What is KPI and how to improve key performance? 

Key Performance Indicator, or KPI, is a term used to describe marketing measurement. The most common pre-measurement step is to set targets because otherwise, what would you measure?

Setting Marketing Objectives

The best way to measure and track a KPI is to measure the achievement of the desired objectives. Among the many methods for setting targets, the SMART model is the most popular.

S - specific

M - measurable

A - attainable

R - relevant

T - time-bound

Specific (clear)

It is a good idea to think of a clear objective that everyone can understand. This way, everyone can sign up and aim for the same desired destination. Make sure that everyone understands what the goal is.

Measurable

As the saying goes, “you can’t lead if you can’t measure.” Therefore, you need to define your objectives to measure your progress and the effectiveness of your measures continuously. Measurability is everything when it comes to achieving your goal.

Attainable

It’s important to set your goals high enough to be challenging but not impossible for you to achieve. Set your goal at a level where you can get excited when you succeed, but be careful not to set an unrealistic target. If you can’t reach your goal, you won’t be able to commit to it. In this case, the rest of your team won’t be able to achieve either, and it will remain a distant dream.

Relevant

Why is this target being set? How will it benefit your business? The relevance of your objective is an essential factor in achieving your business goals. Every team member will be inspired by the realistic goal, motivated to achieve it, and prepared to take the steps necessary to succeed. 

Time-bound (deadline)

If you don’t set a deadline for achieving the goal, you will find that years will pass, and goals will be forgotten. Each milestone must be timed at a suitable distance so that the tasks are completed by the deadline. The goal will be reached if everyone is committed to the tasks and the timeframe. 

KPIs: How are they defined?

To monitor the achievement of objectives, we must select and set practical measures, i.e., KPIs. 

Choose only a few measurable things that will definitely contribute to your company’s objectives, such as sales. You could, for example, use the number of customers who visit your company’s website as a KPI. These can be measured using web analytics tools such as Google Analytics, even on a daily basis. 

Another perhaps even more critical metric could be the number of leads your business receives from your website. 

However, you should remember not to measure only the number of contacts but also “distant metrics.” Because the number of people who saw your social media ads and the number of people who watched your banner ads will eventually add to the total number of contacts. 

It is therefore also essential to measure the actions that will ultimately lead to contacts.

KPIs for Internal Communications

When communicating KPIs with your company’s marketing team and staff, do not forget a few things.

1. Define just a few metrics. This will ensure that everyone knows their role and which metric they are targeting with their actions. If you define too many metrics, some of the KPIs may be forgotten and the focus will also become dispersed and your team will no longer know what the measures are aimed at. More is less in this case.
2. Take care of the monitoring. Monitor the progress of KPIs at least monthly, but generally, it’s a good idea for the marketing team to track the progress every week. 

Firstly, this gives you more enthusiasm to reach the goal. In addition, the tasks for the next few days are easier to remember since the KPIs are reviewed weekly.

3. Remember to explain why the KPIs exist. These objectives should always play an essential role in achieving the company’s goals. This way, everyone understands the importance of their task and why they come to work in the morning to strive for the goal you have set constantly.

If you need help with setting KPIs for your business, we’d be happy to help. We have years of experience setting goals for companies with a few employees, as well as some of the largest listed companies in the region.

Be assured and ask for more information. It’s the most effective way to ensure that your company has effective and productive KPI metrics in place within two weeks.

Need further reading? Find out how and why to measure the progress of your content marketing effort. 

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