Ask the one source that actually knows.
Your analytics platform sees the last click. Your customer remembers the podcast, the friend, and the practitioner who told them about you six weeks earlier.
Last-click attribution flatters the wrong channel.
A customer hears about you on a podcast in March, sees a friend using the tin in April, and finally searches your brand name in May. Analytics credits brand search. The podcast — the thing that actually created the customer — gets nothing, and next quarter you cut its budget.
- Word of mouth leaves no trackable link at all.
- Podcast, print, and practitioner referrals are structurally invisible.
- Privacy changes and blocked tracking keep shrinking the measurable window.
- Branded search takes credit for demand another channel created.
Six questions to ask right after checkout.
Example attribution questions for a functional mushroom brand. Ask the first one as a Spark, then earn the rest.
- 01
How did you first hear about us?
A friend or family memberInstagram or TikTokA podcastGoogle searchA practitioner or coachA retail shop or marketA newsletter or blog - 02
Was there a specific person or show that mentioned us?
Open text — name the podcast, creator, or shop - 03
What finally convinced you to order?
A personal recommendationReading the researchIngredient sourcingA discount or offerReviewsI had tried it elsewhere - 04
How long were you thinking about it before you bought?
Same dayA few daysA few weeksMonthsI don't remember - 05
Had you seen us anywhere else before you ordered?
Yes, several timesOnce or twiceNo, this was the firstNot sure - 06
Have you recommended us to anyone yet?
Yes, already haveI plan toNot yetProbably not
Illustrative example questions for a wellness merchant.
Attribution that lives on the customer.
Not a chart in a separate tool — properties on the Shopify profile, ready for segmentation.
Discovery Channel
The self-reported source, in the customer’s own account of how they found you.
Referral Source Name
The specific creator, podcast, practitioner, or shop that sent them.
Conversion Trigger
The argument that actually closed the sale, separate from the channel that started it.
Consideration Window
How long the customer deliberated — the shape of your real buying cycle.
Prior Exposure
Whether the order came from one touch or a long, mostly invisible sequence.
Advocacy Intent
Who is already recommending you, before you ask them to.
Spend where the customers came from.
Self-reported attribution is directional, not deterministic — and it is the only view of the channels nothing else can measure.
In Shopify
- Compare self-reported discovery against order value and first product purchased.
- Find the channels that quietly bring in your highest-value customers.
- Give word-of-mouth and practitioner referrals a number for the first time.
In Klaviyo
- Sync Discovery Channel as a profile property and segment campaigns by origin.
- Speak to podcast listeners in the language of the show that sent them.
- Invite customers with advocacy intent into a referral flow.
In Compass
- Set declared discovery next to observed behavior in one profile.
- Track cohort value by self-reported source over time.
- Optional — attribution surveys work with Shopify and Klaviyo alone.
Find out how customers really found you.
Add a one-question attribution Spark to your post-purchase moment and start building the picture.