80% of users will answer a simple attribution question if asked at the right time
How to Setup
Attribution Surveys
Learn exactly when and how to ask users about their marketing journey for maximum accuracy.
Your Attribution Journey
The One Question That Changes Everything
Your entire attribution strategy starts with one simple, powerful question:
That's it. This single question unlocks multi-touch attribution without complex tracking.
The 3 Critical Survey Timing Strategies
When you ask matters as much as what you ask. Here are the 3 proven moments to trigger attribution surveys for maximum accuracy and response rates.
Strategy 1: First Value Moment Survey
Ask right after users experience their first success
Best time: Right after the user completes their first meaningful action (first project created, first workout completed, first report generated, etc.)
Why This Works:
- ✓Emotional high: Users just got value, so they're happy to answer
- ✓Memory is fresh: They still remember how they discovered you
- ✓Filters for activated users: Only users who experience value respond
- ✓High response rate: 75-85% completion vs 20-30% for email surveys
FitFlow Example:
Trigger: User completes their first workout
Survey that appeared:
"Great work on your first workout! 💪 Quick question to help us improve:"
How did you first hear about FitFlow?
- ○ Friend or family recommendation
- ○ Social media (Instagram, TikTok, etc.)
- ○ YouTube video or creator
- ○ Google search
- ○ Online ad
- ○ Other
Result: 82% response rate, 3,200 responses in 8 weeks
🎯 For B2B SaaS
First project created, first integration connected, first report generated
🛒 For E-Commerce
First purchase completed, order confirmation page
🎮 For Consumer Apps
First level completed, first content created, first goal achieved
📱 For Marketplaces
First booking made, first listing created, first transaction completed
Strategy 2: Upgrade/Purchase Survey
Ask paying customers about their journey
Best time: Immediately after a user upgrades to paid or completes their first purchase
Why This Works:
- ✓Filters for high-value users: Only paying customers respond
- ✓Revenue attribution: Directly ties channels to revenue, not just signups
- ✓Calculate CAC accurately: Know true cost to acquire a paying customer per channel
- ✓Goodwill moment: They just paid you, so they're invested in helping
Example Survey Flow:
After premium upgrade:
"Welcome to Premium! 🎉 We'd love to know:"
How did you originally discover us?
(Multiple choice options)
Follow-up: What convinced you to upgrade?
- ○ Needed a specific premium feature
- ○ Hit free plan limits
- ○ Liked the product and wanted to support it
- ○ Team requirement
Pro Tip: Combine attribution data with upgrade reason to understand not just where paying customers come from, but why they convert.
Strategy 3: Engagement Milestone Survey
Ask power users about their discovery journey
Best time: After user reaches a significant engagement milestone (7-day streak, 30-day active, 10th project, etc.)
Why This Works:
- ✓Identifies retention drivers: See which channels bring engaged, sticky users
- ✓Filters for product champions: These users are likely to refer others
- ✓Lower churn channels: Discover which sources have highest retention
- ✓Long-term value: These responses correlate with high LTV
FitFlow Example:
7-Day Active User Survey:
"You've been crushing it for 7 days! 🔥"
Quick question: How did you first discover FitFlow?
Discovery: Friend referrals had 87% 7-day retention vs TikTok's 42%. This informed their $180k budget reallocation.
📅 Milestone Ideas
- • 7-day active user
- • 30-day retention
- • 10th session
- • 100th action
🎯 What to Track
- • Retention rate by channel
- • Engagement depth by source
- • Power user distribution
- • Referral propensity
Survey Design Best Practices
Keep It Short (1-2 Questions Max)
Don't ask for their life story. One attribution question + one optional follow-up gets 3x higher completion than 5-question surveys.
Use Multiple Choice (With "Other" Option)
Make it easy to respond. Provide 6-8 common channels as options, plus "Other" for edge cases.
Example options:
- • Friend or colleague recommendation
- • Google search
- • Social media (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.)
- • YouTube video or creator
- • Blog post or article
- • Online ad
- • Other (please specify)
Ask "First" Heard, Not "How" Found
"How did you first hear about us?" is better than "How did you find us?" The word "first" captures discovery, not last-click.
Make It Skippable (But Track Skip Rate)
Always include a "Skip" or "I don't remember" option. You'll still get 70-80% completion, and forcing answers creates bad data.
Add Context to Your Question
Don't just say "How did you hear about us?" Add a quick reason why you're asking:
"Quick question to help us improve: How did you first hear about [Product]?"
Segment Your Options by Product Type
B2B and B2C products have different discovery channels. Customize your options:
B2B Options:
- • Colleague recommendation
- • Industry blog/publication
- • Conference or event
- • Google search
B2C Options:
- • Friend/family recommendation
- • Instagram/TikTok
- • YouTube creator
- • Google search
- • Online ad
Your Attribution Survey Setup Checklist
Choose your primary trigger moment
First value moment, upgrade, or engagement milestone?
Write your core question
"How did you first hear about [Product]?"
List 6-8 relevant channel options
Include common discovery channels for your product type
Add "Other" and "Skip" options
Always allow edge cases and non-responses
Set up in-product survey trigger
Use Mapster to trigger survey at your chosen moment
Connect responses to user data
Link survey responses to user ID, LTV, churn, revenue
Wait for 100-200 responses before analyzing
Don't optimize on small sample sizes
Segment by quality metrics (LTV, churn, activation)
Find which channels drive highest-value users
Your Attribution Journey
Ready to Setup Attribution Surveys?
Start with pre-built attribution survey templates that trigger at the perfect moment for maximum response rates.
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