With hundreds (if not thousands) of different marketing metrics floating around out there, simply finding a pattern in the noise can be downright arduous. Fortunately, the folks at Pardot have put together this handy infographic cheat sheet to help you separate the actionable metrics (data that actually affects your revenue) from the vanity metrics (data that just sounds impressive). It’s not a comprehensive list, but it does a nice job of hitting the high points. If you’re trying to decide how to measure the worth of your marketing efforts, this is certainly a good place to start.
Some interesting takeaways (and personal observations):
- Most of the vanity metrics seem to involve the number of fans/followers you have, or the amount of content you produce. The actionable metrics are more focused on actual leads and costs.
- I’m surprised to see Open Rate listed as a vanity metric for email marketing. Taken alone, it’s not a particularly valuable metric, but when examined in conjunction with Click-Through-Rate (CTR), it can really help you pinpoint the weaknesses in your current email campaigns.
- Speaking of CTR, it’s apparently a much more valuable metric for email marketing than it is for display advertising or paid search.
