It is something that comes up in every aspect of business. Whether it is in terms of customer acquisition or digital marketing, metrics is something that we can use in every area of our company to improve performance. But metrics are something that we can place a lot of importance on, in fact, too much importance. It is important to use it appropriately, but when it comes to improving your business, how can you use metrics effectively?
Know What You Really Want To Measure
Many companies feel that the more metrics they measure, the better. But the fact is this is not the case. When it comes to measuring certain metrics, especially the marketing arena, you can look at the conversion rates, but you may want to make sure that there is an additional area that you can measure effectively. When it comes to business is selling certain products, an additional metric that is beyond the traditional may very well help. For example, when you are in the business of selling extreme sports equipment you may want to add an extra dimension to promoting the usability and durability of products. This means you may want to incorporate extra metrics with regard to altitude and location. In which case, aligning with a brand like Trimble GPS to measure these can provide an extra dimension. It could reinvigorate so many different areas, not just your metrics, but your brand, and even your sales copy. Because you have genuine tangible results that you can promote. By understanding what you really want to measure, gives you the opportunity to weed out the unnecessary components.
The Frequency of Tracking and Reviewing Measurements
The point of having additional data is to make your promotion decisions easier. When you start to measure specific components, and you find that one area is more substantial than another, you will naturally gravitate towards that. And the great thing is that, in doing this, it helps you to invest your finances into the better areas of the business. This is, in effect, the 80/20 rule in action. 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. And we have to remember that when we are spreading ourselves thin with regards to metrics, there may only be a handful of components that we should really measure. By reviewing the appropriate measurements over time, you will get a far better insight into what will be better for your business.
The Importance of Bringing Your Team Into the Process
You have to incorporate metrics into your business as part of the “standard operating procedures.” Therefore, the more people involved, the more importance placed on the metrics. This is why you need to get the right balance of the right metrics and the right frequency. Once you start to get this correct, you can repeat the process so you can act on every single finding.
Metrics are important, but it's important to know where they are best applied. Metrics improve performance, but you need to use them wisely.
