Attribution: The correct attribution of inquiries

You will learn in this article:

  • What is attribution?
  • What are the advantages of correct attribution?
  • What is call tracking?
  • How is a contact established via our contact form?

Attribution

Attribution refers to the assignment of the channels through which your customers reach you. It is important to know how potential customers become aware of you. It is often difficult to allocate this correctly. In fact, the assignment process not only records the number of customer contacts per channel, but also the actual sales. The correct attribution will help you to see the benefits of your advertising and how best to utilize them.

Telephone Contact & Call Tracking

The most personal way to reach you is via a classic phone call. It is often assumed that the number of calls is decreasing – however the opposite is the case. BIA/Kelsey have published a study on this topic which proposed that the number of calls is set to double from 2016 to 2020! Now it is up to you to accept these calls and to attribute them correctly. In general, we recommend that you always ask the caller how he or she became aware of your company or, more specifically, your listing. In this way, you can identify a trend and decide which advertising measures are most effective for your company.

To make it even easier for you, the possibility of call tracking is available to you via Machineseeker.com. This is a method of success control. With call tracking, each call placed via Machineseeker is indicated with an announcement: “This call is presented by Machineseeker.com”. This allows you to easily attribute the call. We also inform you by mail about missed calls so that you can call back potential buyers. The behaviour of the callers can be measured and it can be checked whether the calls were made via our platform. This feature allows you to clearly see the added value that Machineseeker gives you in extending your reach.

Contact Form

Our contact form offers a further possibility of inquiry. Interested buyers access this form as soon as they click on a listing. After entering name, company, contact data and address, the customer can quickly send you an inquiry for the machine in question. You will find this in your mailbox. In general, interested buyers who contact you via our platform will use the contact form to receive an offer. Our form has the advantage of directly referring to a specific listing. The contact form allows you to see at a glance that the inquiry was placed via Machineseeker.com.

Branding Effect of the Profile

Just by creating a profile on Machineseeker.com your company will attract more attention. Potential buyers can access your profile and thus your website via the listing. You should make sure to take these clicks into account in any case when attributing.

UTM Parameters

UTM parameters are attached to the end of a link. They allow you to track how often this link is clicked and by whom. Five aspects can be tracked using UTM parameters

  • campaigns
  • sources
  • medium
  • content element
  • terms

For example, the performance of certain marketing campaigns can be measured. You can use a tool to create a UTM parameter to analyze performance.

Attribution Models

At this point, you have learned more about the ways in which customers can reach you and how an attribution process works. Now the question may arise: Which components are responsible for success? What can be optimized to increase your success? The illustration shows that customers usually become aware of your machines via Machineseeker. This is followed by visiting the dealer website, which leads to a  phone call.

There are various attribution models for the evaluation. We present the two most common models here:

First Touch Model

If you value the first contact with the customer the most, this is the model for you. It measures which methods reach the prospective customer first. This makes sense if you want to boost attention for your company. If you are interested in direct reactions, this model is not right for you.

Last Touch Model

This is where all the success is assigned to the last marketing contact point. This is still the most used attribution model in practice today.  However, this model neglects all other components of the campaign.