[Subscription strategy] Marketing attribution: a comprehensive guide for CMOs of subscription-based companies

Every seemingly innocuous customer journey is in reality a complex web, woven of almost imperceptible micro-interactions.

For subscription-based companies, where loyalty and conversion are the pillars of success, this fractal web becomes all the more crucial.

Every click, every engagement, can swing the fate of a conversion or drive a prospect away forever.

Marketing attribution is the art of deciphering these invisible signs, understanding intentions and optimizing the effectiveness of acquisition and retention campaigns.

Mastering marketing attribution means equipping yourself with a compass in this digital ocean, where every hidden piece of data, every under-exploited channel, can reveal a strategic treasure.

In a world where every euro spent must be justified, it’s no longer a matter of guessing, but of knowing.

Find out why and how in this article. 😄

What is marketing attribution?

Marketing attribution is a sophisticated analytics method that evaluates and assigns value to every interaction between a user and your brand before they fully engage.

For companies offering subscription-based services, it allows you to capture, with surgical precision, which touchpoint actually triggered the conversion of a visitor into a customer.

It’s a meticulous exploration of every stage, every channel: the first visit to a site, the impact of an email campaign or the subtle influence of an advert on social networks.

By mastering this approach, companies can not only adjust their marketing efforts, but also fine-tune their strategies, optimizing every euro invested by focusing on the channels that really generate value.

Why is marketing attribution essential for CMOs of subscription-based companies?

Marketing attribution, for CMOs of companies with a subscription-based business plan, is a key to unlocking the hidden mechanisms behind every customer interaction.

Instead of hunches, it offers clarity based on tangible data.

Here’s why it’s becoming essential:

• ROI optimization: By analyzing each channel with surgical precision, marketing attribution lets you know precisely where to allocate your resources.

This allows you to focus your investments on the channels that generate the most conversions, reducing ineffective spending.

This reinforces the return on investment while increasing the profitability of every euro invested.

• Decoding the customer journey: Marketing attribution sheds light on the sometimes winding paths taken by customers. It identifies the decisive moments, even those that seem insignificant at first glance, to capture the true impact of interactions and influence the path to subscription.

Studies show that indirect contact points, often overlooked, can play a decisive role in a prospect’s final decision.

According to a Sales study, it takes an average of 6 to 8 contact points to generate a qualified lead. This figure illustrates the importance of understanding and assigning value to each interaction throughout the subscription journey.

• Data-driven strategies: By understanding precisely which channels are most influential for your subscribers, marketing attribution enables campaigns to be planned and adjusted long before they are launched. This means proactively improving marketing performance.

Marketing attribution offers a panoramic view of the stages in the conversion funnel.

An Adobe study reveals that close collaboration between marketing and sales increases conversions by 36% and sales by 38%.

A figure that only confirms: marketing attribution is not simply analysis, but an alchemy between data and action.

Marketing attribution models: which one to choose?

Each attribution model offers a singular perspective on the importance of touchpoints in the customer journey, particularly for companies with subscription-based offers.

Here are the main options to consider:

First-click model

This model attributes the entire conversion value to the very first touchpoint. It’s ideal for analyzing which channel most effectively captures prospects’ initial attention.

However, it reduces the entire journey to a single first gesture, ignoring the multiple influences that lead to the final decision.

The first click is the spark, but does not reflect the entire transformation path.

Last-click model

The last-click model does just the opposite: it gives full credit to the final point of contact, the one that concludes the customer’s journey and seals the subscription.

Very popular for performance marketing campaigns, it highlights the channels that succeed in tipping an undecided prospect towards conversion.

But it ignores the entire journey leading up to that ultimate moment, overlooking the subtle influences and successive interactions that led to that decisive point.

Linear model

The linear model distributes credit equitably at every touchpoint along the customer journey.

It’s a balanced approach, offering a fair and unbiased overview. Every interaction has its say, and none is neglected.

But perfect balance is also a weakness: it fails to identify particularly influential moments, which are often decisive.

U-shaped (or position-based) model

With the U-shaped model, 40% of credit is attributed to the first point of contact, 40% to the last, and the remaining 20% is shared between the intermediate points of contact.

This hybrid approach recognizes the importance of the first and last touchpoints: one initiates the journey, the other concludes the conversion.

The intermediate stages, though less decisive, are not forgotten. This model is ideal for companies seeking to optimize initial acquisition while valuing the actions that lead to retention.

Algorithmic model

The algorithmic modelis the most sophisticated and powerful of all attribution models.

Relying on advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence, it assigns a personalized value to each contact point according to its real influence on conversion.

Each interaction is thus analyzed, weighed and valued according to its precise role. Amazon, for example, uses this type of model to evaluate millions of touchpoints, optimizing every advertising campaign and maximizing every dollar invested.

Each model tells a different customer experience story. It’s not a matter of choosing blindly, but of opting for the perspective that best embraces the complexity of your subscription offer and your strategic objectives.

Marketing attribution challenges and solutions

The dark funnel

The dark funnel refers to marketing interactions that are not tracked by traditional tools, such as word-of-mouth, brand influence or offline channels. This can create gaps in channel attribution.

Solution: To mitigate the impact of the dark funnel, it is essential to collect qualitative data and combine marketing attribution information with customer surveys, feedback and market research.

These insights enable us to better understand invisible interactions and adjust marketing strategies accordingly.

Data fragmentation

Data collection is often imperfect, especially when it comes to capturing ephemeral interactions that take place offline or across multiple devices.

As a result, customer journeys become labyrinths in which every movement doesn’t always leave a trace.

Keeping track of a consumer on every channel and every medium is a challenge, given the fragmented and discontinuous nature of the paths.

Solution: To improve the accuracy of attribution data, it is essential to combine online and offline tools. Cookies and pixels track digital traces, while QR codes and dedicated numbers fill the void of offline interactions.

The integration of unified analytics platforms, such as Google Analytics or Salesforce, is also an indispensable strategy.

These platforms ensure consistent tracking, even as customers navigate between their devices, transforming a disjointed journey into a harmonious symphony of data.

Best practices for an effective marketing attribution strategy

For companies with subscription offers, implementing an effective attribution strategy hinges on several key principles.

Here are a few best practices to follow:

• Centralize data: The first step to successful marketing attribution is data centralization. It’s essential to consolidate all information from different channels (ads, social networks, emails, etc.) onto a single platform. This centralization enables a more detailed analysis of the customer journey, and makes it easier toidentify the most influential contact points.
• Choose the right attribution model: The attribution model you choose must be adapted to your business objectives.

For example, if you want to understand the acquisition of new leads, a first-click model may be relevant. On the other hand, to maximize conversion and sales, a U-shaped or algorithmic model is more appropriate. It’s also essential not to lock yourself into a single model, but to test and adjust models according to the data and results obtained.

• Ongoing monitoring and optimization: Marketing attribution is an evolutionary process. It’s important to constantly monitor channel performance, and readjust models according to the results obtained. A good practice is to run A/B tests on different campaigns and analyze the results to optimize strategies. This allows us to continually improve the relevance of marketing actions and adjust budgets accordingly.
• Explore new channels: Subscriber behavior evolves rapidly, and it’s important not to rely on the same channels. Touchpoint analysis can reveal new opportunities, such as emerging channels (podcasts, short videos, etc.) that can play a key role in subscriber acquisition or retention.

Attribution: the keys to the city?

Marketing attribution isn’t just a tool: it’s a key that unlocks the mysteries of customer journeys, revealing precisely which channels are most effective in converting prospects into loyal subscribers.

Every interaction, every click, becomes a moment of truth. Through rigorous analysis, companies can fine-tune their strategies, optimize budgets and maximize conversion.

For subscription-based businesses, a central element of their success is the fluidity of recurring payments, essential to delivering a frictionless experience.

For subscription-based businesses, the payment experience is essential to smoothing the customer journey and avoiding any obstacles to conversion.

That’s where Slimpay comes in. By automating recurring payments and simplifying subscription management, Slimpay helps to make every stage of the customer journey as smooth as possible, especially when the moment to pay is crucial.

Complementing the insights provided by marketing attribution, Slimpay ensures that conversions identified by analytics turn into successful, frictionless subscriptions.

Well-conducted attribution shows where the potential lies, and Slimpay ensures that every opportunity is fully seized, offering an efficient and secure payment solution that contributes to long-term loyalty.

Marketing attribution FAQs

What is marketing attribution?

Marketing attribution involves assigning a value to each customer interaction with a brand prior to conversion.

This makes it possible to determine which channels are most effective in converting prospects into subscribers.

What are the main attribution models?

The main models include first-click, last-click, linear, U-shaped and algorithmic.

Each model proposes a different method for assessing the impact of touchpoints in the customer journey.

Why is marketing attribution important for subscription-based businesses?

It enables campaigns to be optimized by identifying the most effective channels, thus adjusting budgets to maximize conversions and improve return on investment (ROI).