So what are the key success metrics for SaaS marketing? We’ve identified ten that we love. By tracking the right data, you can identify what's working and what needs improvement. Here’s our guide to the essential SaaS marketing success metrics to get you started.
1. Unique website visitors
This is a measure of the size of your website reach. Track this information on Google and use it to understand your audience size, product interest, and content marketing performance.
2. Visitor/enquiry/signup source
Understanding the source of your visitors, enquiries, and signups is critical. It will help you direct efforts effectively and maximise the returns on your marketing budget.
3. No. of activations (trial conversions to customer)
If you have a product trial, your activations need to be measured. Calculate your activation rate by dividing the number of trial conversions by the number of trials. A good benchmark to aim for is 15-20%.
4. Marketing qualified leads (MQLs)
MQLs are a good way of tracking marketing performance. In the B2B world, where average sales are usually high, quality of lead is more important than quantity, so make sure your MQL reporting is not just a vanity metric by monitoring their conversion rate to SQLs (Sales Qualified Leads).
5. Sales qualified leads (SQLs)
Once sales have opened a sales conversation, your MQL can be classified as a SQL. You should track your number of SQLs and your conversion rate of SQLs to customer. This will help you understand the success of your sales process and potentially your product market fit.
6. Average cost per lead
A good measure of marketing effectiveness is average cost per lead. At a broad level, this is quite simple to calculate (leads/marketing costs), but the real value comes when analysing lead cost per lead source.
7. Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
Customer acquisition cost is the best approximation of the total cost of acquiring a new customer. It is an essential metric for profitability and should be a clear determinant of brand value as CAC should reduce with marketing spend.
8. Customer retention rate (CRR)
Customer retention and customer churn metrics let you know if you’re selling to the right customers and whether your product and service meets expectations. This will help you manage your cost of servicing customers and improve profitability.
9. Customer lifetime value (CLV)
This figure is a measure of how valuable a customer is to your organisation throughout their entire relationship with you. Through measuring CLV against customer acquisition cost (CAC) you can measure how long it takes to recoup the investment required to earn a new customer — such as the cost of sales and marketing.
10. Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
Analysis of your MMR will inform you if your revenue is increasing or reducing over time, allowing you to make informed decisions and to budget accordingly. Some might say MRR is a sales metric, but when your marketing and sales teams are measured on the same metric, you’re going to have a higher chance of unifying the two teams.
If you would like us to help you measure your SaaS marketing efforts and set benchmarks, get in touch. Our team has experience with a wide range of SaaS companies and can help you determine which metrics matter most to your business.
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AXD is a copywriting & content marketing agency based in Manchester, UK.