I spent last week in a room with seven marketing directors, all obsessing over the same metrics.
Open rates. Click-throughs. Conversion rates.
Standard stuff.
But when I asked them a simple question – "How many of your customers actually remember your last campaign?" – the room went quiet.
That's when it clicked: We're all measuring what's easy to measure, not what actually matters.
The Measurement Trap
In my years of building brands and running campaigns, I've noticed something fascinating: The metrics we chase often tell us more about our insecurities than our impact.
Think about it.
When's the last time you bought something because of a 'highly optimized' email sequence? Or felt connected to a brand because their social media posts hit at the perfect time?
Probably never.
Yet here we are, fine-tuning these metrics like they're the holy grail of marketing.
The Reality Behind the Numbers
Here's what actually drives business growth:
Memory, Not Metrics
A campaign that 20% of people remember is worth more than one that 80% of people forget
Focus on creating moments that stick, not just clicks that count
Connection, Not Conversion
Your best customers don't come from optimised funnels
They come from moments where you showed you actually understood them
Impact, Not Impressions
One deeply meaningful interaction beats a thousand shallow engagements
Stop counting eyeballs and start measuring impact
The Better Way Forward
So how do we measure what matters? Start here:
Ask Better Questions:
"Will anyone remember this next week?"
"Would this make someone want to tell a friend?"
"Are we solving a real problem or just creating noise?"
Track Different Metrics:
Customer conversations started
Unprompted recommendations
Return visits without prompting
Long-term retention trends
Change Your Timeframe:
Stop optimising for next week
Start building for next year
Think in relationships, not transactions
The Truth About Growth
The most valuable metric in marketing isn't found in your analytics dashboard.
It's found in the silence between a customer experiencing your brand and choosing to come back.
It's in the moment someone recommends you without being asked.
It's in the quiet decision to stick with you when a cheaper option comes along.
Making the Shift
Here's how to start:
Audit your current metrics
Which ones actually predict long-term success?
Which ones just make you feel busy?
Talk to your best customers
Not through surveys
Actually talk to them
Find out why they really chose you
Build measurement systems that track impact over time
Look at 90-day patterns, not 24-hour spikes
Track the quality of customer conversations
Measure the depth of engagement, not just the width
The Bottom Line
Your marketing metrics might be lying to you if they're only telling you what happened, not why it matters.
Start measuring what matters, even if it's harder to measure.
Because at the end of the day, the only metric that truly matters is the impact you're having on the people you serve.
Everything else is just numbers on a screen.
Want to chat about how to measure what actually matters in your marketing? Drop me a line – I'm always up for a good conversation about building brands that last.
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