Attribution Surveys Explained
Today there are more ways then ever for a customer to discover your business. Whether the channel for discovery is social, organic, referral, or word of mouth; it's critical that you measure how your channels are performing so that you can know what's working and what isn't. Simple, right?
Well... not exactly. It turns out that getting accurate measurements are easier said that done. If an attribution channel provides referral numbers, they are often treated as fact (and legally they should be); but everyone makes mistakes, and the numbers you receive are subject to interpretation. Alternatively, some channels don't provide referral numbers and some other channels, like word of mouth, can be impossible to quantify.
All of this uncertaintly leaves you in the dark when it comes to measuring which of your channels are most effective and makes it a guessing game when it comes to optimization and budget allocation. But what if I told you there was a better way? Cue the attribution survey.
What Does An Attribution Survey Look Like?
An attribution survey is a questionnaire that you can place strategically on your website. This survey should ask a simple question: "How did you find out about us?". You can present your users with a variety of different channels and leave an input box at the bottom so that they can fill in dynamic content if they came from a channel not listed. You could also add some incentive to submit an answer - for example, "Get A $10 Gift Card", but this may not make sense for all businesses so you can take it or leave it. Check out the poll below for an example Attribution Survey embedded to this page.
Where Do I Put An Attribution Suvey?
All businesses are different and have a different relationship with their customers so the answer is: it depends. However, there are a couple of no-brainer places to try before experimenting with anything else:
- On the Post Purchase Page
- When a User first lands on your site
Putting it on the Post Purchase Page will ensure that you track the customers who matter and it will also ensure that you get a high engagement rate. Alternatively putting it on the first landing page will ensure you cast a wide net and get a full understanding of where your traffic is coming from.
How Do I Interpret the Data?
Once you have your Attribution Survey in place, all you need to do is wait for some responses. Once you have a meaningful number, you should:
- Compare them to your existing pixel data.
- See which channels convert to customers.
- See which channels are underperforming & overperforming
- Use this data to reallocate your marketing budget
Conclusion
Using an attribution survey is the only way to get reliable data about all of your marketing channels. You can strategically insert your attribution survey at key points in your funnel so that you get the data you need to optimize your budget. Once you start collecting responses, you'll be able to use a data-driven approach to your marketing spend that is sure to improve the growth rate of your business.