The real digital metrics your business should be focusing on

It’s no secret that a business that effectively collects data, interprets it and uses those findings to drive strategic changes has a significant advantage over those who do not. As more businesses realise this and scramble to get on top of their data initiatives, it's common for data interpretation to be a key focus area in many organisations. Digital metrics like website visitors, bounce rate, cost per conversion, conversion rate, customer lifecycle value and cost per click are common zoom call jargon these days but often don't tell the whole story.?

Many digital leaders don't understand that focusing on short-term metrics exclusively is a trap that is hamstringing a lot of potential upside. Real digital optimisation comes from seeing the bigger picture and applying human focused metrics to influence action.

We feel that companies that are serious about their online performance and are looking to drive digital growth should include the following metric’s into their decision making:

ROAS break-even point - Many companies spend large amounts of their budgets on digital media but don't actually know if they are making any return on their investment. Identifying your return on advertising spend (ROAS) break-even point is a crucial metric for any business using media to drive transactions or leads via their digital platforms. The metric allows you to identify where you can start ramping up your spend and where your investment ceiling is.??

User stickiness - DAU, WAU, MAU are metrics that are useful for gaining insight into how often users are returning to your site.?

• DAU or? Daily active users - users that had at least one session in a day.

• WAU or Weekly active users - users that had at least one session a week
• MAU or Monthly active users - users that had at least one session a month

Measuring these metrics gives insight into your user base and their behaviour regarding your site. For example gaming apps would track DAU, where e-commerce or betting sites would look to track weekly or monthly active users.

Site speed - Your customers are impatient and won't tolerate long loading times or slow user experience. Site speed is a vital metric that influences digital customer experience and has a huge impact on SEO performance. Monitor it regularility and keep it as fast as you possibly can.

Top of funnel engagement - New customer awareness is the most important metric for a growth focused business. It introduces your business to new potential customers that may consider your organisation when they go in-market for your product or service category. Invest here without expecting a 30 day ROI and watch your profitability and closing/conversion rates over the medium term increase. Sales capture actions like social lead ads drive conversion rates in the short term, but awareness drives profitability and ultimately growth over the medium to long term.

Days to key event - By understanding how long customers take to complete a key event (lead submission, sign-up or purchase for example) on average after first touch, businesses can better understand how they can optimise their DCX to improve their digital performance. Digital buying cycles are complex and the sooner you get an idea of yours, the sooner you can implement real optimisations to drive more value.

Introducing the above metrics into your organisation's KPIs will help unlock a better understanding of how customers are engaging with your business and allow digital leaders to optimise in a more efficient way. Basic metric’s like cost per conversion or bounce rate for example provide shallow insights into customer behaviour and really dont tell the whole story.

Hello Infantry is a Full-Service Digital Agency Seamlessly Integrating Design, Development, Marketing and Data. www.helloinfantry.com