Our research has found that using marketing metrics effectively is the number one pain point for South African businesses. In fact, less than 50% set clear objectives when using specialist marketing services, and just 30% measure the profitability of their customers.
To dig deeper into why businesses are facing these issues and how they can overcome them, we spoke with Joanne Crow, one of our Marketing Directors.
Why do business owners struggle with marketing metrics?
“The primary reason that many business owners struggle with marketing metrics is that they often do not have a clearly defined marketing plan. This could be for various reasons, but predominantly many owners lack the skills and time to create a measurable marketing plan” says Joanne. “In most cases businesses have thinly stretched finances (especially in the startup phase) and marketing is often seen as something that can be done internally. This leads to ineffective campaigns and a waste of marketing budget.”
Rather than starting with metrics, business leaders should start by mapping out the entire customer journey. This involves:
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- Defining Customer Personas and Objectives
- Identify customer segments and their needs, pain points, and behaviors.
- Set clear objectives for the journey map (e.g., improving user
experience or sales process).
- Identify Stages and Touchpoints
- Outline the key stages of the journey (Awareness, Consideration, Decision, etc.).
- List all customer touchpoints across various channels (online and offline).
- Understand Customer Actions and Emotions
- Track customer actions and behaviors at each stage.
- Map emotions like frustrations or delights to better understand the customer experience.
- Identify Pain Points and Prioritize Key Moments
- Spot areas where customers face difficulties and need improvement.
- Focus on critical moments that have the most impact on the experience.
- Visualize and Iterate
- Create a visual representation of the customer journey map.
- Continuously monitor, gather feedback, and update the map based on changes and insights.
Once that has been mapped out, then you can assign sensible metrics to the different stages.
Real-world examples of using marketing metrics to solve business problems
By mapping out the full journey—from the first point of contact to the final sale—businesses can uncover where leads drop off and see what needs to be fixed.
We asked Joanne to share a couple of real-life examples with us.
- Low restaurant turn-out and guest frustration
“I once worked with a luxury hotel nestled in an exclusive residential estate. While the hotel boasted several restaurants, they struggled to draw in non-hotel guests from the surrounding community, despite frequent promotions and significant marketing spend. Cancellations were common and the venues often sat empty.
The core issue was a perception problem—local residents believed the restaurants were exclusive to hotel guests, and security at the gates added to the impression of exclusivity rather than welcome. Before launching more promotional campaigns, the team needed to educate the community about what the hotel offered and train their security staff to create a more inviting experience.
By introducing a targeted awareness campaign and addressing these touchpoints, the hotel gradually attracted a broader audience and overcame these barriers. This demonstrates the importance of aligning marketing efforts with the attract phase of the customer journey—skipping essential educational steps can mean missing out on valuable opportunities.”
- When presence doesn’t equal awareness and conversion
“Trade shows are a key marketing opportunity across many industries, but turning attendance into tangible results can be challenging.
One of my clients regularly attended luxury travel shows, investing heavily in stand design, presentations, customer gifting and travel expenses. Despite this, they struggled to measure success—there was no clear system to capture leads, track follow-ups or attribute bookings to the event.
The solution came in the form of a structured lead capture process. Visitors to the stand could enter a competition by providing their contact details via a live data collection app. This app automatically assigned leads to the appropriate sales team member based on location, creating tailored follow-up lists. Additionally, bookings were tagged with a promotional trade show code, enabling the revenue team to calculate the event’s ROI accurately.
To nurture these leads further, they were added to an automated email journey that delivered curated property highlights after the show, keeping the brand top of mind and increasing conversion potential. This streamlined approach turned an expensive event into a measurable and effective marketing tool.”
How to get started with marketing metrics
Getting started with marketing metrics can feel overwhelming, but it's essential for making data-driven decisions and improving your strategies. Here are a few tips to help you begin:
- Understand Your Goals
- Clarify Your Objectives: Before diving into metrics, ensure you have clear marketing goals (e.g., brand awareness, lead generation, sales conversions). Knowing your goals will help you focus on the metrics that matter most.
- Align Metrics with Business Outcomes: Make sure your metrics align with the broader business objectives. For example, if you're focused on lead generation, key metrics could include the cost per lead (CPL) and lead conversion rates.
- Start with Basic Metrics
- Traffic Metrics: Begin by tracking website traffic using tools like Google Analytics. Look at page views, bounce rate, time on site, and user demographics.
- Engagement Metrics: For social media, focus on likes, shares, comments, and click-through rates (CTR) on posts to understand how your content is resonating with your audience.
- Conversion Metrics: Track conversion rates (e.g., from visitor to lead or lead to customer). This is critical for understanding the ROI of your marketing activities.
- Focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Select Relevant KPIs: Choose a few KPIs that directly measure the success of your efforts. For instance:
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): How much it costs to acquire a new customer.
- Lifetime Value (LTV): The revenue a customer is expected to generate over their relationship with your brand.
- Return on Investment (ROI): How much profit you're generating for every dollar spent on marketing.
- Limit Overload: Don't track every metric. Too many can lead to confusion. Focus on metrics that directly tie into your strategy.
- Track Trends, Not Just Numbers
- Use Historical Data: Start tracking metrics over time to identify trends. A single data point might not provide much insight, but trends over weeks or months will help you understand what's working and what's not.
- Benchmarking: Compare your metrics against industry benchmarks to gauge your performance. Knowing how you stack up against competitors or industry standards can give you context and guide improvement.
- Leverage Tools and Platforms
- Use Analytics Platforms: Google Analytics, social media dashboards, and CRM tools (like HubSpot or Salesforce) can automate tracking and provide comprehensive insights into your marketing performance.
- Integrate Your Data: Use a marketing automation platform or dashboards to bring together data from different channels (social media, email, paid ads, etc.) for a unified view of performance.
- Test and Iterate
- A/B Testing: Regularly test different elements of your campaigns (e.g., ad copy, email subject lines, landing pages) to see what works best. Even small changes can lead to big improvements.
- Optimize Based on Metrics: Use the insights from your metrics to optimize campaigns. For example, if a particular ad is performing well, consider increasing its budget or expanding its reach.
- Stay Agile
- Adapt to Changes: The digital landscape is constantly evolving. Be prepared to adjust your metrics as new tools and channels emerge or as your marketing strategy shifts.
- Monitor Competitor Metrics: Stay aware of competitors’ performance to adapt your own strategy as needed.
- Report and Share Insights
- Create Dashboards and Reports: Use simple, easy-to-understand reports to communicate the results of your marketing efforts to stakeholders. Dashboards that display key metrics at a glance help you track progress and make decisions quickly.
- Context Matters: When sharing metrics, always provide context. Raw numbers can be misleading without an understanding of the goals they’re tied to and the broader market environment.
Starting with these steps will help you gain confidence in using marketing metrics to guide your decision-making and optimize your campaigns for success.
Marketing metrics are powerful tools when used correctly
Marketing metrics don’t have to be a headache. By starting with the customer journey and thinking strategically about what you want to measure and how best to do that, you can identify and resolve critical problems you may not know you have.
Our team of Marketing Directors have experience helping hundreds of businesses across South Africa to understand their marketing data. If you could use an outside perspective, get in touch today.