How do you know what marketing metrics really move your bottom line? With so many marketers touting their own data, it's easy to get lost. Clicks, lift, cost per anything—it all sounds like its own language. We'll show you how to simplify the data, tell a story with it, and translate it into action for your business.
We break down the process of measuring your marketing strategy into three key steps:
Creating the Strategy: This is where you align your marketing plan to your goals, set budgets, and establish proper goal tracking.
Establishing KPIs: You need to identify your key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. We call the most important ones the "power trio": lead value, cost per lead, and consumer behavior in the industry.
Evaluating and Shifting: Once a campaign is running, you must constantly evaluate your progress and be prepared to shift your strategy based on the data. For example, check Google Analytics for an increase in specific search terms related to your campaign messaging to see if your marketing is reaching your audience.
Before you can measure anything, you need a solid foundation. This starts with data hygiene. A lot of marketing platforms and third-party tools are sending valuable data, but if your analytics are full of holes, you won’t have a clear picture. Check your Google Analytics to ensure you're tracking all important lead actions and events. Don't forget to check Google Ads, Microsoft Ads (Bing), and social platforms like Facebook to ensure your conversions are being recorded properly.
Once your data is clean, you can simplify it to a few key metrics:
Lead Volume: What is your total lead volume, and is it trending in the right direction?
Brand Health: Are people searching for your brand name or your products?
Cost Per Lead: Are you optimizing to get leads as efficiently and cheaply as possible?
Use these metrics to establish a baseline for your campaigns and look at trends over time. If a metric seems out of line, check it against industry trends before making any drastic changes. You should look at a minimum of three months of data to get a true picture of performance.
Your marketing partners should be transparent and proactive. Here are three categories of questions to ask them:
Technical Questions: Are they set up to track all your goals? Are they measuring against industry standards?
Competitive Questions: What are other people in the space doing? Is a competitor entering the landscape and changing market share?
Opportunity Questions: Are there new platforms and opportunities you should be on? Do these new platforms align with your audience and your goals?
For a deeper dive into these topics and to hear directly from Luke Jonas, AVP of Analytics & Reporting, watch the full webinar below.