Before deploying any new solution or process, it’s usually expected that the people involved in execution will provide a summary of the proposed changes to the leadership team. They’ll offer an at-a-glance view into the problem at hand or the decision that needs to be made, and how they believe their new system(s) will solve for those pain points.
Business Intelligence Dashboards (BIDs) exist in part to support this process. An analytical BID is an information management tool that is used to track metrics and key data points relevant to the various components of a business.
Dashboards help simplify complex data from various sources into a clear, at-a-glance representation of current performance in real-time.
Business Intelligence enables decision makers to make informed decisions driven by data that would otherwise be scattered and un-actionable.
Data is only valuable when it can actually inform the decision-making process; analytical BIDs should deliver actionable knowledge that aligns performance metrics with strategic long-term goals.
To draw a meaningful report out of diverse and disorganized data, you need to clearly identify the question you’re trying to answer. For our clients in particular, we seek to understand how sales, marketing, support, and customer success are driving growth. Dashboards allow us to understand how these processes are working together to support the customer lifecycle. To track growth, we measure KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) within marketing, sales, support, and customer success dashboards separately.
Commonly used BIDs for what we do include: Tableau, POWER BI, Salesforce, Grow, Databox,
HubSpot’s Reporting Add On, DOMO
So, which KPIs should you be tracking?
SUGGESTED MARKETING KPIs
Marketing teams manage so many different channels, and with such a variety it’s important to be sure your BID manages metrics that are important to key decision makers. Your CEO may not care as much about social media shares as they do about high-level metrics that give them a top down view of marketing efforts - like the overall conversion rate and lead generation percentage through social media. So which KPIs does an agency like ours generally track to understand marketing performance?
Performance by Channel. There are many channels available to businesses today to spread their content: Social media, paid advertising, content syndication, and email marketing are just a few. A breakdown of performance by channel can show effectiveness of marketing across all channels at-a-glance, allowing for marketing to make key decisions about resource allocation and channel strategy.
Critical metrics here include conversions per channel, percentage of leads by channel, and traffic generated from each marketing lead source.
Lifecycle Duration and Purchase Funnel Metrics. It’s valuable to understand the average duration of each stage of the marketing and sales process, and the average duration of this cycle overall, from first touch to when they become ‘Closed - Won’ or ‘Closed-Lost’ deals.
Additionally, paying attention to the conversion rate of opportunities from one stage to the next can help identify weak (or strong) links in the chain. Organizations may opt to break down the Lifecycle Stage by persona to have an even more granular view of how leads and customers are interacting with the process.
Finally, closed-lost “reasons” should be standardized so sales and marketing can be in better alignment as it relates to bad-fit and good-fit leads.
Customer Acquisition Cost. Understanding what you spent to getting your customers is essential to generating an honest picture of how much value they represent to your organization. You can get to this number by dividing all the costs spent on acquiring more customers (including marketing and sales costs) by the number of customers acquired within the time you spent the money.
Customer Lifetime Value to Customer Acquisition Cost Ratio. This metric measures the relationship between the lifetime value of a customer and the cost of acquiring that customer. You can find the metric by dividing the average lifetime value by the average acquisition cost. This not only identifies how much you should be spending on a customer to remain profitable; it also a signifier of sales and marketing effectivity. This metric can be segmented by persona for a more granular view of where the greatest growth opportunities exist.
SUGGESTED SALES KPIs
Revenue powers growth, so the sales team is critical for almost ever business. Sales numbers are top of mind for everyone, so you want to make sure your KPIs properly reflect the effort and budget put in to lead nurturing in sales.
Team Performance. This set of metrics is used to indicate how well your internal team is progressing, reaching quota, and strengthening the lead pipeline. Tracking things like number of meetings held, demos given, and calls made by team member can help identify high performers and those who need additional support.
Additional touchpoint metrics in sales can granularly assess things like the effectiveness of email outreach when SQLs are nearing closer to close. A high level look at open rates, click rates of emails to prospects will identify whether salespeople are actually moving the SQL to close effectively.
Lead to Sale Ratio. Measuring how many qualified leads in the pipeline are actually closing and turning into customers is critical to evaluating the overall success of your sales program. This percentage dovetails with the funnel metrics and lifecycle duration metrics outlined above to create a total picture of performance.
Quote to Close Ratio. This metric, in conjunction with the conversion rate from your last stage of the funnel, can identify whether leads are dropping off after they’ve been quoted and if there is a genuine issue with product pricing and quote delivery.
SUGGESTED CUSTOMER SUCCESS KPIs
Customer Success programs, when implemented correctly, reduce churn and increase a customer’s lifetime value; they can also help to turn your customers into advocates for your brand. You’ll want to pay attention to metrics that prove whether or not your team is doing their job post-sale.
Net Promoter Score (NPS). The Net Promoter Score allows you to understand whether existing customers would promote and recommend your company’s products and services to others. It is the perfect KPI for brand loyalty and advocacy, and is usually measured through a simple NPS survey.
Average Revenue per Customer. Average revenue per customer represents the average financial value you received from any one customer within a given period of time. This metric is foundational to developing a clear picture of customer success.
Churn Rate. Churn is a measure of attrition or loss. It can refer to lost customers, contracts, MRR, contract value, or bookings, and is most frequently expressed as a percentage. Issues or missed opportunities within your customer success program can be identified by paying attention to customer churn rate and revenue churn.
Expansion Revenue Growth Rate. Any additional revenue you gain from existing customers is known as expansion revenue. When expansion revenue is greater than your churn rate, a company can grow. Churn and expansion revenue rate, when measured together, can indicate whether your customers feel heard, whether they’re invested in your offerings and continuing a relationship, and whether they’re spending more because of the value you continue to bring to the table.
SUGGESTED CUSTOMER SUPPORT KPIs
Customer Support isn’t exactly the same thing as Customer Success, though for most organizations these two teams and their activities should have considerable overlap. Support usually refers to the “reactive” elements of customer communications, in which an agent will assist a user by answering a question or addressing a pain point. These are individuals who run support portals and ticketing systems, write or share FAQ/help documentation, and manage multi-channel outreach methods (service numbers, support social media accounts, chat windows, etc.)Though these are distinct from marketing and sales metrics, support KPIs should absolutely be measured and used to improve both proactive and reactive success strategies.
Ticket Resolution. Metrics related to ticket resolution include:
- Average time to resolution
- Tickets per month or year (broken down by product)
- Average customer happiness with support team member responses
Complaint or Issue Escalation. Measure the rate at which issues or formal complaints come through your ticketing and support portals. “Normal” escalation spikes may appear with increases in active users, or after an update is released - while your users get used to new functionality or UI. However, paying attention to unexpected rise in this number is key to finding problem areas within your product, service, or support agents. An unanticipated uptick in requests for help typically signals a problem.
Conclusion
The process for selecting a Business Intelligence Dashboard and identifying key metrics/KPIs to track will vary considerably for nearly every business. Your company size and industry, the demographics and psychographics of your users, and the markets you serve will help you monitor the right number are all contributing factors to what belongs on your dashboard, as well as what your short, medium, and long terms goals are.
Work with us to establish or optimize BIDs, identify & track KPIs, and make sense of each metric. We’re ready to find a solution that fits your needs, and delights your customer at every step of their journey. Contact us today to schedule a consultation!
