How to Measure Your Marketing Success

Marketing Metrics That Matter: Cutting Through the Vanity Data to What Actually Drives Growth

Let's be brutally honest - most companies are drowning in data but starving for real insights. Tracking the wrong metrics is worse than tracking none at all. It creates the illusion of progress while your actual revenue bleeds out.

Here's the hard truth: If you can't connect your marketing to revenue, you're just creating expensive art projects.

The 5 Metrics That Actually Predict Business Growth

1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) - The Ultimate Reality Check

• Formula: Total marketing spend ÷ new customers acquired

• Why it matters: If you're spending $500 to acquire a $50 customer, you're not a marketer - you're a philanthropist.

• Pro tip: Segment by channel. That "viral" TikTok campaign might be getting likes but costing $300 per conversion.

2. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) - The Number That Changes Everything

• Formula: Average purchase value × purchase frequency × customer lifespan

• The magic ratio: LTV should be 3-5x CAC for sustainable growth

• Warning sign: If your LTV:CAC is <1, you're essentially running a Ponzi scheme

3. Marketing Originated Customer % - The True Test of Your Impact

• What it shows: Percentage of total customers who started as marketing leads

• Healthy benchmark: 40-60% for most businesses

• Red flag: Below 20% means your sales team is carrying your marketing department

4. Conversion Rate by Stage - Where Your Funnel Is Bleeding

• Critical stages:

  • Lead to MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)

  • MQL to SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)

  • SQL to Closed Won

• The brutal truth: A 2% increase in conversion rate can deliver the same revenue impact as a 50% increase in traffic

5. Time to Payback CAC - How Long Until You Stop Losing Money

• Formula: How many months until a customer's gross margin covers their CAC

• Ideal: <12 months for most businesses

• Startup killer: >24 months means you need constant funding rounds to stay alive

The Vanity Metrics That Are Lying to You

🚫 Social media likes - Unless you're monetizing impressions directly

🚫 Website traffic - Unqualified visitors are just a hosting bill

🚫 Email open rates - People open and delete all the time

🚫 PR mentions - Unless they include a trackable link

How to Actually Use This Data

1. Run weekly growth meetings focusing ONLY on these 5 metrics

2. Kill underperforming channels without sentimentality

3. Double down on what works - even if it's boring

4. Tie team bonuses to LTV:CAC ratio, not "leads generated"

Great marketers don't just create demand - they prove how much it costs to create it.