2024 Survey: How Do Companies Do Content Attribution?

After conducting our research for this report, we learned that 85% of surveyed B2B content teams cannot confidently tie content efforts to revenue end-to-end with their current martech.

We wanted to dive deeper into the state of content attribution in B2B today after learning from hundreds of sales calls that the majority of marketers don't track KPIs relating to pipeline or revenue. Instead, they focus on vanity metrics like traffic to site.

In parallel, what we observed was an increase in layoffs in marketing teams, especially content teams, when the economy got tough. To us, there was a correlation; the purpose of this report was to help us better understand how content teams measure and go about content attribution today.

Methodology

Following the above observations from 254+ sales calls, we conducted a survey targeting content marketing teams at B2B companies with an average of 50-1000 employees.

We received 51 responses.

Keeping in mind that this data may in no way represent the larger scale B2B SaaS community as a whole, here were our findings.

Content Attribution Report

Most Respondents Report An Inability to Tie Content To Revenue

An overwhelming 85% of respondents reported that they are unable to attribute content to revenue end-to-end using their current tech stack.

‎‎Tools like HubSpot, Google Analytics, and Salesforce (leading tracking software as showcased in the next section of this report) evidently lack the depth of data and connection points required to draw a line from specific content assets to eventual revenue.

This is especially true given the time delays in complex sales cycles.

Most Marketers Use HubSpot for Content Attribution

‎The majority of respondents use HubSpot for tracking content attribution.

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HubSpot's integrated CRM and original source tracking allows teams to monitor the "lifecycle" of a deal, from first touch through to conversion.

You can also add self-reported attribution which can give you a more detailed look at what customer interactions are and the direct influence of content on pipeline.

This corresponds to free-form responses which included references to "closed-won revenue" and "content influenced pipeline."

Prospects Typically Consume 2-5 Content Assets Before Beginning a Sales Cycle

A total of 66.7% respondents reported that prospects consume 2-5 content assets before entering the sales funnel.

Those two to five content assets contribute to an average of 30-40% of web traffic, according to 27.8% of respondents.

This presents some concerning possibilities:

• Marketers are driving unqualified traffic to site, which demands that current marketing and funnel strategies need to be revisited
• Marketers are driving qualified traffic to site but aren't properly tracing these visits to revenue

Both possible causes put marketing teams in a vulnerable position when it comes time for budget and personnel cuts.

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MQLs Remain a (Mis)Leading Indicator of Content Success

Content teams primarily track content attribution using MQLs as their KPI.

Businesses typically define MQLs by evaluating their interactions with content and their demographic details. This process often involves employing a lead scoring mechanism to prioritize leads, or a point system.

MQLs are by definition leads that may or may not convert into revenue, especially if they're poorly defined.

This once again doesn't really help marketers prove that they move the needle.

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Sales-Led Companies Appear More Likely to Measure Pipeline than PLG Companies

Unsurprisingly, we learned that sales-led companies are more likely to track pipeline as a leading KPI than PLG companies.

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What is interesting is that 30% of PLG respondents do track pipeline, which begs the question: are PLG teams focusing on the metrics appropriate to their motion?

That being said, 73% of total respondents were from sales-led companies. We would need a larger share of PLG respondents to draw better conclusions.

You Need To Be Able To Prove Value With Directional Revenue Attribution

Putting our initial observations and final findings together, it seems clear that marketers today need to be able to tie content to revenue in some way, even if it's directional.

Without this, you're putting your marketing team in a vulnerable position.

We're always thinking about content attribution over at Letterdrop. If you enjoyed this report and are willing to explore ways to trace revenue down to the asset, reach out to us.