Are you looking for the right lead generation KPIs to add to your marketing reports?
Lead generation can be one of the hardest parts of any marketing team to tackle. But it's infinitely harder when you don't know what's working or, more importantly, what's not.
That's why, in today's post, we're going to look at 5 lead generation KPIs you need to keep close at hand.
First, though, let's get clear on what lead generation KPIs are and how they help grow your business.
What Are Lead Generation KPIs?
Lead generation KPIs are the key performance indicators you need to make sure your lead generation strategy is successful.
It's important to understand how many new leads you're adding to your sales funnel each month. But remember, just knowing how many new leads you're adding to your funnel gives you a metric.
What you want is a KPI.
What's the difference? Tracking lead generation metrics gives you a neutral piece of data. It's like saying, "I added 15 new email addresses to my list last month."
While that's good, it doesn't really tell you much other than the number itself.
Instead, you need to set a concrete goal behind those metrics. That way, you can judge whether or not the campaign was a success.
So rather than saying, "We added 15 new email addresses last month," you'd say something like:
"We added 15 new email addresses last month, which is 5 short of our total goal."
When phrased in this way, the number "15" does more than give you a generic update on your lead generation strategy: it tells you that something isn't working the way that you'd planned and that something needs changing.
Using KPIs in this way helps you rely on data to make smarter and more profitable marketing strategies.
Keep in mind that your lead generation KPIs will be unique to your brand. As we go through the following list, make sure you transform each of the metrics into KPIs that will move the needle for your business.
For more information on this topic, check out this helpful post: What KPI Metrics Make a Valuable Report for Small Business.
With that in mind, let's dive into our list of the best lead generation KPIs to track in your marketing reports.
5 Lead Generation KPIs to Start Tracking Now
1) Custom Conversions from Google Analytics
This is the first KPI on our list because it's a key metric for any lead generation strategy.
Google Analytics can show you how many people are converting from your website and what specific pages they're visiting before making their decision.
This is important data for any business because it tells you what information customers need to convert. Or, at the very least, shows what page or post motivated them to take action.
It's also good to track the conversion rates of your top pages, as well as how many people are converting from each page on average. This will help you get an idea of which content or offer might be worth featuring more.
Remember, "custom conversions" is a term that will change from business to business. You might count a new lead as someone who joins a webinar.
If that's the case, you'll need to set up a custom conversion goal in Google Analytics.
Or you might consider a new lead someone who joins your mailing list. In that case, you'd also want to set up a custom conversion goal to track that.
The point is that once you know what you count as a "new lead," you can set up the goals and track them.
2) Cost per Lead
Cost per lead is a good way to measure how much you're paying for each new customer.
Keep in mind that this number will be different depending on your business. If, for example, you sell products online and have higher average order values, then the cost per lead might be lower than someone who sells goods at a physical location.
Still, this KPI is good to track so you can get a better idea of how your lead generation strategy is performing over time and make any adjustments if necessary.
It's also worth noting that there are other ways to measure cost per lead besides just the initial purchase price. What about the lifetime value of each customer, for example?
Don't forget to factor that in, too.
It's one of the reasons entrepreneurs like Russel Brunsen give out free hardcover books as a lead generation strategy.
Yes, they know the cost per lead will be high. But they also know that a certain number of those leads will convert into customers who will more than cover the cost of this lead generation strategy.
That's why it's important to use this KPI as a starting point for analyzing which leads are worth the investment and which ones aren't - so you can better allocate your marketing budget.
3) New Users vs. Returning Visitors
This KPI is a great way to see how effective your marketing efforts are at getting new people to your website.
The key is to understand what percentage of conversions come from returning visitors (people who have already been on your website before) and which ones came from a new source.
If you're seeing that most leads are coming from returning visitors, then you'll want to focus on improving the customer journey for your new site traffic.
It could be an indication that your "top of the funnel" (TOFU) content needs an upgrade, for example.
Or maybe you need to focus more on SEO. Perhaps your articles are bringing in lots of traffic, but it isn't bringing in your target audience.
So while your content is great at ranking, it's not reaching the people you need it to (the kinds of leads that will ultimately convert into customers).
4) New Email Subscribers
Next, we'll look at the number of new email subscribers you have each month.
Email marketing is one of the best lead generation strategies out there because it's personalized and targeted to your audience. It also allows you to send reminders about offers or content that might be relevant for different groups within your customer base (like a new product, for example).
If you're noticing that the number of new subscribers is low one month but high another, it could be a sign of some seasonal fluctuations. Or maybe there's something about your email marketing campaign that needs to change or improve (i.e., unsubscribe rates are higher than subscribe rates).
The point is that you should be taking note of the number of new subscribers each month so you can make any necessary adjustments to your email marketing strategy.
5) Social Media Growth (in Terms of Followers & Engagement)
It's not just about the number of followers you have on social media, but also how many people are engaging with your content.
Social media is a powerful lead generation tool because it allows you to target specific audiences and speak directly to them. It's an instantaneous way to build relationships and conversations - one "like" at a time (vs email).
If you're noticing that your social media growth is going down, it's worth looking into why. Is the content not resonating with people?
Or are there any other factors (like a bad image) causing this decline? As soon as you know what needs to be changed or improved in order to get these numbers up again, you can make the appropriate changes to your strategy.
It's a good idea to keep an eye on these KPIs so you know when any adjustments need to be made - before it starts affecting your bottom line.
It's important to understand that this isn't an exhaustive list of lead generation KPIs. Instead, these constitute the most usual suspects.
Which means you're now likely wondering, "how do I track these leads so I actually use the data I find?"
Let's take a look at the easiest way to track your lead generation KPIs.
How to Track Lead Generation KPIs
There are basically two ways to build marketing reports:
- Do it by hand
- Use a report building software
While you can build these marketing reports by hand, it's certainly not the most efficient method.
Not only is it prone to human error, but it's often the more expensive option. That's because you still need to pay for people's time to compile the data from all your marketing channels.
Then you need to pay for the time it takes to fix and schedule them each week or month.
That's why I always recommend tracking leads with a report building tool like Metrics Watch:
Metrics Watch allows you to compile all of your lead generation KPIs into a single report. Plus, you can pull other marketing KPIs from your favorite channels, such as:
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Google Ads
- Facebook
- Instagram
- LinkedIn
- Mailchimp
This lets you build highly professional and effective marketing reports in minutes, even if you don't have any technical skills.
That's because Metrics Watch uses a drag and drop report builder, so there's no coding required. And once you've created the reports, you can send them automatically on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Finally, there's ZERO friction when it comes to sharing your lead generation reports. Metrics Watch will send these reports directly to your recipients' inbox.
That means they won't need to organize messy PDF attachments or keep passwords for 3rd-party user dashboards.
Instead, you'll send the right data, to the right people, and at just the right times so they can make the best marketing decisions possible.
Want to see it in action for yourself? Click below to start your 100% risk-free Metrics Watch trial today (no credit card required):
Build Lead Generation Reports Today!And that's all for today! These have been 5 of the best lead generation KPIs you need to start tracking today.
I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did, then you'll definitely want to check out the following resources:
These articles will have even more information you can use to get more leads and build smarter data-driven marketing reports.