Key Performance Indicators
Does your organization use key performance indicators? I’ll bet it does. You probably have KPIs for every aspect of your business, right? Or do you operate based on to-do lists and emotion?
For most companies, revenue and cash flow are two of the most critical benchmarks. Then each department contributes with their own leading and lagging indicators.
KPI data helps executives diagnose how their business is running. This ensures better decision-making when creating plans for how to grow systematically and sustainably.
Fundamental Marketing Objectives
There are infinite marketing metrics out there. But which ones matter most?
It’s best to start with the overall objectives for every business:
- How do we create content that brings more people to our website?
- How do we convince website visitors to subscribe to our email list?
- How do we nurture subscriber relationships from reader to customer?
Why are these the fundamental marketing objectives? Because they act as a litmus test for all the other marketing elements you employ.
Let’s dive into each one so you can understand their importance.
Foundational Marketing Metric #1
The first foundational marketing metric is your Website Traffic.
This metric illustrates how many unique visitors your website receives on a monthly basis.
The benchmark for this metric is 1,000 to 3,000 monthly visitors.
If you don’t have stable traffic at these levels, here are some tactics:
- Website optimization (SEO, technical errors)
- Social media promotion and engagement (e.g. LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram)
- Guest blog posting on influential brand websites
- Affiliate partnerships to provide value to another audience in exchange for eyeballs
- Paid search (e.g. Google, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram)
Even if your email opt-in rate and conversion rate remain the same, improving your website traffic will put you on the path to increased revenue.
Foundational Marketing Metric #2
The second foundational marketing metric is your Email Opt-In Rate.
This metric highlights how many unique visitors to your website decided to subscribe to your list.
For example, if 100 visitors subscribe out of 2,000 total visitors, your opt-in rate is 5%.
The benchmark for this metric is 5%. 15% is a stretch goal.
If you don’t have your desired opt-in rate yet, consider these tactics:
- Strengthen your copywriting with more compelling messaging
- Create valuable give-aways in exchange for email addresses
- Use a live chat function to provide another way to engage
- Add a call-to-action (CTA) on every page of your website
- Optimize your website (e.g. UX, DX, CX, BX) for effortless opt-in
Even if your monthly traffic and conversion rate remain the same, improving your opt-in rate will give you more times at bat to close a deal.
Foundational Marketing Metric #3
The third foundational marketing metric is your Conversion Rate.
There are a few different definitions depending on your industry.
- Percentage of emails you send resulting in a sale (e.g. 50 sales from 5,000 subscribers = 1%)
- Percentage of RFQs that result in a purchase order (“closing rate”)
This metric reveals how effective your lead nurturing and follow-up strategies are performing.
The benchmark ranges from 0.1% (large & general websites) to 5% (small & intimate websites).
If your sales process is not working the way you want, here are some tactics:
- Strengthen your sales page copy
- Use trip wires to gain momentum
- Reduce friction throughout the customer journey
- Create multiple funnels with consolation deals
- Make sure you’re targeting the right audience
Even if your monthly website traffic and opt-in rate stay the same, improving your conversion rate will lead to more sales.
Where Do You Go From Here?
Congratulations! You now understand the 3 fundamental principles of marketing.
The fastest way to improve your marketing efforts is to be constantly and continuously testing.
Have you heard of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule for mastering a domain? Don’t worry about the hours. Instead, focus on 10,000 iterations and refer to your data so you can pivot accordingly.
Still feeling unsure about where to begin with your marketing efforts? Tap the button below so we can work together to get your marketing performing the way you’ve always dreamed of.