The Marketing Metrics to Ditch in 2023 and What to Measure Instead

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In today’s data-driven world, it’s easy to get caught up in measuring every aspect of your marketing campaigns. However, not all metrics are created equal, and some can actually lead you astray. In fact, according to a recent study, only 22% of marketers believe they accurately measure their marketing campaigns’ impact. This means that most marketers are wasting time tracking the wrong metrics and missing out on valuable insights that could help them improve their campaigns and drive better results.

That’s why in 2023, it’s time to ditch some of the marketing metrics that have become the norm and focus on the ones that really matter. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at some metrics you should stop measuring, why they are not helpful, and what you should be measuring instead. So if you’re ready to take your marketing metrics to the next level, let’s dive in!

Vanity Metrics

Let’s start with the metrics often considered “vanity metrics.” These metrics might make you feel good about your marketing efforts, but in reality, they don’t tell you much about how successful your campaigns are.

One of the most commonly tracked vanity metrics is website traffic. Sure, it’s great to see a high number of visitors to your website, but without context, this metric doesn’t tell you much. For example, if you have a lot of traffic but a high bounce rate, it could mean that people are leaving your site as soon as they arrive, which is not a good sign. Similarly, having a lot of traffic but low engagement could mean people are not finding what they want on your site.

Another vanity metric that many marketers focus on is social media followers. While having a large following is nice, it doesn’t necessarily translate to success. A HubSpot study found no correlation between the number of social media followers and business success. Instead of focusing on followers, it’s more important to focus on engagement, such as likes, comments, and shares.

Finally, email subscribers are another vanity metric that marketers often track. While it’s important to have a list of subscribers, the number of subscribers doesn’t tell you much about the success of your email campaigns. Instead, focusing on metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions is more important.

While vanity metrics might make you feel good, they provide little value in measuring your marketing campaigns’ success. Instead, focus on metrics that provide more context and insight into the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Time Spent on Site

Another metric that marketers should stop measuring in 2023 is time spent on site. While tracking how long people spend on your website is a good idea, this metric doesn’t provide much value.

One of the main problems with time spent on site is that it doesn’t differentiate between people engaged with your content and people just leaving your site open in a browser tab. For example, someone could leave your site open for hours without engaging with your content.

Additionally, time spent on site doesn’t take into account the quality of the visit. For example, someone might spend a lot of time on your site because they need help finding what they are looking for. In this case, an extended visit doesn’t necessarily indicate a positive experience.

Instead of focusing on time spent on site, it’s more important to focus on metrics like bounce rate, pages per session, and conversion rate. These metrics provide a better indication of how engaged visitors are with your content and how likely they are to convert.

Impressions

Another metric that marketers should stop obsessing over in 2023 is impressions. Impressions are the number of times your content is displayed, whether it’s a social media post, an ad, or a search result.

While it might seem like a high number of impressions is a good thing, it doesn’t tell you much about the success of your campaigns. One of the main problems with impressions is that it doesn’t consider whether someone engaged with your content. For example, your ad might have been displayed to someone, but they might have scrolled past it without noticing it.

Additionally, impressions don’t provide any insight into the quality of the engagement. For example, someone might have clicked on your ad but immediately clicked away because the landing page wasn’t relevant to them.

Instead of focusing on impressions, it’s more important to focus on metrics like click-through rate (CTR), engagement rate, and conversion rate. These metrics provide more insight into the quality of the engagement and the likelihood of conversion.

Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Click-through rate (CTR) is another metric that marketers should stop obsessing over in 2023. CTR measures the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions, and it’s often used to measure the success of ads or other types of content.

While CTR might seem like a useful metric, it only sometimes provides an accurate picture of the success of your campaigns. One of the main problems with CTR is that it doesn’t consider the clicks’ quality. For example, someone might click on your ad but immediately click away because the landing page wasn’t relevant to them.

Additionally, CTR doesn’t provide any information about the likelihood of conversion. For example, someone might click on your ad but never take action.

Instead of focusing on CTR, it’s more important to focus on metrics like engagement rate, conversion rate, and return on investment (ROI). These metrics provide a better indication of the quality of the engagement and the success of your campaigns.

Conversion Rates

Conversion rate is another metric that marketers should rethink in 2023. While conversion rate can be a valuable metric for measuring the success of your marketing campaigns, there are better metrics to focus on.

One of the main problems with conversion rate is that it doesn’t consider the quality of the conversions. For example, if you have a high conversion rate but a low customer lifetime value (CLV), you are attracting a lot of low-quality leads who are not likely to stick around and make repeat purchases.

Additionally, conversion rate doesn’t provide any insight into the customer journey or the effectiveness of your entire funnel. For example, someone might convert on your landing page, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that your email campaign or social media ads were effective.

Instead of focusing solely on conversion rate, it’s more important to focus on metrics that provide a more holistic view of the customer journey, such as lead quality, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and CLV.

Customer lifetime value

Now that we’ve covered some metrics marketers should stop obsessing over in 2023, let’s talk about a metric that should be a priority: customer lifetime value (CLV).

Customer lifetime value is the total amount of money a customer is expected to spend with your business over their relationship with you. CLV considers factors such as customer retention rate, repeat purchases, and the average order value.

CLV is a powerful metric because it tells you how much a customer is worth to your business and provides insight into how to keep them coming back. By focusing on increasing CLV, you can improve customer loyalty, increase repeat purchases, and reduce customer acquisition costs.

In addition to focusing on CLV, tracking metrics like customer acquisition cost (CAC) and retention rate is important. These metrics provide insight into the cost of acquiring new customers and the effectiveness of your efforts to retain existing customers.

Lead Quality

Lead quality is a metric that measures the likelihood that a lead will convert into a paying customer. While generating a lot of leads is important, it’s equally important to ensure that those leads are high-quality and have a good chance of converting.

One way to measure lead quality is to track the percentage of leads that convert into paying customers. By monitoring this metric, you can identify which marketing channels and campaigns generate the highest-quality leads and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Another way to measure lead quality is to track the time it takes for leads to convert. For example, if a lead converts within a few days, it might indicate they were already interested in your product or service. In contrast, if it takes several weeks or months, it might suggest that they need more nurturing before they are ready to convert.

Cost Per Lead

Cost per lead is a metric that measures the total cost of generating a single lead. By tracking this metric, you can identify the most cost-effective marketing channels and campaigns and adjust your strategy accordingly.

To calculate cost per lead, divide the total cost of a marketing campaign by the number of leads generated. For example, if you spent $10,000 on a campaign and generated 100 leads, your cost per lead would be $100.

By tracking cost per lead, you can identify which marketing channels and campaigns are the most efficient at generating leads and adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, if social media advertising costs less per lead than email marketing, you might shift more of your budget to social media advertising.

Pipeline Velocity

Pipeline velocity is a metric that measures the speed at which leads move through your sales pipeline. By tracking this metric, you can identify areas where you can improve the efficiency of your sales process and close deals more quickly.

To calculate pipeline velocity, divide the total value of your sales pipeline by the average time it takes to close a deal. For example, if your sales pipeline is worth $1 million and it takes an average of three months to close a deal, your pipeline velocity would be $333,333 per month.

By tracking pipeline velocity, you can identify areas where you can improve the efficiency of your sales process. For example, if it takes too long to move leads from one stage of the pipeline to the next, you might need to invest in better lead nurturing or sales enablement tools.

Other Metrics to Consider

While we’ve covered some of the most important metrics to focus on in 2023, there are also several other metrics that marketers should consider tracking. Here are a few:

1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): CAC is the total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses. By tracking CAC, you can identify areas where you can reduce costs and improve the efficiency of your marketing efforts.
2. Customer Retention Rate: Customer retention rate is the percentage of customers who continue to do business with you over time. By tracking retention rate, you can identify areas where you can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS is a metric that measures customer loyalty and satisfaction. By asking customers how likely they are to recommend your business to others, you can understand how well you meet their needs.
4. Engagement Rate: Engagement rate measures the level of interaction your content receives, such as likes, comments, and shares. By tracking engagement rate, you can identify which types of content resonate with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.
5. Return on Investment (ROI): ROI measures your return on your marketing investment. By tracking ROI, you can identify which marketing channels and campaigns are most effective and adjust your strategy accordingly.

In 2023, it’s time for marketers to rethink the metrics they are tracking and focus on the ones that matter. While metrics like website traffic, social media followers, and email subscribers seem important, they don’t necessarily provide much value in measuring your marketing campaigns’ success.

Instead, it’s essential to focus on metrics that provide insight into the quality of engagement and the likelihood of conversion. Customer lifetime value, customer acquisition cost, retention rate, net promoter score, engagement rate, return on investment, lead quality, cost per lead, and pipeline velocity are all critical metrics marketers should consider tracking in 2023.

By measuring these metrics and using the insights that they provide, you can make more informed decisions about your marketing strategy and drive better results. Whether you’re looking to increase customer loyalty, optimize your marketing budget, or close deals more quickly, these metrics can help you achieve your goals and drive better results for your business.

So, if you want to take your marketing metrics to the next level in 2023, it’s time to ditch the vanity metrics and focus on those that matter. By doing so, you’ll be able to improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, increase revenue, and drive better results for your business.