July 29, 2025
Marketing is a numbers business.
You don’t need to do the math yourself. But you do need to figure out which metrics (among the many available) to track.
Rather than spinning the marketing metrics roulette wheel, we selected a few speakers presenting at the Marketing Analytics & Data Science track at Content Marketing World to share their expertise.
So, what counts in marketing?
Customers. Put them front and center in your analytics. Now, let’s explore how to do that and more when updating your marketing analytics strategy.
Which metrics should marketers prioritize?
"While marketers and analysts no longer struggle to access data, they now face the dilemma of making smart choices amid a massive amount of information and options,” says Ling Cui, head of marketing analytics, research, and technology at MassMutual.
Ling says before identifying which metrics to focus on, marketers should ask: “What philosophy and method should be employed to make smart choices?” The answer should also benefit the product, operations, and sales teams.
Tie your customer journey together
Jill Roberson, senior vice president of marketing at Velir, says the most helpful metrics unify customer data, especially engagement and customer lifetime value.
“When you connect the dots across channels, you stop chasing vanity metrics and start focusing on what actually drives long-term growth. It’s about seeing the full picture, not just the last click,” she says.
Go for the bottom
Andy Crestodina, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Orbit Media Studios, recommends monitoring the key-event rate per traffic source and landing page stats.
“[They’re] focused on the bottom of the funnel (key events) and show you which channel gets the best performance (traffic source) and which content triggers action (landing page),” he explains.
Think now and later
Profits should be a go-to number, but don’t forget customer satisfaction, says Jim Sterne, president of Target Marketing of Santa Barbara.
"Everything else supports those two metrics. Some impact them directly, and others are just vanity,” he says. “But if you can increase profits and customer satisfaction at the same time: Winner! Winner!”
Successful marketers know the power of post-purchase analyses. After all, research has shown that depending on the industry, acquiring a new customer is five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.
Customer churn and retention numbers top the must-measure list for Zontee Hou, managing director of Convince & Convert. “Winning back existing customers and extending the lifespans of existing customers is essential to a cost-effective and impactful marketing strategy,” she says.
Make strategic goals the point
MassMutual’s Ling Cui recommends adopting a pyramid view of analytics with “money” at the top. By doing so, you can broaden the definition of “money” to encompass the organization’s strategic goals — whether profitability, customer experience, sustainability, or something else.
Below that top tier on the pyramid are drivers of that money-related metric. For example, if the first-tier metric is topline revenue, the tier-two metrics might be site traffic and sales conversions.
“Ultimately, all the tiers must ladder up to the tip of the pyramid, ensuring each layer of decision-making is properly supported. This way, there is confidence that decisions at all levels are the right decisions and the right type of decisions,” Ling says.
What to do about attribution?
So, if your priority metrics revolve around what matters most to the business, you can expect leadership to ask this next question (if they haven’t already): “How do we know what contributes to the sale?”
That more difficult question doesn’t have a definitive answer. No one has yet perfected the attribution model.
Tech may make the impossible possible
Jim Sterne says attribution is a myth because assessing the interrelated impact of multiple channels is impossible. For example, he says, did the buyer hear the podcast ad? Did they see the billboard, or did they view the web banner above the fold?
However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. "With a wide enough variety and deep enough quantity of data, a machine learning model can be directionally revealing enough to be worth the effort. Active ingredient? Scale," he says.
Step back for the future
As attribution gets harder, marketers are reverting to earlier methods, when outcomes were less certain.
Andy Crestodina encourages marketers to get good at measuring indirect benefits, as the company’s public relations and brand teams do. “Measure your activity levels. Track brand mentions, knowing that each one is ingested by AI [tools] and is part of the AI training data. Getting recommended by AI isn't like SEO. It's like word-of-mouth marketing,” he says.
Velir’s Jill Roberson agrees that attribution is more challenging because more buyers can get instant answers and have zero-click experiences, causing parts of the measurable marketing and sales funnel to go dark. Because of these factors, marketers should prioritize understanding what moves the customer forward rather than striving for perfect credit for the work.
"Focus on creating consistent, high-value experiences across the journey,” she says.
Let AI help in the assessment
Convince & Convert’s Zontee Hou says the best attribution scenario captures customer interactions throughout their journey with an eye on their customer lifetime value.
"Using a mix of machine learning/AI tools to help analyze behaviors and touchpoints that correlate with higher value can help you adjust your attribution mix to give more weight to more valuable behaviors and touchpoints,” she says.
Rethink attribution to maximize realignment
Ling Cui says many attribution models fail because of a fundamental misalignment across the organization. However, though it can be difficult to get buy-in, successful attribution models can help resolve organizational misalignment.
“Once leaders can align cross-functional teams around high-value programs, attribution modeling activities can fulfill their intended purpose,” she says. “Settling the attribution battle requires operating like one team. This involves an in-depth understanding of each other’s values, roles, and strong alignment in strategic planning and execution.”
Know how your customers measure up
Although every industry and every organization has unique circumstances, they all share a common goal: to sell products or services and generate revenue. Marketing is a conduit to make that happen. For marketing’s value to be truly appreciated by executives, you must prioritize the metrics that revolve around the customer’s journey to the sale and their post-sale engagement.
Visit the Content Marketing World website for the latest on all things CMWorld, including the Marketing Analytics & Data Science track.
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Advice From Content Marketing World Speakers
