Marketing Attribution Glossary
Clear, practical definitions for the terms that matter in marketing attribution, measurement, and analytics. Written for marketers who need to act on the numbers, not just read them.
All Glossary Terms
Attribution
First-Click Attribution
An attribution model that assigns 100 percent of the credit for a conversion to the first marketing interaction in the customer journey.
Read definitionLast-Click Attribution
An attribution model that assigns 100 percent of the credit for a conversion to the final marketing interaction before the sale.
Read definitionMulti-Touch Attribution
A marketing measurement approach that distributes credit for a conversion across every touchpoint in the customer journey, rather than assigning it to a single interaction.
Read definitionCRM Basics
Activity Tracking
Activity tracking is the practice of recording the interactions tied to a contact or deal, such as emails, calls, meetings, and notes, so the whole team can see what has happened and what is next.
Read definitionContact Management
Contact management is the practice of storing and organizing the people and companies you do business with, along with their details and the full history of your interactions, in one place.
Read definitionCRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A CRM is both a strategy for managing customer relationships and the technology system that centralizes customer data and interactions across every touchpoint, organizing, automating, and synchronizing sales, marketing, and service.
Read definitionSingle Source of Truth
A single source of truth is one authoritative, shared place where customer data lives, so everyone works from the same accurate information instead of scattered spreadsheets and inboxes.
Read definitionMetrics
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of leads or deals that move from one stage to the next, or that ultimately close, used to measure how well a sales process is working.
Read definitionROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
A ratio of revenue earned for every unit of advertising spend. Calculated as Revenue Attributed to Ads divided by Ad Spend.
Read definitionSales Forecasting
Sales forecasting is the practice of predicting future sales by combining the current pipeline with historical conversion rates and trends, so a team can plan with a realistic view of what is likely to close.
Read definitionPipeline
Pipeline Stage
A pipeline stage is a defined step in a sales pipeline that shows where a deal currently sits in the sales process, such as Qualified, Proposal, or Closed Won.
Read definitionSales Pipeline
A sales pipeline is a visual representation of the steps a lead takes on the way to becoming a customer, plus the activities the sales team uses to move deals from one stage to the next.
Read definitionSales
Deal (Opportunity)
A deal, also called an opportunity, is a specific potential sale that is tracked through the stages of a sales pipeline until it is won or lost.
Read definitionLead
A lead is a person or company that has shown some interest in what you sell but has not yet been qualified or turned into a deal.
Read definitionLead Management
Lead management is the process of capturing, qualifying, routing, nurturing, and converting leads so that promising prospects are followed up consistently and none fall through the cracks.
Read definitionMQL vs SQL
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) has shown enough interest to be worth nurturing, while a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) has been vetted as ready for a direct sales conversation.
Read definitionSales Cadence (Sequence)
A sales cadence is a structured, timed series of outreach touches across channels such as email, phone, and SMS, designed to follow up with a lead or prospect in a consistent way.
Read definitionLearn by Doing
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