Impressions. Key performance indicators. Metrics. Call them what you want, but we can all agree that quantified reporting is necessary in demonstrating success and establishing client trust. The list of metrics is lengthy. From impressions and CPMs to page views and reach frequency, how meaningful are they when they stand alone? Without context, not very.
Collectively, however, these numbers both tell an important story about a campaign’s success, as well as ladder up to the the single most critical metric: sales. But even then, accurately connecting marketing efforts to overall sales gets cloudy.
It’s not always possible to draw a straight line from marketing, public relations and advertising directly to sales. And, given the nuances and intricacies in identifying, translating and reporting this data, it’s certainly not in our best interest to hang our marketing hats on just one metric, like impressions.
The best we can do — right now — is provide our clients with a scorecard highlighting several of these metrics and why they matter, even if some of these numbers are more relevant and reliable than others. We need to dig a little deeper to provide diverse and meaningful KPIs that help tell the overall story, highlight a campaign’s success and demonstrate why a marketing and communications program is critical to the overall success of an organization.