We all know the rush. A flutter of likes. A dashboard spike. That fleeting thrill of a post that pops. But those metrics might win applause in the boardroom, but do they move the bottom line? Are we measuring what matters, or what looks good?
It’s easy to measure reach. It’s harder to measure real value. People might be seeing your campaign, but are they buying? Are they staying?
If you haven’t aligned with the business on what success looks like, you’re measuring in the dark. You risk chasing numbers that sound impressive but don’t serve the strategy.
KPIs only mean something when they’re grounded in what the business is trying to achieve, whether that’s growing pipeline, building brand eminence, improving customer retention, or entering a new market.
Without clear objectives up front, the CFO’s eyes will glaze over and so will your campaign’s impact.
Forget the fluff. Map your metrics to your stakeholders:
Your CMO wants brand reach
Your CFO wants CAC and LTV
Your BU lead wants velocity and visibility
Your CEO wants confidence that marketing is fuelling growth
These are the metrics I recommend bringing to boardrooms, budget reviews, and strategy offsites:
Metric |
What It Tells You |
Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion Rate | Who’s taking meaningful action | Directly tied to revenue and lead quality |
| Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) | What it costs to get a customer | CFO red flag or green light |
| Lifetime Value (LTV) | How valuable a customer is over time | Forecasts growth and justifies spend |
| Brand Sentiment / Share of Voice | How your brand is perceived and positioned | Tracks trust, influence, and competitive advantage |
| Engagement Quality | Are people saving, sharing, replying, or just scrolling? | Indicates a connection not just consumption |
| Funnel Velocity | How fast leads move through the buyer journey | Helps business units plan, prioritise, and predict |
You don’t need an overstuffed tech stack or an enterprise budget to measure meaningfully. These are the tools I choose to return to:
HubSpot / Salesforce For lifecycle tracking, pipeline health, and campaign ROI
Google Looker Studio / Tableau For customised dashboards that tell stories, not just stats
Sprout Social / Buffer For smarter planning, scheduling, and social media analysis
GA4 + Hotjar For understanding how people behave, what they click, and why they bounce
Kantar / YouGov For benchmarking brand equity and trust in your sector
Airtable / Notion / Monday / Teams For enhanced collaboration and content planning
What if fewer likes meant more relevance? What if the goal wasn’t to go viral, but to be valuable? What if your most successful post wasn’t the one that sparked a debate, but the one that sealed a deal?
The most magnetic brands aren’t chasing vanity metrics, they’re building value.
They’re focused on:
Trust, not just traffic
Connection, not just consumption
Clarity, not just clicks
Because sustained growth doesn’t come from a metrics spike. It comes from a steady flow of relevance, credibility, and resonance.
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Need marketing metrics that mean something?Turn dashboards into direction and let your digital strategy speak the language of the C-suite. Drop me a line and let’s build something that moves the needle. |