Dear Trenchers,

In this edition of our newsletter, we're diving into the world of metrics, those little numbers and figures that drive our decisions and strategies. We'll explore four key types of metrics, break down what they mean, and understand how to use them effectively.

1. Hard revenue metrics

These metrics are directly tied to revenue and are the most important metrics to track.

• Marketing-sourced revenue: This is the revenue generated from opportunities created by marketing activities.

• ACV (average contract value): This is the average value of marketing-sourced deals.

• Sales-cycle length: This is the amount of time it takes to close a marketing-sourced deal. Marketing-sourced (e.g. inbound) opportunities tend to have a shorter sale cycle, as the buyers have already been educated about your solution, and have gone through the initial research and comparison.

• Win rate: This is the percentage of marketing-sourced deals that result in a successful sale. Marketing-sourced opportunities should have a higher win rate, as buyers have already "qualified themselves" and you're likely on their short list of vendors.

2. 𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐒

These metrics look good on paper, but they don't necessarily correlate with revenue. They can easily be gamed:

• Traffic: It's easy to get traffic, but it's more important to focus on the quality of the traffic. Know who visits, how long they stay, and their INTENT. For example, 100 visitors from your target audience are more valuable than 10,000 visitors who are not interested in what you have to offer. #QualityOverQuantity!

• MQLs (marketing qualified leads): it's easy to get people to download a piece of content, but this is no buying intent. When marketing teams are measured on # MQLs, it's not unusual to have less than 1% (even 0.1%) of MQLs turning into won deals. For example, 10 MQLs from your target audience who have a high buying intent are more valuable than 100 MQLs from your target audience who are not a good fit for your product or service.

• Conversion rate or CPL (cost per lead): Usually with paid lead generation (MQLs), leads with low CPL have very low win rates (<0.1%) and conversely, extremely high cost of sales. So, be wary of low-cost leads; they may come at the expense of low win rates.

• Engagement: - as someone said, "If all I wanted was engagement, I'd post cute cat videos". Look, cute cat videos may entertain, but what about meaningful interactions with your potential buyers?

In a nutshell, you don’t have to focus only on "hard revenue" metrics. In fact, with a bit of tweaking, you can turn vanity metrics into leading metrics.

3. 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐒

• Traffic → ICP account visits that last longer than 5 minutes: This metric shows that your target accounts are interested in your content and are spending time learning more about your product or service.

• MQLs → the number of ICP accounts that pass your engagement and intent threshold: this metric shows that your target accounts are not only interested in your content, but they are also likely to be a good fit for your product or service.

• Conversion rate → the percentage of ICP accounts that pass the engagement and intent threshold and then turn into sales-qualified opportunities. This metric shows that you are effectively converting your target accounts into sales-qualified opportunities.

• Engagement → repeat engagement from target buyers on social posts related to your product. This shows you real interaction with your potential buyers.

4. 𝐒𝐎𝐅𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐒

These metrics are trickier to measure, but they are still important to track:

• Message-buyer fit: this tells you how well your messaging resonates with your target buyers.

• Content impact: this metric shows how much of an impact your content is having on your target buyers.

• Brand awareness: this tells you how well your brand is known by your target audience. What's your brand awareness with target accounts? How engaged are target buyers in qualified opportunities with our website and demand gen programs? Are we losing deals because we're an unknown brand?

• Friction in your buyer experience: this shows you how easy it is for buyers to get the information they need about your product, pricing, etc. It can help you simplify the process for buyers seeking crucial information.

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Be careful what you measure.

Wrong metrics drive wrong behaviors.

But only measuring end results can make it difficult to evaluate new programs, and activities that are important, but don't have a direct revenue impact.

And sometimes, it's just clear when something's working.

Bonus tip: how to use metrics to improve your results?

It's important to track a mix of hard revenue metrics, leading metrics, and soft metrics. This will give you a complete picture of your marketing performance and help you identify areas where you can improve.

Here are a few tips for using metrics to improve your results:

• Set realistic goals: Don't expect to see results overnight. Set small, achievable goals and track your progress over time.

• Focus on the right metrics: Metrics matter, but the right ones matter more! Remember, not all metrics are created equal. Focus on the metrics that truly drive success and do not let the wrong metrics steer you off course.

• Use your data to make informed decisions: Don't just track metrics for the sake of tracking them. Use your data to make informed decisions about your marketing strategy.

• Be patient: it takes time to see results from your marketing efforts. Be patient and keep working towards your goals.

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Adechina D. ODJO