Throughout January, I’ve been hosting a conversation among the Lucky Break Instagram community. The focus topic? Measuring business metrics. We shared the kinds of strategic planning we implement at the beginning of a new year. Last week, I asked them to make some concerted decisions about the type of business metrics they’ll be measuring in 2019. I’m eager to share their responses alongside a free downloadable template to help you get a better handle on your business data.
Measuring Business Metrics
THE LUCKY BREAK COMMUNITY SAID…
- bobo design studio: I used to care a lot about social media (IG) numbers monthly. However, I find that they fluctuate so much that it’s become a vanity metric. I see the actual ROI is not in social media, but in my email list. I’m going to focus on subscriber growth, spend from the newsletter, and open/click rate.
- bathedinglaze: I’m so new that I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be measuring.
- stellachroma: I want to grow my email list, monitor my conversion rate in my shop, and tweak my shopping cart email to get the best conversions there I can.
HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS…
Bathedinglaze isn’t alone. Intuitively, many of us realize that we need to be tracking business metrics, but we aren’t sure which data matters. Too often, we haven’t created the structures necessary for diving into that information even when we have concrete data available.
But the adage “That which gets measured, gets done” is true! When you start paying attention to the metrics of your business, those metrics improve. Forbes offers some fascinating insight into the psychology behind this concept.
Research shows that the desire to win is heightened when rivalry and time pressure coincide, and the simple act of measuring something sparks that sense of rivalry in many people. Of course, that rivalry doesn’t need to be with others. It can be with one’s self as a sort of “competition” to see whether you can beat a goal. Without a measure, there is no way to determine whether you have won, and therefore, less motivation to get something done.
Then there’s that small matter of accountability. When we set goals and measure performance against that goal, we can hold ourselves (and others) accountable for the resulting success or failure. We have concrete data that shows us what we did or didn’t do, what the impact was, and what we need to do differently. Without accountability, we can’t coach people towards success and growth, and we have a heck of a time meeting our overall targets.
THE POWER OF CONCRETE BUSINESS DATA
I’m confident that the singular most important thing you can do to improve your business in the coming year is to capture data on a monthly basis. And that’s why I’m sharing the “Company Snapshot Report” template that I designed for my own business. Team Lucky Break puts this report to work each month to collect essential metrics that ensure that I keep a finger on the pulse of my business. This exercise enables us to easily digest our metrics, empowering us to quickly strategize around the progress of the company at twelve critical junctures throughout the year.
There’s a world of difference between giving your business a checkup once a month (and making changes to the path ahead based on those insights) versus one examination per year. Once you start pulling and analyzing this information, you’ll soon become what I lovingly call “Data Drunk.”
KEEP A FINGER ON THE PULSE OF YOUR BUSINESS WITH MY “COMPANY SNAPSHOT REPORT”
There’s no need to stumble blindly through your business when measuring business metrics. Discover how you can put my Company Snapshot Report into action.
1. Whip open your calendar RIGHT NOW. Reserve 90 minutes during the first week of each month to pull the data and complete the report.
2. Designate either a digital file or a paper folder where you can store the completed reports. At the end of the year, these serve as an insightful retrospective.
3. Virtually all of this data can be culled by peeking at the admin side of your e-commerce site, your social media profile, and through your email marketing service.
Don’t feel like measuring business metrics is something you have to tackle alone. This template will empower you to track hard numbers related to your revenue, website, social media, and email marketing efforts. Once you have this data at your fingertips, then you’re in a position of power and can adjust the sails as necessary. Click the image below to grab the report template and get to it… I’ll be cheering you on!
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Be sure to stop by the Lucky Break Instagram, where every month we chat about all things business. I’d love to hear your thoughts and hope you’ll lend your voice. Search the #LBCWantstToKnow hashtag to weigh in! In February, we’ll be diving into wholesale.
