7 examples of marketing KPIs and tips for your marketing team

There are various examples of marketing KPIs that can be utilized to gauge the performance of a company's marketing team. 

If you're involved in the field of marketing, you're likely familiar with this term. However, if you're new to the business world, especially in marketing, you might not be used to tracking marketing metrics to measure performance.

To quantify marketing efforts, companies need to establish realistic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for their marketing teams. Beyond understanding the importance of marketing KPIs, it's essential to acquaint yourself with some definitions and examples of these marketing KPIs, then move on to know how to calculate marketing ROI.

What are marketing KPIs?

KPIs stand for Key Performance Indicators. Marketing KPIs are the core marketing metrics that you use to measure the effectiveness of marketing activities. With the marketing KPIs in place, the marketing team has clear and measurable targets.

Why marketing KPIs are important for your business 

Businesses should track marketing KPIs for their marketing teams because these marketing metrics help in measuring and evaluating the strategy and team performance in a more structured manner. With marketing measures of performance, companies can enhance the effectiveness and outcomes of their marketing efforts.

Here are other reasons why companies should implement marketing KPIs:

• Objective measurement of success: KPIs provide measurable indicators of how well the marketing team is achieving established goals and targets. Companies can determine whether marketing strategies are successful or need improvement, making KPIs more objective than subjective assessments based on opinions. (use this to fight your boss!)

• Identifying weaknesses: marketing metrics help identify less effective or problematic aspects of marketing activities so that businesses can make adjustments to their marketing strategies more accurately.

• Setting priorities: marketing performance tracking assists the marketing team in setting priorities and focusing on the most crucial aspects to achieve goals without resource wastage on irrelevant efforts.

7 examples of marketing KPIs

Marketing KPIs are closely related to marketing goals. Therefore, you need to choose KPIs that align with your company's needs and capabilities for more accurate measurement.

Here are some common marketing KPI examples used by companies:

1. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)

Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) are a pivotal metric for assessing whether your marketing campaigns are bringing in conversions. It categorizes leads based on specific qualifications for assessing the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. It is also a common goal used by marketing teams to determine the success of a marketing strategy.

2. Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) is for determining the profitability of your marketing efforts. It measures the ratio of net income generated from marketing investment to the cost of marketing investment. 

[(marketing costs - net income) / the result by marketing costs x 100]

A positive ROI signifies that your marketing efforts are yielding profits, while a negative ROI may necessitate adjustments to your strategies or budgets.

3. Website conversion rate

The website conversion rate indicates your website’s capability to turn visitors into customers. It shows the percentage of visits to your website that result in purchases, registrations, or subscriptions. 

The performance of your marketing website can be determined using Google Analytics. You can also optimize the website user experience (UX), content and copies, call-to-action buttons, and more to maximize the conversion rate. 

4. Social media engagement rate

Social media engagement rate evaluates the impact of your social media marketing efforts. It reveals how many people interact with your content, such as likes, shares, comments, saves, and more.

You are recommended to publish posts or videos that resonate with your audience and foster relationships to expand your brand’s reach and influence, eventually persuading them to purchase your product or service.

5. Cost per conversion

Cost per Conversion helps with assessing the efficiency of your lead generation strategies. It indicates the cost required to acquire leads that become customers. With this marketing metric, you can better plan the budget according to your targeted revenue, see how accurately you’re aiming on your potential customers, and whether you need to refine your lead nurturing tactics.

6. Cost Per Lead (CPL)

Cost per Lead (CPL) measures the costs incurred to acquire a single lead or potential new customer. Calculated by dividing the total campaign cost by the number of leads obtained, CPL provides insights into the effectiveness of your lead acquisition plan. 

[number of leads obtained/ the total campaign cost]

7. Email/Message open rate

One aspect of digital marketing involves sending emails or messages to customers regularly. Open rate is a metric that looks at the percentage of people who open marketing emails or messages of your campaign compared to the total number sent.

You should also look at the following aspects to increase engagement:

• Subject line

• Content (does it provide value to your customers?)

• Visuals or images

• CTA

• Timing sent

Looking specifically at WhatsApp marketing? Explore our guide on tracking WhatsApp marketing ROI.

Considerations when developing marketing KPIs

Now that you're aware of marketing KPI examples and ways to calculate them, it's essential to pay attention to certain factors to make your KPI development more effective. These include:

• Relevance to business goals

• Specific and quantifiable numbers or parameters 

• Achievable, realistic, and reasonable efforts

• Clear timeframes for prioritization and effective progress

• Consistency in reviewing and adjustments

• Consideration of leading and lagging indicators

• Budget and goals for marketing measurement tools or software

Conclusion

As highlighted above, marketing KPIs serve as a vital tool for measuring the performance of a company's marketing team. Examples of marketing KPIs are diverse, and their usage aligns with the specific goals and strategies of each business.

It's important to note that every company has unique needs, so tailor your KPIs accordingly to measure what matters most to you.

To effectively monitor and achieve your marketing KPIs, consider utilizing tools like SleekFlow. This is especially valuable if you employ multiple social media platforms and actively use messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and more for your marketing endeavors.

With SleekFlow, you can streamline your marketing efforts, create personalized broadcasts, retarget your audience, assess the performance from marketing metrics, and integrate with CRM systems and e-commerce platforms to create the perfect buying journey for your customers.