Attribution was supposed to make things easier. A clean report that tells you which channel “caused” a deal. Clear numbers to defend your spend. A way to prove marketing’s value in the revenue process.
But attribution is just the beginning of the problem. The deeper issue is the flawed model it supports:
That marketing’s primary job is to create pipeline and to prove it through attribution or sourcing credit.
This model doesn’t align your go-to-market team. It divides it. It pits functions against each other in a zero-sum battle for credit. And worst of all—it distracts you from the real question: What’s the smartest way to plan and invest to hit our revenue goals?
Let’s unpack why the “marketing as pipeline creator” model is outdated—and what to replace it with.
The Real Damage: Credit-Based Models Hurt the Business
Attribution and sourcing models don’t just fail technically—they create real pain across the business. Here’s how:
1. Lack of Trust
Marketing hits its lead or sourced-pipeline goal, but the business still misses revenue. In this scenario, no one is thanking marketing. It erodes credibility rather than building it.
2. Lack of Alignment
Marketing and sales end up pointing fingers. Instead of collaborating to close pipeline gaps, they defend their own dashboards. Everyone optimizes for their own metrics, not shared success.
3. Incentives That Push the Wrong Behavior
When credit is the goal, teams do whatever it takes to “generate” pipeline—even if that pipeline doesn’t convert. We over-index on demand gen, neglect brand, and start chasing the visible funnel instead of the real one. We focus on what’s measurable instead of what actually works.
4. Reduced Ownership of Outcomes
When marketing is seen as a lead generator—not a growth driver—it becomes detached from the full customer journey. Teams feel less ownership over revenue, retention, and business impact. It also limits marketing’s true impact across all pipeline.
5. Hard to Actually Plan and Optimize
Attribution and sourcing data is too granular, fragmented, and often ambiguous to drive meaningful decisions. ROI calculations rely on partial data and faulty credit models. And worst of all—marketing and sales often plan in separate silos, using different inputs, assumptions, and goals.
Attribution and sourcing metrics help you claim credit. But they don’t help you build alignment, trust, or a plan that works.
What to Do Instead
If we stop measuring marketing’s value by how much pipeline it creates, what should we use instead?
✅ 1. Shared Pipeline Goals
The best-performing companies align marketing, sales, and even partner teams on one pipeline or revenue number. If the number is off, the question isn’t “who missed?”—it’s “what’s the best lever to close the gap?” In the end, marketing should be helping every deal, not just the ones they are getting “sourcing credit” for.
✅ 2. Confidence Signals
Branded search growth, account engagement, intent data—these don’t prove credit, but they do show momentum. They help teams stay aligned even when deals haven’t landed yet and show that marketing is working.
✅ 3. Scenario Planning
Instead of looking backward to see who sourced what, great marketing teams look forward:
“What if we shifted budget from webinars to paid search?” “What happens if we pause brand for a quarter?” “Where should we invest if we want to hit a higher pipeline target?”
Scenario planning turns marketing into a strategic lever—not a cost center.
✅ 4. Use Statistical Modeling (MMM)
Media Mix Modeling allows teams to understand the macro effect of marketing investments without relying on click paths. It works across channels and time periods to show how spend correlates to pipeline and revenue.
Attribution Isn’t Useless—It’s Just Not Strategic
You can still use attribution to spot patterns or report engagement. But it shouldn’t be your planning tool.
Use attribution to ask better questions. Use modeling to find better answers. Use shared goals to create better alignment.
How Align BI Helps
At Align BI, we help B2B marketing and revenue teams move beyond attribution fights—and toward better planning.
Our Media Mix Modeling platform shows how changes in marketing and sales investment affect pipeline, helping teams simulate scenarios and plan together.
Because the goal isn’t proving credit. It’s building a smarter path to revenue.