Brand & Capture

The days of tracking performance merely by page hits, site visits and unique visitors is a distant memory. While these basic metrics are easy to track and report, they fail to show marketing’s contribution to the bottom line. Marketers are now under more pressure than ever to prove return on investment (ROI). And while marketers support the idea of data-driven decisions, significant gaps exist between desire and execution. The question often is not necessarily why, but how.

Enterprise inbound marketing is all about data. We are collecting data constantly, from every visit, every lead and every customer. We are tracking everything from blog post subscribers to Facebook likes and working out how to make sense out of the data. What's the point of all of this BIG DATA? We are seeking knowledge of the customer journey from initial awareness through sales closing in order to optimize the path and making it easier for customers to find us and buy from us. We are reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) to the C-Suite so that they can make informed decisions about marketing budgets and deployments. So what should we be measuring and how?

It goes without saying that your lead generation efforts require daily monitoring for optimization. Paying attention to key performance indicators like website visitors and leads everyday helps you meet the monthly goals you should regularly set. But what happens when the number of leads starts to fall below the numbers you need to reach your goal?

We've visited some familiar inbound marketing topics this week, including content marketing, SEO, strategy, generating leads and KPIS, but we have strived to shine a whole new light on them. You can find out how content can help increase search visibility, how to succeed in inbound marketing by learning from the best in the business and so much more! So read on to find out how these well-known topics are new again. Enjoy! 

What's in your Inbound Marketing scorecard? At a glance, can your Senior Management Team evaluate the progress of your inbound marketing program, ask the right questions and draw reasonable conclusions? If so, you have the ability to make adjustments to your strategy and campaigns with the goal of optimizing key performance indicators and achieving business goals. If not, you have a lot of 'splaining to do. Without a ledger of Management-blessed KPIs, you may be reporting misleading data, leading to the wrong conclusions. Here are my Top 10 Inbound Marketing KPIs for Executives and Board members. I'll start with the most important.