What are the most important KPIs to track in a digital strategy portfolio?

I believe one of the most simplest ways is through subscriptions (email) gained from whichever channels a business owns, as over time, these subscriptions can be converted to profit, which is the end goal of any business.

It all comes down to profits. Profits are the ultimate driver of business success and longevity. If a strategist will do the heavy lifting to tie their portfolio back to this critical number in a meaningful way, they will win the attention and budget needed to grow the portfolio even more.

Return on Investment (ROI): Measures the profit relative to the cost of your digital campaigns. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Calculates the average expense to acquire a new customer through digital efforts. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): Estimates the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account. Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter etc. Churn Rate: Measures the percentage of customers who stop using your product or service over a specific period.

The KPIs you measure all depend on the outcomes your digital strategy is supposed to deliver. Strategy is ultimately about where to play and how to win. So when you know what outcomes it is your strategy is supposed to deliver, you should know what lead and lag metrics to measure. A lead metric is something you can control, a lag metric is an outcome.

1. User traffic 2. Revenue & ROI 3. Customer Appreciation metrics (NPS, TNPS, RNPS, CES etc) 4. Lifetime Value 5. Acquisition Cost 6. Conversion Rates

Monthly Active Users (MAU)/Daily Active Users (DAU): Gauge the number of unique users engaging with your platform daily or monthly. Average Session Duration: Measure the average length of time a user spends on your platform or website per visit. Bounce Rate: The percentage of users who visit a single page and then leave without any interaction. User Retention Rate: The percentage of users who continue to use a platform or service over a given period. Net Promoter Score (NPS): Quantifies user satisfaction and loyalty by asking how likely they are to recommend your product or service.

? Behavioral Segmentation: Use metrics like session duration to create specific user personas. ? Traffic Quality: Examine the source of website traffic to identify high-performing channels. ? Engagement Metrics: Go beyond follower count to analyze interaction per post or email. ? Bounce Rate Context: Pair with ‘time on page’ to distinguish between good and bad bounces. ? Page Views Hierarchy: Identify key pages that lead to conversion, not just overall views. ? Email Metrics: Correlate open rates with conversion to refine email targeting. ? Real-Time Analysis: Use real-time analytics to adapt to user behavior dynamically.

Page Load Time: Measures the time it takes for a webpage to fully display content to a user. Error Rate: The percentage of all executed transactions that result in an error. Uptime/Downtime: Monitors the reliability of websites or online services by tracking the time they are operational versus non-operational. Mobile Responsiveness: Evaluates how well a website or application adjusts and performs on different device sizes and types. Customer Support Response Time: Tracks the average time it takes for customer inquiries or issues to receive a response.

? Website Speed: Prioritize speed in design choices; impacts SEO and UX. ? Mobile Optimization: Mobile-first approach given increasing mobile traffic. ? Accessibility Compliance: Monitor with tools like WAVE; impacts brand image. ? Security Measures: Regularly update SSL and monitor for vulnerabilities. ? SEO Ranking: Track keyword performance and update content strategy accordingly. ? Error Rate Analytics: Use logs to identify recurring issues for immediate resolution. ? Load Testing: Simulate high traffic to ensure system can handle peak periods.

This is an example is for B2B tech and SAAS: Search ranking - Position on SERP CTR - How good your meta data is Traffic volume - How many users visit on those keywords Website load time - How quickly your webpages load Engagement time - How long users read content Content rating - Did users react or feedback on content? Conversion rate - Did users go on to make an enquiry, booking or purchase Marketing qualified - Did users complete a high-intent action (like book a demo) ready for sales to speak with. Sales qualified - At what rate did users get accepted by sales as a lead Sales won - Did those users turn into revenue.

Time to Market: Measures the time taken from the ideation of a product or service to its launch. Innovation Pipeline Strength: Evaluates the number and potential value of ideas or projects in development. Percentage of Revenue from New Products: Quantifies how much of your revenue comes from products or services introduced within a specific timeframe. ROI of Innovative Projects: Calculates the return on investment specifically for projects deemed as innovative. Innovation Adoption Rate: Monitors the rate at which target users are trying and adopting a new product, feature, or initiative.

Alright, so think about New Product Launches/Feature Updates to see how your differentiating; Dive deep into Content Creation quality to engage audience authentically. integrate Feedback Collection remembering you’re here to serve, so you need to listen. And be ready to pivot w/ Experimentation Rates. For those who appreciate structure, I'm a fan of the IDEA Framework: 1. Initiate- Kick off with fresh product and feature insights. 2. Develop- Delve into genuine content creation. 3. Evaluate- Always have an ear to the ground with feedback. 4. Adapt- Stay agile with consistent experimentation. Combining these Innovation KPIs with the IDEA framework in a PM system like Trello, Asana, Monday as part of your monthly can be helpful.

Also how easy it is to upgrade the tool. It is easy modified to changes? Does a modification cause the software to regress? This is very important. There is no joy in a software that is not easily updated or once its disturbed it falls apart.

? New Product Launch Rate: Track frequency and success of new offerings. ? Feature Updates: Count and assess impact of added functionalities. ? Content Originality Score: Use tools to gauge uniqueness of created content. ? Feedback-to-Action Ratio: Measure how many customer suggestions turn into improvements. ? Experimentation Rate: Number of A/B tests conducted and insights gained. ? Adaptability Score: Monitor how quickly strategy adapts post market changes. ? Data Utilization Index: Evaluate how effectively data informs decision-making.

Brand Awareness: Measures the extent of consumer familiarity and recall of a brand, often via surveys or online mentions. Net Promoter Score (NPS): Quantifies customer loyalty and satisfaction by assessing their likelihood to recommend a product or service. Social Impact/Engagement: Evaluates the reach, shares, comments, and overall engagement levels on social media platforms. Customer Testimonials & Reviews: Tracks the number and quality of positive testimonials or reviews received, highlighting real-world benefits. Environmental/Social Responsibility Impact: For businesses focused on sustainability or social causes, this KPI assesses the tangible positive effects of their initiatives

? Carbon Footprint Tracker: Calculate emissions tied to digital activities; aim for offsetting. ? Energy Efficiency Score: Monitor data center energy use, transition to renewable sources. ? Waste Reduction Metrics: Quantify digital waste like unused cloud storage. ? Diversity Dashboard: Track gender, ethnicity in content creation and target audiences. ? Community Engagement Index: Measure volunteer hours, donations, or cause partnerships. ? Social Good Multiplier: Evaluate social impact per dollar spent or earned. ? Transparency Reports: Regularly share impact metrics with stakeholders and public.

It's important to use the right kpis for the right task. This happens much less than you think... For example, if you are focusing on an awareness campaign, use a kpi such as impressions or length of time someone views a video. While if you have a bottom funnel objective, use more of a ROI based metric.