What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) crucial to evaluating the effectiveness of our marketing strategies How can we quantify them and which ones should we monitor to enhance results

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are essential metrics for evaluating the success of our marketing actions. In this article we will see in detail what they are, their characteristics and we will give you some indications on how to measure them, monitor them and create specific objectives and KPIs for your business.

What are KPIs                                                                            

Before we start, let’s see together what they are. As we anticipated, KPIs are metrics that measure the effectiveness and efficiency of an activity or process. In the context of marketing, they are indicators that allow us to evaluate the success of strategies and help us understand company performance. They provide a clear picture of performance, helping us to identify areas of success and those that require improvement.

The characteristics of KPIs

KPIs must possess some specific characteristics to be effective and useful in performance evaluation. Among the characteristics they must have we find

•         relevance : they must be closely linked to the marketing objectives and metrics you want to monitor . This means they need to measure what is truly important to your business;
•         measurability : they must be measurable in an objective, qualitative and quantitative way . It is necessary to collect the relevant data to calculate and monitor it over time;
•         simplicity : they must be clear and understandable for the whole team and the experts. They must be easy to calculate, communicate, understand and measure;
•         timing : they must be defined with a specific time interval . For example, they can be measured monthly, quarterly or annually, depending on your needs;
•         alignment : they must be aligned with marketing objectives and strategies, and provide useful information for making decisions and making improvements;
•         achievable : they must be set with objectives that all parties involved feel they can achieve with the tools available.

What are the main KPIs

Up to this point we have understood the importance of these metrics and what characteristics they must have to be truly useful for this purpose. There are numerous KPIs used in marketing, but let’s see some examples of the most used ones in traditional and digital marketing.

Traditional marketing KPIs

As we said, KPIs are metrics used to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and this applies both in traditional and digital marketing. There are several important KPIs in the traditional context but among the most relevant ones we find:

•         total sales : The total number of sales is a fundamental KPI in any type of marketing. Tracking total sales can help you understand the overall effectiveness of a marketing strategy;
•         incremental sales : measure the increase in sales attributable to a specific marketing campaign;
•         Brand awareness : Measures the degree to which consumers recognize or are aware of your brand. It can be measured through surveys and market research;
•         market share : Market share is the percentage of total sales in your industry that are attributable to your brand. It can be a powerful indicator of your position relative to competitors;
•         customer loyalty rate : measures the percentage of customers who return to make purchases. This can be a powerful indicator of customer satisfaction and the effectiveness of your marketing strategy in building long-term relationships with customers.
•         Geographic Distribution : Knowing where your customers are located is essential in traditional marketing. It can help guide decisions about where to focus marketing efforts and where to locate physical stores.

It is important to note that optimal KPIs may vary depending on the industry, market and specific business objectives. Therefore, it is crucial to identify which ones are most relevant to your business and never stop evaluating new indicators that are equally useful and necessary.

Digital marketing KPIs

In digital marketing, KPIs focus on the performance of online businesses and measuring user interaction with your website, products and content. Some examples of KPIs in digital marketing include:

•         website traffic : the number of visitors accessing your website is a fundamental KPI for evaluating the visibility and attractiveness of your site;
•         bounce rate : The bounce rate, or the percentage of visitors who immediately leave your site without interacting, is another key indicator. A low bounce rate indicates positive user engagement;
•         conversion rate : refers to the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as a purchase or registration. This KPI measures the effectiveness of your conversion strategies;
•         cost per acquisition (CPA) : i.e. the average cost to acquire a new customer. This KPI helps you evaluate the efficiency of your advertising campaigns in generating new conversions.

These are just some examples, to identify others it is necessary to examine each channel that characterizes your online strategy. For example, social media KPIs differ from those you need to track when evaluating the performance of your email marketing efforts . In the first case we talk about engagement, reactions, comments, followers, just to name a few. In the second case we talk about opening and click rates, percentage of unsubscribers and new subscribers, and so on. Not only the channel and the strategy can determine different indicators to monitor, such as in the case of the creation of objectives and KPIs for e-commerce or for an institutional website. For more information, you can visit this site: https://edana.ch

How to measure performance

To measure KPIs you need to collect and analyze relevant data. Here are some fundamental steps to measure performance:

•         define objectives and KPIs : set specific objectives for your marketing initiatives and link KPIs to these objectives;
•         Identify metrics : Identify the metrics needed to calculate your KPIs. This may include sales data, website traffic data, social media engagement, etc;
•         collect data : implement the necessary tracking systems to collect relevant data from the different identified sources;
•         calculate KPIs : use the appropriate formulas to calculate your KPIs based on the data collected;
•         analyze and interpret results : examine your KPI results, identify trends and opportunities for improvement. Use this data to make data-driven decisions .

KPI monitoring

Monitoring is a constant process that must never stop if you want to track performance over time. Here are some tips for effective KPI monitoring:

•         Set a schedule :Schedule regular intervals to monitor your KPIs. You can choose to do this monthly, quarterly or based on your specific needs;
•         Use monitoring tools : Leverage web analytics tools and social media monitoring platforms to automate the process and get clear, detailed reports;
•         create custom dashboards : create dashboards that show your KPIs in a clear and understandable way to facilitate data analysis;
•         monitor performance over time : observe the trend of your KPIs over time to identify significant trends and variations. This will help you adapt your marketing strategies in a timely manner.

In this article we have tried to collect the basic notions that characterize the KPIs but to know them in detail it is necessary to evaluate each individual channel, the strategic activities implemented and the objectives you wish to achieve. The same channel may require monitoring of different KPIs depending on the type of business and the results you want to achieve.