5 Key Marketing Metrics We Have Been Missing

There has been a lot of buzz in the market about getting the marketing metrics spot on. B2B marketers are being flooded with a new key metric with each passing day. One day it is the MQL, yesterday it was the CAC, and tomorrow it might be the pipeline. In B2B marketing, only one thing is certain, i.e. change. To get your marketing team to agree on a set of metrics can turn out to be a bit overwhelming, as it might just change with a tweet or a LinkedIn post by an analyst. You may think that you are missing a few things in the chosen set. Marketing metrics such as revenue pipeline, CPL, ROI, and revenue are undoubtedly, highly business critical. However, it is never about just one finite set of metrics that leads you to success. There are multiple factors which define the true value of the metrics depending upon ‘when’ you are using these metrics instead of ‘which’ metrics at any given time. Having said that, we are going to talk about the most critical ones in this article, but first let us take some time out to honour the basics.

• Well defined business objectives sets the foundation:

  Having a clear set of business objectives automatically lays foundation for choosing right set of metrics. Don’t just blindly follow any random article or post or a tweet on the Internet. While they are not wrong in their assessment, it is not mandatory that their findings will be applicable to your business model. It is thus, very critical to have a clear set of business goals to figure out the right set of marketing metrics to map those goals

• One metric doesn’t solve your problems:

  There is no Godfather when it comes to marketing metrics and their measurement. It takes time for our marketing campaigns to mature and show the results we are hoping for. However, it does not imply that you should just sit back and do nothing, and let those campaigns run their course. It is crucial to monitor early stage metrics during the time. It will help your gauge whether you are on a right track or need some modifications.

• Carve out definitions – that too early:

  It is really going down the basics, but it is that important. Your marketing and sales teams need to be in harmony to close out more deals. And for that you need to carve out definitions at the primary stages so that both the teams are on the same platform as the leads start to flow in and further down the marketing funnel. Make sure your definitions are well communicated and documented so that a MQL will be treated the same throughout.

• Have proper systems in place to monitor your overall progress:

  This co-relates to the first point we spoke about. Defining goals to understand what metrics you need to track before running a campaign. You don’t want to be in a position where you are unable to tackle critical challenges only because proper tracking and monitoring technology was not in place (please mention names of few good tracking and monitoring technology). You need to reverse engineer the process to get right set of tracking systems and technology that will boost your campaigns.

• Concentrate on finite key metrics that allows you to enhance your marketing efforts:

  Identify key set of metrics that are aligned with your business objectives. Monitor those regularly to assess the positives and lacking points to improve upon.

Now let us take a look at few critical metrics that you need to track to boost your revenue:

1) Reach:

Reach of the company is the sum of its blog subscribers, social media followers, and email database. It includes anyone whom the company can reach with the help of its content or marketing efforts. This metric is highly important as it scopes the width at the top of the marketing as well as the sales funnel.

2) Number of leads generated:

This is the most common marketing metric yet a highly significant one. Once you have lead, you need to nurture it effectively using all their contact information.

3) Revenue Funnel:

The revenue funnel takes the leads generated by your marketing efforts and projects their value based on the close rate and average profit made per sale. Revenue funnel is a highly clarifying marketing metric as it helps you directly line up your marketing efforts with that of sales. This also provides you with assessment of your marketing and sales teams and their inter-operability

4) The Profit:

Money O money! The ultimate objective of your marketing and sales team – profits. You need to keep a constant track of this metric throughout your sales cycle and also in comparison to your original objectives. This will make sure you are not bewildered at the end of your sales quarter that you haven’t reached the desired number.

5) Return on Investment:

It is the metric used to assess the value and the effectiveness of your investment. It describes the profits and/or losses of any investment by measuring and comparing it with the amount of return generated on that investment with the initial expenditure.

Article credits:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/278758

https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33659/12-critical-marketing-and-sales-metrics-you-better-be-tracking.aspx

https://blog.marketo.com/2016/06/if-marketing-metrics-are-driving-you-crazy-read-this.html

https://www.klipfolio.com/blog/metrics-marketing-managers

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