Outbound Attribution

Attribution is the ability to identify a set of channels or user actions (also sometimes referred to as touchpoints) that contributed to a desired outcome. Commonly used in Marketing, attribution also includes the assignment of a value to any/each of these events.

Outbound attribution is most commonly defined as prospects developing into sales opportunities thanks to the outbound prospecting activities of a firm. They can be very clearly attributed as Outbound starts with a target list, then proceeds to direct response methods employed to turn a cold lead into an introductory meeting. There is no doubt that the sales opportunity that resulted from the Outbound activity was directly linked (attributed) to that activity.

Contrast this with leads that enter your sales pipeline that come from multiple sources, including but not limited to: referrals, advertising, search engines, etc. When a decision-maker makes a phone call into your organization, it’s often hard (if not impossible) to track his or her path back to the initial contact with your brand. As a result, marketers have to guess which channels work efficiently and which don’t.

When it comes to outbound prospecting, the company finds a lead on its own, it makes the first contact and it eventually converts a lead into a qualified opportunity and a customer. As a result, the firm can attribute a particular customer to a certain outreach effort made in the past.

Outbound attribution is facilitated by using a CRM that stores all the data about your leads and clients in one place as well as the information about all the contacts you made?

Benefits of outbound attribution:

1. Monitoring and control

What works best with your potential clients? What channels should you choose for your next campaign? What is your perfect sequence? What messaging resonates with your leads? Attribution can give you the exact answers to these questions. All you need is to check the history of your communication with prospects and analyze.

2. Rep reimbursement (Quota, Bonus, Compensation)

Most sales newcomers view the SDR position as a launchpad to their sales careers. They don’t want to stay in the role for the long term. That’s why bonuses for their hard work are an incentive that can keep them in the position. When a lead converts to a client, some firms award SDRs who brought them; But the overwhelming majority of SDRs receive compensation (often the bulk of their pay) based on meetings they set.

3. Motivation

Unlike SDRs, inbound marketers like content writers, web developers, analysts, social media managers, PR staff, or designers rarely realize the ultimate results of their work – namely the new customers won by a company. They certainly aren’t directly compensated for new sales. Sales teams, on the other hand, make sure that reps know when their leads convert. It is part of a motivation strategy.

Summary

Outbound attribution is an important quality of outbound prospecting that makes it stand out among other lead generation practices. It helps the company to track and improve its performance as well as incentivize the employees in charge of prospecting.