And we get it, data can definitely be intimidating.<\/p>\n
So let’s break it all down \u2014\u00a0let’s make it manageable, demystify the hit squad, and see if we can’t show you how you can use KPI marketing to drive results within your business’ growth team.<\/p>\n
In this article we’ll identify the key metrics you should be tracking and the KPI software<\/a> features you’ll need to do it.<\/p>\n Try monday.com<\/a><\/p>\n KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. A KPI is a data point that can be used to measure (in part) the success or failure of a project or campaign.<\/strong><\/p>\n A marketing KPI helps you determine how much a particular action has occurred.<\/strong> This could be the volume of organic traffic, sales, click, opens, and so on.<\/p>\n For example, when I was head of content at a tech startup a few years ago, our team’s KPI was “unique blog visitors.” Then, after noticing that traffic \u2260 leads, we updated it to be “organic leads generated.”<\/p>\n But it can be anything: ad clicks, the number of customer referrals, the number of times your CEO yells at you in any given week\u2026<\/p>\n The key idea is that a KPI<\/a> helps you see, at a glance, if a strategy or change you’ve made to your business (whether marketing, sales, product, support, whatever) has had the effect you desired.<\/p>\n KPI marketing, therefore, is simply the use of KPIs to determine the direction of your marketing campaigns. It\u2019s an integral part of a data-driven marketing strategy<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A marketing KPI is most often expressed as the number of times an action has occurred.<\/p>\n Your metrics are more often expressed as rates.<\/p>\n Your marketing KPI may be the volume of organic traffic, while your marketing metric may be the volume of organic traffic over six months. This would show the rate of website traffic in a given period.<\/p>\n Are you A\/B testing a landing page, monitoring influencer<\/a> engagement, or tracking pop-up conversions?<\/p>\n Whatever you\u2019re measuring to calculate your success, you\u2019ll need to build a strong digital marketing KPI strategy to recognize the leverage points of your target audience.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how you can do that.<\/p>\n You want to identify KPIs tied to your department goals.<\/p>\n For example, say you\u2019re trying to increase engagement on an email marketing campaign. You may start by testing two different newsletter formats<\/a> (one format to half your list and one format to the other half).<\/p>\n The KPIs of this A\/B test may be:<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s far easier to monitor all your email marketing KPIs<\/a> when they\u2019re collated in a slick-looking analytics dashboard, of course…<\/p>\n With your KPIs neatly organized, you can quickly see which campaigns are leading the way.<\/p>\n Firstly, this makes it easier to spot hot trends among your audience: “Perfect. Let’s produce more content like this.”<\/p>\n Secondly, you can increase ROI by redirecting your resources from poor-performing campaigns to high-performing ones.<\/p>\n The KPIs you track should relate to the outcomes you want to achieve.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking to boost lead generation, your KPI will be leads (that’s probably pretty apparent). But let’s focus a bit, because, like the emergency exits on a 747, the right digital marketing KPI (see my “traffic \u2260 leads” anecdote above) may be behind you.<\/p>\n For instance…<\/p>\n To wrap this point up, it’s about focusing on the KPIs that directly reflect the progress you’re making toward your marketing goals, not just the most apparent sign of success.<\/p>\n Most often your metrics refer to a time-bound rate, such as the volume of sales per month.<\/p>\n You can pick metrics that are budget-bound too. These may be metrics such as the number of webinar registrants per $100 ad budget.<\/p>\n Draw on your marketing goals to shape your metrics by matching KPIs to your targets.<\/p>\n For your next marketing campaign, you may test different social media ad types to see which results in the highest number of subscribers.<\/p>\n In which case the metric you want to measure (and measure your success by) would cost-per-subscriber-per-ad-type. You’d compare each ad type by this metric to determine where you should invest.<\/p>\n Once you have enough data to draw actionable conclusions, you should take action immediately.<\/p>\n For instance, let’s say you’ve tested seasonal advertisements against generic ads, with the general KPI of “checkout conversion rates,” and are confident that seasonal campaigns are a winning strategy for your business’ growth.<\/p>\n Don’t wait around. Target your next campaign at seasonal trends, measure by the same KPI, and prove the point.<\/p>\n For example, this online clothing retailer recently jumped on a weather trend, capitalizing on an upcoming heatwave.<\/p>\n Having noticed extra sales in summer clothing since the heatwave was announced, Missguided<\/a> reacted instantly with promotional marketing personalized to this trend.<\/p>\n Vinnie La Barber, Founder of full-service agency, imForza<\/a>, suggests setting KPI notifications:<\/p>\n \u201cYou can set up specific alerts on these meaningful KPIs so that you\u2019re notified whenever there\u2019s any type of unusual data. This helps you recognize and spot trends almost before they happen and plan for future ones more proactively.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n However, trend-spotting isn\u2019t the only valuable result of KPI marketing.<\/p>\n KPIs can also help you decide which direction your marketing campaigns should take.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re unsure about your branding, or which products customers would like, try A\/B testing landing pages, emails, ads, and social media campaigns. Monitor the important KPIs to see which provide the best ROI.<\/p>\n Get started<\/a><\/p>\n Marketers have many balls up in the air.<\/p>\n You\u2019re trying to generate engagement, nurture leads, convert sales, foster loyalty, and encourage referrals.<\/p>\n Those are enough KPIs to drown yourself in.<\/p>\n Narrow down your KPIs to specific campaigns and focus on targeting realistic metrics.<\/p>\n Here are a few KPIs to consider for your next marketing campaign.<\/p>\n A fifth<\/a> of your Instagram impressions come from Instagram Stories, so test different Instagram Stories to see how your audience responds.<\/p>\n Monitor how many impressions you\u2019re getting and compare this against the number of \u2018swipe ups\u2019 on each post. You can also look at taps back, taps forward, swipes away, and exits.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hardly surprising, but top brands post Instagram Stories 30%<\/a> more than the average brand. So, yes, quantity is important to increase your reach.<\/p>\nNeed a way to see all your Instagram Story data? Life\u2019s easier for your team when you have a centralized social media tracker that collates everything in one place.<\/span><\/a>\n Organize your Instagram Story’s performance data so that your marketing team can see which type of Story content gets the best results.<\/p>\n Your email click-rate will tell you about how well your audience is engaging with your brand. Do they like your products enough to click to find out more?<\/p>\n Test different email templates and product offers. Monitor which formats, messaging, and designs convert best within their inbox as well once they hit your website.<\/p>\n Record and organize your email metrics<\/a> so that your team can manage campaign results without hassle and pinpoint your best performing emails easily.<\/p>\n Churn rate refers to the pace at which you lose customers. The average churn rate hovers at around 6%<\/a>.<\/p>\n A high churn rate means you need to invest lots of time and effort chasing new customers because your retention bucket is leaky as hell.<\/p>\n Consumers are 520%<\/a> more likely to stay loyal to a brand that personalizes the buying experience. Tailor campaigns to subscriber preferences, like how Spotify personalizes the user experience with tailor-made playlists of recommended songs.<\/p>\n Users discover something new from the platform each week.<\/p>\n Equally, you\u2019ll need to monitor customer satisfaction levels to keep churn rates low.<\/p>\n Measuring customer satisfaction KPIs<\/a> helps you to proactively identify bottlenecks and pinpoint customer preferences.<\/p>\n Tracking advertising and marketing ROI will help you to allocate your budget to the ad campaigns with the best marketing performance.<\/p>\n To track this KPI, we recommend using monday.com’s Campaign Tracking<\/a>, which looks like this, and (once customized) automatically calculates your ad’s return on investment:<\/p>\n You need to measure exactly what it is that drives your growth before you can make wise investment choices.<\/p>\n Use KPI marketing to see what makes your audience tick \u2014 and then double down. Monitor your KPIs to mold personalized marketing campaigns and sales funnels that your audience can\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n Need help structuring your KPI marketing campaigns? Try starting with a comprehensive KPI marketing strategy template<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhat is KPI marketing?<\/h2>\n
What’s the difference between a KPI and a marketing metric?<\/h3>\n
How to use KPI marketing<\/h2>\n
#1 – Identify the right KPIs<\/h3>\n
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![\"email](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image5-5.png\" "\\"Email")
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#2 – Set your metrics<\/h3>\n
#3 – Target marketing campaigns to KPIs<\/h3>\n
Marketing KPI examples to track<\/h2>\n
#1 – Number of Instagram story impressions<\/h3>\n
![\"Instagram](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image6-5.png\" "\\"Instagram")
<\/p>\n#2 – Number of email click-throughs<\/h3>\n
#3 – Churn rate<\/h3>\n
![\"Customer](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/image7-3.png\" "\\"Customer")
<\/p>\n#4 – Advertising and marketing ROI<\/h3>\n
![\"monday](\"https:\/\/www.monday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/campaign-tracking-template.png\" "\\"Campaign"){kind=tracking}
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