KPIs play an essential role within a company. In marketing, there are dozens of key performance indicators, some of which are more relevant than others.
KPIs are used to measure the progress of marketing actions to achieve defined objectives. There are hundreds of indicators. It is up to managers and entrepreneurs to choose those that correspond to their sectors of activity. These marketing KPIs can be divided into several categories: acquisition, engagement, retention, e-mailing , e-commerce, etc.
Acquisition marketing KPIs
These metrics closely monitor audience acquisition. In the case of a digital activity, the main KPI to take into account is the traffic generated. Beyond the number of visits to the website, it is possible to sort the data by date and by page to obtain more precision.
The number of sessions
This is the first indicator that we follow in a marketing strategy . It gives general information on the number of user visits . To make it more relevant, it is possible to filter the result according to the origin of the traffic.
How did the Internet user find the company’s site?
- Social networks
- E-mailing
- Organic searches
- Referent
- Paid searches
- Direct
Social networks
Users clicked on a link shared on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to arrive on the website. This indicator reveals the platform that generates the most traffic and conversion , identifies the format that attracts Internet users, etc.
Traffic from emailing
The Internet user discovered the site by clicking on a link in the company’s newsletter. This indicator makes it possible to evaluate the relevance of the e-mailing campaign , to adjust targeting if necessary, to improve communication by e-mail, etc.
Organic searches
This marketing KPI is used to measure the effectiveness of SEO actions to optimize the site on Google or another search engine. It thus reveals the performance of natural referencing. The web marketing manager uses this indicator to monitor the positioning of the site on specific keywords. To increase brand visibility, the main goal is to rank in the top 10 results.
Referral traffic
It refers to the number of Internet users who landed on the site by clicking one link from another. The indicator is used to identify third-party sites that mention the company . The presence of a link in a blog of the same theme is beneficial for SEO. If the link is present in a reliable site, this reinforces the confidence of Google. Finally, quality links also strengthen the popularity of the site.
Direct
Internet users entered the site’s URL directly into their browser without going through a search engine. This can be a URL saved in favorites for example. This indicator reveals the pages that enjoy greater popularity among Internet users.
Paid traffic
The marketing expert uses tracking URLs to assess the effectiveness of paid advertisements on Facebook ads, Google ads, banners, etc.
This KPI indicates the paid channel that converts the most traffic and conversion. It optimizes the advertising budget.
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Engagement and acquisition marketing KPIs
Leads correspond to potential customers. The latter showed interest in the brand’s offer. The indicator is called MQL or marketing qualified lead in marketing. An MQL corresponds to a person who is interested in a brand and responds positively to a marketing campaign. This translates into downloading a white paper , subscribing to the newsletter, creating an account on the site.
The total number of leads
This indicator refers to the number of visitors who left personal information such as email address, first and last name, etc. Marketing experts use this KPI to better segment prospects. This segmentation increases the chances of conversion .
The number of active leads
It corresponds to the number of leads interacting with the company. These leads have a high chance of becoming customers. Leads are considered inactive when they haven’t shown interest in months. The company has two choices: it starts a campaign to re-engage them or permanently removes them from the contact list.
The conversion rate
Marketing actions do not stop at generating leads , they will have to be converted into customers. The conversion rate is obtained thanks to the ratio between the number of visitors having carried out a desired action by the total number of visitors. The indicator is expressed as a percentage.
The definition of conversion depends on the objectives set by the company. It generally corresponds to the sale, but can refer to the subscription to the newsletter for example.
The bounce rate
This marketing KPI refers to the percentage of visitors who left the home page without performing actions such as clicking a link, visiting other pages, etc.
The bounce rate is indicative of the interest of the website for Internet users. A high indicator means they haven’t found their answer and indicates a poor user experience.
The CTA rate
CTA or call to action invites users to perform a specific action. This KPI measures their interest in the brand’s offers. To optimize the CTA rate, marketing experts carry out AB testing. This consists of comparing two pages with CTAs of different formats to identify the most effective.
Retention KPIs
Also called loyalty KPIs , they are used to measure customer loyalty.
The loyalty rate
This figure is obtained from the ratio of loyal customers to the total number of customers. The indicator is generally complementary with the attrition rate which corresponds to the number of customers lost over a period. It is obtained from the ratio between lost customers and the number of customers.
NPS
This indicator is indicative of the brand’s reputation. It is essential to attract new customers. It is built on positive customer feedback over the long term. Satisfied consumers become company ambassadors. They recommend its offer to other people around them.
To obtain the satisfaction rate, marketers establish a satisfaction questionnaire on a scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. It is submitted at the end of the purchase process for example. The result highlights three categories of customers:
- Detractors
- Liabilities
- The promoters
The NPS (net promoter score) is obtained from the following formula:
- NPS = % promoters – % detractors
- The ideal score is above 50.
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eCommerce KPIs
These indicators are aimed at companies with an online store. Entrepreneurs should closely monitor the following indicators:
- Average basket
- Cart abandonment rate
Average basket
This indicator is indicative of the average spending of buyers on the online store. This figure is obtained by dividing the turnover over a period by the number of orders.
To optimize the average basket, the company can implement several actions such as:
- Free delivery above a certain amount
- Launch of loyalty programs
- Setting up bundled offers, etc.
- Cart abandonment rate
It corresponds to the percentage of prospects who created a basket without going through with the purchase . According to Sendinblue , seven out of ten consumers abandon a shopping cart. The main reasons for dropping out are:
- Mandatory account creation;
- Lack of payment options;
- Hidden and unexpected charges;
- Too long delivery time;
- The low level of payment security, etc.
To correct this rate, the company can launch an e-mailing campaign to revive customers.
KPIs to measure the effectiveness of e-mailing
Email marketing is one of the essential marketing communication tools for acquiring and engaging prospects. Several KPIs make it possible to measure their effectiveness.
The deliverability rate
This figure indicates the number of emails that have arrived in the recipient’s inbox. Messages that land in spam don’t count. This indicator is indicative of the reputation and reliability of the sender.
The opening rate
It designates the number of recipients who opened the email . Poor targeting often results in a low open rate. The subject of the message lacks relevance in the eyes of the target.
To increase this percentage, it is necessary to properly segment the contact list. The use of A/B testing also makes it possible to find the right way to address prospects.
The click rate
The emails contain at least one link redirecting to the website. They also include a call to action. If the click-through rate is low, it means the content is less interesting.
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