A better way to get UTM Parameters into Sage CRM
Identify which marketing channel attracts future leads, opportunities & customers by tracking UTM parameters in Sage CRM
The key to growing any business is identifying what marketing channels, content & campaigns are generating leads & customers at a positive ROI, and then doubling down on those initiatives.
But if you can't measure exactly the amount of leads, customers & revenue being generated by your marketing efforts, how do you know which ones are working and which ones aren't?
The key to success is making sure you're tracking the source of every lead & opportunity in your CRM. That way, you can easily run reports that show which campaigns, content & channels are working.
In this article, we'll show you how to capture UTM parameters in Sage CRM so you can get the kind of reporting you need.
4 steps for capturing UTM parameters in Sage CRM
Using Attributer to capture UTM parameters in Sage CRM is easy. Here's how to do it in 4 easy steps:
1. Add UTM variables to your ads
Attributer won't be able to capture UTM parameters if they don't exist, so you need to make sure you add UTM codes to all of your ads and campaigns.
This includes ads on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn as well as search engines like Google & Bing. You should also add UTM codes on bespoke campaigns you conduct on other sites and publications (such as industry news sites, partner websites, etc).
2. Add hidden fields to your forms
Next, you need to add some Hidden Fields to your lead capture forms. These hidden fields are:
- Channel
- Channel Drilldown 1
- Channel Drildown 2
- Channel Drilldown 3
- Landing Page
- Landing Page Group
Most form building tools make it easy to add hidden fields, or if you're using a custom HTML form on your website then you can simply add input type="hidden" to the form fields.
3. Attributer automatically completes the hidden fields with UTM data
When a visitor to your website fills out a form, Attributer - which can 'see' the hidden fields - populates these fields with the UTM data from the first step above.
Here's a scenario to help you picture Attributer at work:
Aaron is in dire need of a tool that can automatically sync files so he can access them offline. He sees a Dropbox ad in a Google Search, gets interested, and clicks. On the site, he fills out the Request A Demo form.
In the background, Attributer has detected that he came from Google (based on the UTM parameters) and completed the hidden fields on the Request A Demo form.
It would have added the following values to the form:
- Channel: Paid Search
- Channel Grouping 1: Google
- Channel Grouping 2: Brand Campaign
- Channel Grouping 3: Dropbox
- Landing Page Group: Features
- Landing Page: www.dropbox.com/features/sync/
The 'Channel' fields are based on the UTM parameters, and the Landing Page and Landing Page Group fields are based on Aaron's interaction with the website.
4. UTM parameters are passed into Sage CRM
Now when Aaron submits the form, the channel data (extracted from the UTM variables) is then passed into Sage CRM. Along with this is the landing page data and of course, Aaron's contact info that he entered in the form.
It's now up to you to do whatever needs to be done so your marketing efforts will be guided accordingly. It's always a good idea to report on it using a business intelligence software that works for you.
Through this process, you should be able to view how many Closed Won deals a channel has brought in, what the current conversion rate is, and which of your channels can be credited for bringing in the most leads like our friend Aaron.
What is Attributer?
With a bit of an understanding of how Attributer can help you get UTM parameters into Sage CRM, it's probably time to talk about exactly how Attributer works.
When a visitor arrives on your website, Attributer looks at a bunch of technical information about the visit (I.e. Whether UTM parameters are present, what the referring site was, what device the user is on, etc) to essentially identify where the user came from.
Based on this technical information, Attributer then categorizes the visit into channels similar to those in Google Analytics (I.e. Organic Search, Paid Search, Paid Social, Referral, etc.). Once categorized, the data is stored as a cookie in the visitor's browser. When the user fills out and submits a lead form, Attributer passes this information and the lead's information into Sage CRM.
Attributer came about to address a particular need: determine which channels were driving actual leads and customers. Other analytics tools may only show visitors, which, though helpful, isn't enough to help you make smart marketing decisions.
Attributer was created by a B2B marketing consultant who, after some time using it with his clients, decided to make it available for other marketers and B2B business owners to use.
Why using Attributer is better than capturing raw UTM parameters
There are other tools on the market that will simply capture raw UTM parameters and pass them into Sage CRM as is.
Attributer on the contrary does more than this.
It looks at multiple different sources to determine where your visitors are coming from (including not just the UTM parameters, but other technical things Google Click ID or HTTP Referrer data) and categorizes the traffic into easily understand Channels like Paid Search, Paid Social, etc.
This is better than just capturing raw UTM parameters for the following reasons:
1. Captures all traffic
Attributer is able to capture all traffic sources, and we mean all of them, including those where UTM parameters aren't present. For instance, Attributer captures channel information on visitors who land on your site through channels that may not have UTM parameters, such as Organic Search, Referral, Organic Social, Direct, Email, and more.
Attributer sends all of this information into Sage CRM and so you know where all of your leads are originating from, regardless of whether they're coming from paid ads or not.
2. Provides cleaner data
Attributer gives you a cleaner, more organized data. One of the problems with capturing UTM parameters raw is that you inevitably end up with loads of messy data that can make Marie Kondo cry.
As an example, imagine some of your Twitter campaigns are tagged with UTM_Source=Twitter.com (capital T), others with UTM_Source=twitter (lowercase, no domain), and others with UTM_Source=tw.
When you run reports in Sage CRM with just these raw UTM parameters to see how many leads your Twitter campaigns have brought you, you get three different sources that you would then have to stitch together.
With Attributer, you don't have to deal with this because it takes the possibility of capitalization and other inconsistencies into account, and will ascribe leads to Paid Social.
3. Captures landing page data as well
Along with UTM parameters and channel information, Attributer captures landing page data too, including landing page category. With this Attributer feature, you'll be able to see how different content on your site (I.e. your blog) is performing in terms of bringing in leads and customers.
Wrap up
If you're wanting to capture UTM parameters in Sage CRM, then Attributer is a great solution.
Not only will it capture and pass UTM parameters into Sage CRM, but it will also give you data on leads that come from channels where UTM's aren't present, such as Organic Search, Organic Social, Referral, etc.
Best of all, it's free to get started, so start your free trial today.
Get Started For Free
It's free to get started with Attributer, and paid plans start at just $49 per month