creation, to opportunity creation to close. It doesn’t provide you with the direct answers to question, but gives you the information you need to see patterns in the data and draw logical conclusions. The data is there and available to you, whether you gather it or not. If you aren’t measuring it and assigning a dollar value to it, you’re effectively cutting yourself off at the knees.
The vast majority of marketers are prioritizing attribution in the next year/year and a half
The 2018 Marketing Performance Measurement and Attribution Survey found that a full 87% of marketers are making attribution their top priority in the next 12-18 months, and our informal surveys at the Marketing Impact Talks found the same. Why the focus on attribution? Because marketers they want to gain a greater understanding of the ROI of their marketing investments and demonstrate how marketing contributes to ROI. Additionally, attribution will help them gain greater insight into buyer interest and will enhance marketing’s alignment with sales.
There are 3 steps to being ready for attribution
Having something to measure, typically data gathered via a CRM and marketing automation platform; Having the bandwith to report, via your marketing operations function; and having the ability to act on the insights, meaning that you market via multiple channels and you have some budget with which you can (re)allocate marketing efforts. Of the three, the ability (and willingness) to take action may be the most important step—there is no reason to measure just for the sake of measuring.
The true ROI of attribution lies in answering tough questions
The real value of attribution is that it gives you the ability to answer the tough questions that the CEO or CMO asks you. Because you can effectively measure past experiences and understand if an event with 100 attendees worked better at generating opportunities than a highly-targeted AdWords campaign, you can confidently base your future decisions on the data—the ROI of past events. Attribution means that you are able to deliver a high quantity of leads, but those leads are also higher quality. Additionally, attribution lets you deliver those leads in a less expensive manner, allowing you to empower your team to spend their time in the most effective, efficient way possible.
Thanks to all who participated
A big thanks to all who took part in the Marketing Impact Talks, from the presenters who shared their knowledge and expertise to the attendees who asked great questions and shared insights and stories of your own. We’re planning another series of Marketing Impact Talks for this Spring; stay tuned for an announcement on topic and locations.
Want more on attribution and reporting? Get your complimentary copy of our eBook, The Art and Science of Marketing Attribution.
