« A good metric changes the way you behave. »

2 min of Growth Hacking Tips 🚀

Every week, I’ll give you a few insights into one of the growth hacking tips of this list.

What is a good metric?

When I talk about metrics with someone, I can’t talk about the book « Lean Analytics ». This is the reference for me if you want to be data-driven and do growth hacking.

“Instincts are experiments. Data is proof.” — Alistair Croll

I won’t detail every chapter of the book but I will give you the fundamentals to define what is a good metric:

• A good metric is comparative
  Always be able to compare your metric to understand how the things are moving. For instance: time period, group of users or competitors.
• A good metric is understandable
  If your team can’t remember it and discuss it, your metric will have no impact in your next actions.
• A good metric is a ratio
  A ratio is by default a comparative metric and it’s easier to act on.
• A good metric changes the way you behave
  The most important factor. The question to ask: “what shall I do differently if the metric changes?”

Now you know how to check if your metrics are good or not I can tell why you need them.

First, growth hacking is about experiments.

You need an indicator to know if your experiment is a success or a failure. Then, you need to know if you are on the right path: your key metric.

Second, your metric can be your worst enemy.

If you want something to stroke your ego, something you can’t act on, you have your vanity metric. This data won’t guide you and won’t help you to decide.

My thoughts

Many people like saying: “we’re data-driven!” and I say it. But you need to make the difference between data-driven and data-informed. I think it’s important to be careful about the metrics you follow.

Before defining a metric, I always ask: “Which result will confirm the success or the failure of our action?” and “How can I measure this result?” That’s it. The more you add a metric to your dashboard, the more you take the risk to not be understandable and have a vanity metric.

• An overview of the list of Growth Hacking Tips
• « Process first, tactics second. »
• « Don’t do growth hacking if you don’t achieve Product Market Fit. »

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! You can find me on Julien Collet Twitter :)