Far too many people are using the wrong metrics when it comes to measuring performance. This often leads to poor marketing decisions based on the wrong data or confusion over how changes are affecting performance.
The best marketing is data-informed and driven which means it uses the right metrics to review and improve performance.
Right Metrics to Track Success
To be successful you need to match your metrics to your strategy, goals and audience.
Whilst core metrics like leads and sales remain useful overall if your goals include other areas like brand awareness or engagement you will need to identify the best metrics to track these.
Don’t guess, make sure you understand the metrics, what they mean and how they are measured. This can include understanding key concepts like attribution and understanding how different channels interact to produce a final conversion.
How to Identify Useful Metrics
To understand if a metric is useful you need to consider these key points:
- How is the metric measured?
- How does this metric relate to your goals?
- How can it be affected by your activity?
As no one-size model fits all you can use these questions to help identify if a metric is useful to you. Use joined-up thinking to access the metrics real value. You can also combine a group of metrics to get the best overall performance measurement.
For example, increasing traffic – do you want to track an increase in individual visitors (users) or visits in general (sessions). Should you check conversion rates to see how good the traffic is for your business? What about bounce rates, time on site and pages viewed per session?
Using Metrics to Improve Performance
To improve performance, you need to know a few key figures for your chosen metrics, these include:
- What your current benchmark figure is
- What the industry benchmark is
- Target improvement
It’s good to take measurements over a long but similar time to ensure you have enough data to base your figures on and have taken any seasonal fluctuations into account.
When setting targets, a good base level to work to is a 10% improvement, as you develop you can probably refine this based on your findings to be more ambitious and see what you’re capable of.
Be realistic when setting targets, it might be easier to increase your traffic, but harder to improve your conversion rate.
Conclusion
When you set your strategy make sure to at the same time agree your performance metrics. Having a good understanding of how these are measured, as well as how they relate to your goals and overall performance, helps you make informed decisions about their value.
To see if you are improving these metrics be sure to take accurate benchmarking data and set realistic targets to track your success.
By tracking the right metrics, you can make informed data-driven decisions about performance that really benefit your business.
For data-driven online marketing that increases leads and sales talk to ExtraDigital today! Call 01227 68 68 98
