GuideMeasurement and attribution
Self-reported attribution
Definition
The answer buyers type into the “how did you hear about us?” field on your form. Noisy for any single lead, and the only instrument you have for influences that never produced a click.
How it works
Put one open text field on your highest-intent form and let people answer in their own words. Any single answer is unreliable, since memory is, so the unit of reading is the distribution: collect a few months of answers, sort them into buckets by hand, and look at the shape. Set that shape beside what click-based attribution claims, and the difference maps the influence your platforms never see: the podcast mention, the colleague’s recommendation. Per lead I treat it as an anecdote; across a quarter I treat it as evidence.
What to watch for
A field left optional will sit empty, and a column of blanks reads as proof the channel mix is fine; if the field matters, require it on the one form where friction is already spent. Worse is the curated dropdown: options listing only your paid channels force every referred buyer to pick an ad, and the data will confirm the media plan that wrote the list. Watch for single answers quoted in budget arguments; one lead’s memory settles nothing. And keep the raw text: the buckets you sort into this year are a hypothesis, and next year’s answers may not fit them.
The question you ask
“Can I see last quarter’s “how did you hear about us” answers next to the attribution report?”