Why KPIs?
Keeping an eye on B2B marketing KPIs is essential if you’re trying to achieve any sort of results. Quantitative metrics serve as a solid concrete base from which you can build upon. With that being said, choosing the right marketing KPIs is just as important as tracking them. Choosing the wrong, or least effective ones can lead to suboptimal results or mismanaged resources.
Any quantitative measure should be in-line with the overarching strategy of the brand. Whether it be brand awareness, lead generation, touchpoint effectiveness or educating the consumer, the B2B marketing KPIs should reflect this goal.
Any and every goal should have set criteria, as well as some additional necessary steps which will be covered in a later section. Goals that are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time based hold a greater probability of being realized than those that aren’t.
B2B Marketing KPIs that Should be on Your Radar
1. Conversion Rates
While traffic and engagement are important when measuring a brands touch-points, conversions provide that extra depth into who is actually taking action. Taking note of which content or publishings drive more conversions can open opportunities to exploit, leading to better execution of other B2B marketing KPIs. To learn more about optimizing conversion rates and how to use them, check out this article.
2. Leads
Gaining leads is the next step in what could be called the conversion process. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL) and Sales Qualified Leads (SQL) are often a hot topic here when identifying potential customers. As defined by Tableau, an MQL is simply browsing, curious, but has not committed to a buying decision. An SQL has already decided they are going to purchase, but the what factor still remains. Identifying these groups is powerful, as it can lead to further segmentation strategies via the attributes discovered about them.
Here you’ll find a free template to up your lead scoring game and win more business.
3. Cost of Customer Acquistion
In accompaniment with the other B2B marketing KPIs, the cost of each acquisition needs to be assessed. It is no surprise that a marketing effort seeing a net loss for each customer is not sustainable. Identifying which channels and touch-points are most effective in conversions and lead generation can have a direct impact on the costs. Significant resources may be invested in channels that do not see the same traction as others, resulting in sunk costs with subpar outcomes.
4. Customer Lifetime Value
Customer lifetime value (CLV) is a difficult metric to accurately quantify given its variance, but it still remains as one of the most important B2B marketing KPIs. CLV represents the average lifetime purchase value per customer. It can be determined to forecast potential earnings and take into account relevant acquisition costs. However, in order to maximize CLV, significant efforts should be made in customer retention. According to Adobe Digital Index, returning customers are 9 times more likely to convert than a first time customer, resulting in a greater CLV. In addition, analyses by Forbes estimated that acquiring a new customer is 5 times more costly than retaining existing ones.
The Must-Do for all B2B Marketing KPIs
Tracking any B2B marketing KPI is useless without a comparative analysis. Before any marketing campaign or content push, a quantitative and trend analysis should be conducted to note current efforts and their performance. The same should be done during the campaign and after. As a result, this enables traceability to certain efforts and fit in-line with the SMART goals established earlier.
Deciding which B2B marketing KPIs to track can be difficult. Taking the time to ensure you have the most relevant set will help avoid gathering less important data. These 4 B2B marketing KPIs have a great foundation that can be applied in a variety of situations.
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