Attribution isn’t the whole truth. It’s data trying to describe complex human behavior. An it should be used to see patterns, not final answers.
It’s easy to treat attribution like a scoreboard or a final ruling on which channels, campaigns, and messages “deserve” credit for revenue. But attribution doesn’t hand down verdicts. Instead, it offers direction.
As analytics pro Avinash Kaushik once said, crediting first-touch attribution for your success is like thanking your first date for your marriage. They’re part of your history, but not the reason you made it this far.
Buyers don’t move in straight lines. They move through layers of trust, timing, and repetition. Which means single-touch models don’t just oversimplify reality, they distort it.
First-Touch Attribution
Good for: Spotting where awareness starts.
Not good for: Budget calls. Awareness ≠ revenue.
Last-Touch Attribution
Good for: Seeing what closed the deal.
Not good for: Understanding what built trust along the way.
Linear Attribution
Good for: Showing that multiple touchpoints matter.
Not good for: Prioritization. Equal credit rarely reflects real impact.
Time-Decay Attribution
Good for: Long cycles where late-stage interactions matter most.
Not good for: Complex B2B deals where education starts early.
U- and W-Shaped Attribution
Good for: Teams with clearly defined lead and opportunity stages.
Not good for: Anyone flying blind without lifecycle management.
Custom or Weighted Attribution
Good for: Teams who want accuracy and are disciplined with data.
Not good for: Anyone looking for a quick fix.
HubSpot’s attribution tools are powerful if your data is clean.
Pro Tip: Run revenue attribution only on closed-won deals. Anything still in pipeline is a prediction, not proof.
It’s not about proving LinkedIn works or that webinars don’t. It’s about understanding what:
So your next 90 days of strategy are guided by reality, not ego.
Attribution is one of your sharpest tools, but only if you use it with perspective. Treat it like a compass. Let it guide your direction. Then go build something that actually moves revenue.
Attribution only works when your systems do.
TAC connects every piece of your RevOps stack so marketing, sales, and service teams can see where revenue truly comes from. We clean the data, align your lifecycle stages, and build the HubSpot infrastructure that turns “directional signals” into decisions you can act on.
No vanity dashboards. No disconnected tools. Just clear reporting that shows what’s working and why—so you can scale smarter, faster, and with full confidence in the numbers behind your growth.
