Choosing marketing metrics for greater stakeholder support
One of your challenges as a marketer is to identify the right metrics that not only measure marketing performance but also support your company’s wider business objectives. In this article, we’re going to explore the process of selecting marketing metrics that resonate with your stakeholders across the organization.
1. Think outside marketing: what is best for the business at large?
To select the right marketing metrics, you need to understand your company’s overarching goals and how marketing fits into them. And, in a large, siloed organization, it can sometimes be hard to think outside a single marketing channel, let alone the entire marketing organization. Ask yourself questions such as: what are we trying to achieve as a business? How can marketing contribute to these goals? What are the metrics that will best showcase our contribution to the organization at large? If your company aims to increase revenue from new customer acquisition, for example, you may focus on revenue growth metrics such as conversions, average order value, or customer lifetime value.
2. Identify your stakeholders and their priorities
Marketing metrics are not just about showing marketing’s performance. They need to align with the goals and priorities of your stakeholders across the company, including your CEO, CFO, sales team, customer support staff, and others. Identify who your stakeholders are and what they care about. What metrics will best showcase the value that marketing brings to their area? For example, your CFO may be interested in metrics that show a strong return on investment, such as customer acquisition cost and ROI, while your sales team may care more about lead generation and conversion rates.
3. Consider your competitive landscape
Your marketing metrics should also help you benchmark your performance against your competition, because others in the business are surely looking at that component as well, and will want the marketing component of your organization to be keeping pace if not leading in the space. If possible, look at what metrics your competitors are tracking and consider which ones are relevant to your business. For example, your industry may have benchmarks for website traffic, social media engagement, or market share. Use your competitors’ metrics as a starting point to identify gaps in your own performance and opportunities for improvement.
4. Choose metrics that tell a story
Marketing metrics don’t just need to be data points on a report. They need to paint a picture of your marketing performance that is easy to understand and compelling for your stakeholders. Choose metrics that tell a story and showcase the impact of marketing on your business goals. For example, rather than simply presenting web traffic numbers, you may showcase how your content marketing efforts increased website traffic by 20% month over month, leading to a 10% increase in lead generation.
5. Keep it straightforward
Finally, while it’s tempting to track as many metrics as possible so as to not miss an important component, too much data can be overwhelming and counterproductive. Choose a manageable set of metrics that provide a holistic view of your marketing performance and can be easily tracked and reported on. Consider creating a dashboard that consolidates your key metrics and provides real-time visibility into your performance.
Conclusion:
Selecting the right marketing metrics is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires a deep understanding of your business goals, stakeholder priorities, competitive landscape, and storytelling abilities. As a marketer, your role is to filter through the noise and choose the metrics that matter most to your stakeholders and showcase the value that marketing brings to the business. Use these tips as a guide to select the right metrics and gain stakeholder support across the organization. Remember, the right metrics can lead to better decision-making, increased credibility, and ultimately, better business outcomes.
Original Source:
Blog – GK5A – Agile Business Transformation
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