Metrics That Matter: How to Move Beyond Vanity Metrics in Product Management

Your B2B product just onboarded its 100th enterprise client! Time to pop the champagne? Maybe. But does that milestone actually reflect your product’s success? Vanity metrics like total clients, website visits, or demo requests often look good in quarterly reviews, but they rarely tell the full story. It’s time for Product Managers to focus on what truly matters: metrics that reflect customer value and drive long-term business growth.

Vanity Metrics: The Glitter That Distracts

Vanity metrics are like glitter—they sparkle in reports but rarely guide meaningful decisions. Metrics such as total sign-ups or leads generated may boost morale, but they don’t answer critical questions: Are users engaging with the product? Is it solving their operational challenges? And most importantly, is it driving sustainable revenue for your organization?

For example, a B2B SaaS platform that secures several high-profile enterprise clients but fails to achieve meaningful adoption among end-users isn’t a success story—it’s a ticking time bomb. This is where Metrics 2.0 comes in.

The Rise of Metrics 2.0

Metrics 2.0 is a new approach, emphasizing the “why” behind user behavior. These are actionable metrics that reflect engagement, satisfaction, and retention—factors directly tied to business outcomes. Unlike vanity metrics, Metrics 2.0 drives better decision-making and aligns product teams with long-term goals.

Some of the most impactful Metrics 2.0 for B2B include:

Customer Effort Score (CES): Measures how easy it is for enterprise users to achieve their goals.

Product Engagement Score (PES): Combines frequency, depth, and breadth of engagement across user roles and accounts.

Net Revenue Retention (NRR): Tracks recurring revenue changes, factoring in churn, expansion, and upsell opportunities.

Actionable Metrics in Action

Let’s explore how Metrics 2.0 can transform B2B product strategies:

1. Customer Effort Score (CES):

“How easy is it for enterprise users to achieve their goals with your product?” CES measures friction points and helps prioritize fixes.

Example: An HR SaaS platform uses CES to identify bottlenecks in onboarding workflows for enterprise accounts. By simplifying integrations with existing tools, they reduce time-to-value by 30%.

2. Product Engagement Score (PES):

PES evaluates how deeply users within an organization interact with your product, offering a holistic view of engagement across teams.

Example: A project management tool tracks PES to identify accounts with declining usage. By proactively offering tailored training sessions, they boost adoption among key accounts by 25%.

3. Net Revenue Retention (NRR):

NRR measures how well you retain and grow your existing customers.

Example: A cloud infrastructure provider tracks NRR to identify upsell opportunities within accounts that show increased usage. By introducing flexible pricing tiers, they improve revenue retention rates by 15%.

Why Metrics 2.0 Matters

Actionable metrics enable Product Managers to bridge the gap between user satisfaction and business outcomes. They shift the focus from superficial wins to genuine impact, helping teams prioritize features that drive adoption, reduce churn, and unlock growth within accounts.

By adopting Metrics 2.0, B2B PMs can align their goals with organizational success:

Clarity: Understand what’s working (and what’s not) within enterprise accounts.

Focus: Prioritize initiatives that deliver measurable ROI.

Agility: Iterate quickly based on meaningful insights from key accounts.

How to Implement Metrics 2.0

Ready to move beyond vanity metrics? Here’s how to get started:

1. Identify Key User Actions: Focus on actions that indicate value for both end-users and decision-makers, such as workflow completions or feature adoption.

2. Collaborate with Data Teams: Work together to define measurable outcomes at both user and account levels.

3. Revamp Dashboards: Replace vanity metrics with actionable KPIs like active users per account, feature utilization rates, and expansion revenue.

4. Leverage Tools: Use analytics platforms like Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Pendo to gather deep insights into user behavior within enterprise environments.

Closing Thoughts

The next time you celebrate a milestone, ask yourself: Does this metric represent real success in the B2B space? By adopting Metrics 2.0, you’ll not only impress stakeholders but also create products that deliver measurable value to your clients.

What metrics are you focusing on? Let’s discuss in the comments!