Tracking Marketing Performance: A Few Key Metrics

How do you know whether or not your product is successful? Many measurements can be used to evaluate how well a product has performed, including sales volumes, engagement rates, and loyalty figures. These results will help decide the way forward for your product.

Discover more ways to determine a product’s success with Siphiwe Dlamini, Convenor on the Product Management online short course from the University of Cape Town.

Transcript

Product managers use performance management to evaluate the success of the product in the market. This informs the approach they will take in the next stages of the product’s life cycle. There are many ways to evaluate the success of a product and many key performance indicators that can be used.

Product performance can be measured by considering the sales funnel. This is a system that
leads customers through the process of purchasing a product. When a metric gets positive
results, it is an indicator that the product fits the market. If you’re finding that not many
customers are engaging with the sales funnel, or if overall sales are low, you should consider
the product-market fit. This is the first point to consider when evaluating the success of your
product, and it may need to be adjusted before the product can reach its full potential in the
marketplace.

Product activation metrics are also key indicators of the success of your product. By observing
how customers engage with your product on a daily basis, you can see whether it creates
interest within the target segment. More engagement generally shows that marketing is
directed at the correct target market. This is a positive indication for the future success of your
product. If you notice the activation rates are low, a way to solve this problem is by optimising
your user experience on the platform.

Another metric to consider is the customer retention number. This provides insight into the
rate of continued interest in the product. It shows whether customers are finding value in
what you’re offering. This can be determined by looking at the number of repeat site visits
and satisfaction ratings left by customers after viewing or purchasing the product.

Although there are different strategies that can be used to track product performance, these
metrics can help to assist initial success of your product in the market.