Metrics That Really Matter

“Not everything that can be counted counts.” — Albert Einstein

I can remember in the past, pulling Board Reports together and sharing key metrics within it. I quickly learned that not all metrics that mattered to me, mattered to the Board and I was missing key information that they were most interested in. Sharing key metrics is a key way of demonstrating the value you bring and of course, measuring the effectiveness of marketing. With metrics you can analyse and adapt accordingly. With so much data available, it can be overwhelming which metrics to focus on, so in this article I focus on key metrics. Some will be relevant to you and others to your Board - the key is to know what your Board want to see.

Is Your Marketing Working?

The key is to show not just what has happened (lag metrics) but what is likely to happen (lead metrics). Boards will want to see both and with lead metrics, you can paint a picture.

The key is also to focus on a small meaningful metrics - the ones that measure success against your goals. This does not mean you don't worry about anything else, it is you just prioritise using those metrics that are relevant to your goals.

Lead vs Lag Metrics: Why the Difference Matters

Not all metrics serve the same purpose.

• Lag metrics confirm outcomes. They tell you what has already happened.

• Lead metrics predict outcomes. They indicate whether future performance is likely to improve or decline.
  

A lot of metrics are lag ones, and you can't change the past. That is why lead metrics are crucial as they help you change course. After all, Boards want confidence, not surprises. That confidence comes from pairing lag metrics with the right lead indicators, so marketing can demonstrate both control today and momentum tomorrow.

Pairing Lead & Lag Metrics Together

With every goal, you need a lead and lag metric. For example, let's pick on Net Promoter Score. Your goal for the end of 2026 (lag) might be to increase this score to say 35 from 24 today. You will want some lead metrics to, say quarterly, to ensure you are on course for that.

Metrics That Matter

The most useful way to think about marketing metrics is not by channel, but by the questions Boards are trying to answer. Below are examples that you may want to include in your reporting.

1. Business Growth

• Sales volume

• Market share

• Acquisition, retention and turnover

• Sales by product

• Pipeline volume

  
  
  
  

2. Brand Metrics

Brands are long-term growth engines, but their impact rarely shows up immediately in sales figures. But they are vital metrics.

• Unprompted willingness to recommend

• Brand perception metrics

• Brand salience (mental availability) - as this is a key correlation to sales growth

• Share of voice versus share of market

• Advertising recall and message take-out

• Movement in key brand attributes (e.g. trust, innovation)

If salience and recall are improving today, future demand is being built — even if revenue hasn’t yet caught up. This is the difference between brand building and brand hoping.

3. Customer Metrics

• Net promoter score

• Customer effort score

• Customer loyalty/use

• Customer engagement
  

Effort and friction are early warning signals. When these indicators move in the wrong direction, future churn is rarely far behind.

4. Marketing Operational Metrics

A lot of these metrics are relevant to you, but not necessarily your Board.

• Website – bounce rates, sessions, time on site, traffic and traffic sources, users (new and repeat), document downloads

• Email – unsubscribes, open rates and click to open rates

• Advertising – look at recall measures (prompted and unprompted) as well as measuring the effectiveness of your headlines and copy to ensure consideration scores are high

• PR/Social – explore engagement and share of voice metrics

• Budget efficiency - where your budget savings are happening

• Lead nurturing and funnel movement

• Lead scoring results

  
  

Use Metrics To Your Advantage

Know what your Board wants to see and show lead and lag metrics - this demonstrates strategic thinking and you can tell stories around what the lead metrics are telling you. If I was to focus on just a few key metrics to give you an advantage, it would be brand salience, unprompted willingness to recommend, brand perceptions, NPS and CES. If you use CRM - apply lead scoring as this is a powerful measurement of engagement and gives a strong lead metric.

And remember, not everything that can be counted counts.