Marketing Attribution

A Strata YouTube Original Series

Attribution is (or at least, should be) a vital part of your marketing. If you’re not sure where to start or are unsure how attribution works, we’re here to help out. Which is why we interviewed Harrison Sammak, Strata’s Director of R&D, to answer some of the most frequently asked attribution questions. Here’s a snippet out of the full YouTube video

What is attribution?

In the context of marketing, attribution refers to the concept of knowing what activities your marketing team performed that had a material effect on someone engaging with you or your company.

Why is attribution so important when it comes to sales and marketing?

The goal of marketing is to generate and spread awareness, inform relevant audiences of your product or service’s value, and create opportunities for those audience members to enter your sales funnel. Without attribution, you can’t be sure your marketing is doing these things effectively (or not doing these things).

What is the biggest challenge associated with attribution?

The biggest challenge facing marketers that holds them back from a truly strong and accurate attribution system, is when their MarTech or attribution model doesn’t support a channel, and consequently, they avoid using this channel for marketing efforts (when it could be very successful).

Head over to Strata’s YouTube channel to watch the rest of the video and – hopefully, get all your attribution questions answered.

Harrison also answers:

  • How do you solve for these challenges?
  • What does attribution done right look like?

Click the image below to view the full video!

If you have any additional questions, want to learn more about attribution, or are looking to elevate and better understand your marketing, contact our team today. Our experts are ready to help you make smart happen.

Laying Out the Pros and Cons

We know it can be a long process to research, find, and decide on a marketing solutions company that achieves your objectives. We also know that the full package – good data, quality design, excellent messaging, great customer service, mailing and fulfillment, and quantifiable results – is the goal, but not always the outcome. Since we get asked about it from time to time, in this blog, we’re going to cover why you may want to choose to work with a marketing company over a CRM services company who also happens to strategize and launch campaigns. Before you make your decision, give this a quick read. 

Not Always the “Path of Least Resistance” 

First and foremost, although it may appear “easier” to partner with a CRM service to launch your campaigns (because they have access to CRM) – they don’t always have immediate access to other capabilities. For example, they likely don’t have in-house creative design, printing, fulfillment, and mailing, and if they do have some of them – they likely don’t have all of them to execute a turnkey campaign. The main focus of a CRM company is usually just that – customer relationship management. Their key offering is their ability to compile and supply lists – which they may be excellent at doing, but what will they provide in terms of other areas of expertise? 

Because of the outsourced services they use (such as those listed above), CRM companies can’t always make campaign changes on the fly. They’re usually unable to print on-demand, have their artist make quick modifications, make last-minute changes to the mailing process, or most importantly, optimize the campaign based on results, midstream. 

The Marketing Differentiators

So, what’s the alternative? Partnering with a marketing solutions company that offers expertise in everything from implementation to optimization. Marketing companies are often also connected directly to the list compiler, and even more than that, they’re usually more closely if not directly connected to everything else you’ll need and use during the campaign production process – from strategy to printing. Since many if not all of their services are in-house (including design, print production, fulfillment, and mailing), you can always make changes and improvements mid-stream and at rapid speed. They can simply call on their marketing team of strategists, artists, print production associates, and others to change gears, swiftly improving the efficiency of the program while it’s in progress and effectively increasing campaign ROI. 

Additionally, marketing companies focus solely on marketing strategy and production, and the more years of experience under their belts of doing so – the better. Marketing execution is not an add-on to marketing companies. It’s what they do, day in and day out. And the right marketing company will be able to simultaneously execute concurrent campaigns, whether single-touch or many, with corresponding digital to (targeted, specified) customers and prospects. If you’re lucky or do your research, you’ll find a marketing company that also incorporates backend fulfillment, seamless management, granular personalization, and attribution, and will be a team of dedicated experts, creators, innovators, and most importantly, marketers. You get the picture we’re painting. It’s important for a marketer or marketing team to also value and provide quality execution and customer care to every client, and ensure you have the reporting, understanding, and peace of mind you need, with 1:1 attribution, automated data exchange, and a detailed dashboard. 

Next time you’re debating, think through this blog first. Do you just need a simple marketing campaign with CRM first, or do you need a multi-touch, well-focused marketing campaign with accurate, up-to-date lists and quality attribution?