
Frameworks, core principles and top case studies for SaaS pricing, learnt and refined over 28+ years of SaaS-monetization experience.
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Join companies like Zoom, DocuSign, and Twilio using our systematic pricing approach to increase revenue by 12-40% year-over-year.
In today's complex buyer journey, attributing revenue to specific marketing efforts has become increasingly challenging. Traditional attribution models that focus solely on first or last touch fail to capture the nuanced reality of how B2B customers make purchasing decisions. This is where influence revenue attribution comes in—a methodology that recognizes and quantifies how multiple touchpoints collectively contribute to revenue generation.
The average B2B purchase involves 6-10 decision-makers and 27 touchpoints across multiple channels, according to Gartner research. Yet many SaaS companies still rely on simplistic attribution models that credit either the first interaction that generated a lead or the final touchpoint before conversion.
These binary approaches miss the critical middle-funnel activities that influence purchasing decisions. For executives seeking accurate ROI calculations and optimal resource allocation, this presents a significant blind spot.
Influence attribution recognizes that revenue results from a constellation of marketing touchpoints rather than a single interaction. This approach measures how each touchpoint contributes to moving opportunities through the sales pipeline, regardless of whether it was the first, last, or somewhere in between.
| Traditional Attribution | Influence Attribution |
|------------------------|----------------------|
| Credits a single touchpoint | Distributes credit across multiple touchpoints |
| Often binary (first/last touch) | Weighted based on impact |
| Channel-centric | Customer journey-centric |
| Prone to internal competition | Encourages cross-channel collaboration |
First, determine the timeframe within which marketing touchpoints will be considered influential. This typically includes:
According to Forrester, B2B SaaS companies should consider touchpoints from at least 6-12 months before conversion, as enterprise buying cycles often span multiple quarters.
Catalog all possible marketing interactions across:
Each interaction should be tagged with:
Not all touchpoints are created equal. Develop a weighting system based on:
Engagement Quality
Buying Stage Relevance
Decision Maker Involvement
A basic influence attribution calculation follows this structure:
Touchpoint Influence Value = (Engagement Score × Stage Multiplier × Decision Maker Multiplier)Influence Revenue Attribution = (Touchpoint Influence Value ÷ Total Influence Value of All Touchpoints) × Closed Revenue
For example, if a VP of Operations spent 45 minutes in a product demo webinar during the decision stage, and this represented 15% of the total influence value across all touchpoints for a $100,000 deal, that webinar would receive $15,000 in influence-attributed revenue.
For a more sophisticated approach, implement one of these multi-touch attribution models:
Time-Decay Attribution
Touchpoints closer to conversion receive progressively more credit. This works well for shorter sales cycles where recency matters.
Position-Based Attribution
A hybrid approach that typically assigns 40% credit to first touch, 40% to last touch, and divides the remaining 20% among middle touchpoints.
Algorithmic Attribution
Leverages machine learning to dynamically determine influence weights based on historical patterns. According to McKinsey, companies using algorithmic attribution report 15-30% greater marketing efficiency.
Challenge: Marketing touchpoint data often lives in multiple systems (MAP, CRM, webinar platforms, event management software).
Solution: Implement a customer data platform (CDP) or marketing attribution platform that centralizes interactions. Companies like Bizible, Attribution, and Full Circle Insights specialize in connecting these data points for SaaS businesses.
Challenge: Different departments may resist influence attribution as it redistributes "credit" for revenue.
Solution: Frame influence attribution as expanding the pie rather than dividing it. Showing how multiple teams contribute to success often increases cross-functional collaboration. Convince stakeholders with pilot programs showing more accurate ROI calculations.
Cloud security platform Netskope implemented influence revenue attribution and discovered that their technical webinars—previously undervalued in their last-touch model—actually influenced 34% of enterprise deals exceeding $250,000.
This revelation led them to:
The result was a 22% increase in average deal size and a 15% reduction in sales cycle length within two quarters.
Advanced practitioners are now incorporating additional dimensions:
Negative Attribution
Measuring touchpoints that correlate with lost deals or extended sales cycles to identify problematic content or approaches.
Content Journey Mapping
Analyzing which content sequences lead to highest conversion rates, enabling the creation of optimized nurture paths.
Account-Based Attribution
For B2B SaaS companies using ABM strategies, measuring influence across the entire buying committee rather than individual leads.
Audit your current attribution capabilities - Assess what touchpoint data you're currently capturing and where gaps exist.
Start with a hybrid model - Begin with a position-based attribution model that acknowledges both lead generation and conversion touchpoints while still recognizing middle-funnel influence.
Implement progressive refinement - Don't aim for perfection immediately. Start with major touchpoints and add sophistication as your process matures.
Invest in attribution technology - While spreadsheets can work for basic calculations, purpose-built attribution platforms provide much greater accuracy and time savings.
Create feedback loops - Ensure attribution insights flow back to content creation and campaign planning teams to continuously optimize your marketing mix.
Calculating influence revenue attribution requires a shift in thinking from simplistic models to a more nuanced understanding of how marketing activities collectively impact buying decisions. By implementing a systematic approach to measuring touchpoint influence, SaaS executives gain clearer visibility into what's truly driving revenue and can make more informed investment decisions.
As buying committees grow larger and customer journeys become more complex, influence attribution will only become more essential for SaaS companies looking to maximize marketing ROI and create truly customer-centric experiences that match the realities of today's buying processes.
Join companies like Zoom, DocuSign, and Twilio using our systematic pricing approach to increase revenue by 12-40% year-over-year.