Marketing Measurement Decoded: Proving Business Value with New Focus on Untapped KPIs

The marketing measurement problem was created by marketers

How do you provide marketing measurement that demonstrates an impact on business? As marketers, we have painted ourselves into a corner of failed measurement methods.

We made promises on metrics that no longer have value and we continue to report on key performance indicators that only measure marketing performance rather than impact.

Businesses continue to measure marketing efforts by the same short timelines as sales goals. We clearly understand that our sales cycle could be a year long customer journey, yet we still measure marketing efforts by months and quarters.

We believed so much in the phrase “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” that we began to only manage (do) things that were easy to measure. No matter how successful we think a marketing initiative will be, we don’t do it unless we know that we can report on it.

The boss needs reports right? So why not give them a report? A report full of numbers and charts that show how much we’ve moved marketing needles and how busy we’ve been doing marketing stuff. The failure here is that the boss doesn’t see the numbers that they care about moving. Therefore our marketing metrics have little to no meaning.

TL;DR – Jump to the Marketing KPIs that interest you the most

• Revenue Per Marketing Investment (RPMI)
• Revenue Growth from Target Accounts
• Funnel Velocity
• Sales Cycle Acceleration
• Customer Retention Rate
• Customer Expansion
• Marketing Sourced Pipeline
• Marketing Influenced Pipeline
• Market Share Growth
• Other Supportive KPIs

Marketing measurement has to evolve and present new KPIs

Consider these two facts:

• Buyers are on average 70% into the buyer’s journey before reaching out to Sales.
• Marketing is rarely considered a member of the profit center!

So, how do companies reckon with this? If the customer is 70% through the journey before talking to Sales, then who are they spending time with? You guessed it – Marketing.

Now, let’s reset the bar with new measurements that not only guide us in the right direction, but also demonstrate the effectiveness of marketing. Marketing measurement has to be revenue centric and not marketing centric.

The goal of this document is not to replace traditional KPIs, like MQLs, engagement, or leads generated, but to introduce marketing metrics that resonate with business leadership and demonstrate marketing’s impact on revenue and profitability.

These KPIs are designed to position marketing as an integral part of the revenue team and a profit driver, rather than a cost center.

The performance indicators discussed here are meant to communicate the value of marketing in driving business outcomes, not to evaluate the execution of marketing activities. Traditional marketing metrics, while not covered here, remain essential for internal use, helping marketers optimize their campaigns.

Improved campaign performance ultimately enhances the business-focused metrics outlined in this document, which reflect marketing’s contribution to the bottom line.

Here are Marketing Measurements that show business value asserting marketing as a part of the Revenue team

Consider replacing or upgrading your current KPIs to include these metrics. They will mean more to upper management and move Marketing from the cost center column over to the profit center column. This will lead to greater budget share, job security, respect, and support for future marketing initiatives.

I separate these new marketing measurement metrics into two categories.

1. Primary – These are metrics that directly connect to the company revenue. They are selected because they speak clearly to sales leaders and upper management. They are focused on business growth rather than marketing success. These are mostly lagging indicators – the kind that leadership has more confidence in.
2. Secondary – These metrics are either heavily influential on primary metrics or perform as leading indicators of primary metric performance. While these leading indicators are as valuable as primary metrics, they are harder to prove and are more easily debated.

Primary marketing measurements that marketers should focus on to show business impact

Revenue Contribution KPIs

Revenue Per Marketing Investment (RPMI)

Equation:

Why It Matters: Upper management prioritizes ROI to understand if marketing spend is justified. This metric directly connects investment to revenue, making it highly relevant.

Pros:

• Easy to calculate.
• Directly ties spend to revenue.

Cons:

• Doesn’t account for long-term investments like brand building.

Using Revenue Per Marketing Investment (RPMI) as a KPI

Revenue Per Marketing Investment tracks immediate financial return. Present this marketing measurement as part of a broader discussion about marketing efficiency. It does overlook non-revenue benefits such as brand awareness, but soft metrics like awareness are not our goal here.

It is important to have a clear understanding of what types of revenue are most clearly influenced by marketing and which are not. This can be a gray area, so here is a guide:

Marketing Influenced Revenue activities:

• Leads generated through campaigns – Revenue from form fills and sign-ups
• E-commerce – Revenue from customers who clicked an ad and purchased
• Email marketing – Revenue from customers responding to email outreach
• Retargeting campaigns – Revenue from customers who returned to the website and purchased after seeing targeted ads
• SEO – Revenue from customers who find your site through organic search results, often driven by content marketing and SEO strategies
• Social media marketing – Revenue from customers who discovered your brand or product through organic posts, paid promotions, or influencer campaigns
• Website or content marketing – Revenue from customers engaged with blogs, video, podcasts, whitepapers, and other online content before converting
• Event-driven revenue – Revenue starting with leads generated based on marketing-hosted or sponsored events
• Promotions and discounts – Revenue generated through marketing incentives and promotions
• Customer retention campaigns – Revenue retained or expanded through marketing’s role in customer engagement and upsell efforts.
• Marketing-driven partnerships – Joint marketing campaigns or co-branded efforts
• Video and Podcast marketing – Revenue influenced by ads or mentions in multimedia channels that increase awareness and drive purchases.

These examples highlight situations where revenue generation can occur independently of marketing’s influence, making it distinct from marketing-driven revenue.

Non Marketing-Influenced Revenue activities:

• Repeat purchases from loyal customers – Revenue generated from customers who consistently purchase based on past satisfaction or habit, without any ongoing marketing influence
• Direct sales efforts – Revenue driven solely by Sales teams through direct outreach, prospecting, or account management without any involvement or support from marketing campaigns
• Customer referrals – Revenue generated from customers who were referred by existing customers or advocates, not through any structured marketing or promotional effort
• Walk-in or spontaneous purchases – Revenue from customers who make unplanned purchases without prior exposure to marketing materials
• Product-led revenue – Revenue generated when customers discover the value of the product through trials, freemium models, or usage, without external marketing prompts
• Channel or Partner-Driven revenue – Revenue sourced through partnerships, resellers, or distributors where marketing does not play a role in the transaction
• Government or contractual deals – Revenue from long-term contracts, government procurement, or RFPs won through direct bidding or proposals rather than marketing campaigns
• Natural market demand – Revenue generated purely from demand for a product or service that doesn’t rely on promotion, often in niche or monopoly markets

Revenue Growth from Target Accounts

Equation:

Why It Matters: For companies focusing on account-based marketing (ABM), this metric highlights marketing’s impact on strategic, high-value accounts.

Pros:

• Measures ABM campaign success.
• Aligns closely with sales goals.

Cons:

• Difficult to isolate marketing’s contribution.

Using Revenue Growth from Target Accounts as a KPI

Revenue growth from target accounts measures how well marketing and sales efforts drive increased revenue from strategic accounts. To succeed with this KPI, teams must align on the list of target accounts and ensure accurate tracking of revenue specific to those accounts. Without clear account definitions and precise data segmentation, the metric’s reliability can be compromised.

Marketers should emphasize how their campaigns contribute to growing revenue within these accounts, whether through nurturing relationships, driving upsells, or enabling Sales with tailored content. Without taking ownership of their role in account growth, marketing’s impact may be overlooked in favor of broader sales efforts or natural account expansion. To showcase growth percentages, pair them with examples of successful campaigns.

Sales Alignment KPIs

Funnel Velocity

Equation:

Why it matters: Funnel velocity highlights the efficiency of the revenue pipeline, providing leadership with actionable insights into how quickly opportunities convert into revenue.

Pros:

• Provides a comprehensive measure of revenue pipeline efficiency.
• Links marketing and sales efforts to overall revenue momentum.

Cons:

• Requires accurate data for all pipeline variables (opportunities, deal size, win rate, and cycle time).
• Can be skewed by extreme values or incomplete data.

Using Funnel Velocity as a KPI

Funnel velocity measures how quickly opportunities move through the sales funnel to generate revenue. To maximize success with this KPI, marketing and sales teams must work closely to align on lead definitions, pipeline stages, and data tracking. Without accurate, shared data, funnel velocity can be difficult to measure effectively.

Marketers should actively showcase how their campaigns drive high-quality leads, improve conversion rates, and shorten the sales cycle. Highlight how marketing initiatives (e.g., nurturing campaigns) contribute to faster deal closures. By tying their efforts to specific pipeline improvements, marketing can claim a clear role in influencing funnel velocity. Failing to assert their impact on this metric risks leaving it entirely attributed to sales or external factors.

Sales Cycle Acceleration

Equation:

Why It Matters: Reducing the time it takes to close deals impacts cash flow and revenue realization, which upper management monitors closely.

Pros:

• Demonstrates marketing’s role in expediting deals.
• Clear operational metric that highlights efficiency improvements.

Cons:

• Requires robust tracking of deal timelines.
• Can be influenced by factors outside marketing’s control.

Using Sales Cycle Acceleration as a KPI

Sales cycle acceleration measures the reduction in time it takes to close deals, showcasing how marketing efforts help streamline the sales process. To succeed with this KPI, marketing and sales teams must align on opportunity tracking and ensure accurate measurement of timelines for both marketing-influenced and non-marketing-influenced deals. Without consistent tracking, it can be difficult to attribute changes in the sales cycle to specific efforts.

Marketers should emphasize their contributions to reducing sales cycle time, such as through nurturing leads, delivering tailored content, and supporting faster deal progression. By clearly linking their efforts to measurable improvements, marketing can assert its role in driving efficiency. If marketing doesn’t claim ownership, the benefits of their work may be misattributed to sales or other factors.

Note: While both Sales Cycle Acceleration and Funnel Velocity measure efficiency in the sales process, they focus on different aspects. Sales Cycle Acceleration looks specifically at reducing the time required to close individual deals, highlighting marketing’s role in expediting the sales process.

Funnel Velocity, on the other hand, takes a broader view, measuring the overall speed at which opportunities move through the entire pipeline, incorporating factors like deal volume, size, and win rate. Sales Cycle Acceleration contributes to Funnel Velocity, but Funnel Velocity offers a more comprehensive perspective on revenue pipeline performance.

Customer-Focused KPIs

Customer Retention Rate

Equation:

Why It Matters: High retention rates demonstrate customer satisfaction and profitability, providing leadership with confidence in sustainable business growth.

Pros:

• Strong indicator of long-term marketing impact.
• Directly ties to revenue stability.

Cons:

• Influenced by external factors like service quality.

Using Customer Retention Rate as a KPI

Customer retention improves profitability. Marketing teams that have a close relationship with the customer success team will have the most success in this KPI. Service quality can dampen retention no matter how well marketing maintains a positive customer sentiment through their marketing efforts.

Marketers must be vocal about their efforts to maintain customers and demonstrate plans to support retention. Without first making a claim to be a part of customer retention, marketing cannot claim success in this KPI.

Customer Expansion

Equation:

Why It Matters: Expanding revenue from existing customers highlights marketing’s role in driving profitability, reinforcing leadership’s focus on maximizing lifetime value.

Pros:

• Links marketing efforts to customer growth.
• Demonstrates long-term value creation.

Cons:

• Requires clear tracking of revenue by source.

Using Customer Expansion as a KPI

Customer expansion metrics, such as cross-sell and upsell revenue percentages, measure marketing’s role in driving additional revenue from existing customers. These metrics highlight opportunities to deepen customer relationships and increase overall lifetime value, demonstrating marketing’s contribution to long-term growth.

Accurate tracking requires collaboration with other departments to ensure clear attribution and reliable data systems. There must be close collaboration between sales and marketing operations teams to ensure that marketing has full awareness of sales metrics.

Demand Generation and Pipeline KPIs

Marketing-Sourced Pipeline

Equation:

Why It Matters: Shows how marketing contributes to revenue-generating activities. These metrics are crucial for demonstrating marketing’s alignment with sales and revenue goals.

Pros:

• Directly ties marketing to revenue potential.
• Clear indicator of demand generation effectiveness.

Cons:

• Relies on accurate opportunity tracking.
• May undervalue marketing’s influence if other factors contribute.

Using Marketing-Sourced Pipeline as a KPI

Marketing-Sourced Pipeline demonstrates marketing’s ability to drive revenue. This KPI requires close alignment between marketing and sales systems. When prospects enter the marketing systems, they must be seamlessly processed though the CRM to the point at which an opportunity value is added.

Marketing has to be consistent with tracking its sourced prospects so that the CRM has clear notations of the original source of the prospect or lead. Be careful not to mix this KPI with Marketing-Influenced Pipeline.

When presenting this metric, use visuals like pie charts to show the proportion of pipeline value driven by marketing.

Marketing-Influenced Pipeline

Equation:

Why It Matters: This metric quantifies marketing’s impact on revenue generation, giving leadership clear insight into marketing’s alignment with sales and business growth.

Pros:

• Shows marketing’s impact throughout the buyer journey.
• Tracks both early- and late-stage influence.

Cons:

• Attribution models can be complex.
• Risk of double-counting with other sources.

Using Marketing-Influenced Pipeline as a KPI

Marketing-Influenced Pipeline provides a holistic view of marketing’s role. Tight collaboration between marketing operations and sales operations is critical in order to determine this KPI because it requires robust CRM and analytics capabilities. A key part of this is being able to identify opportunities not touched or influenced by marketing.

Always acknowledge that the longer the sales cycle, the less likely an opportunity is going to be without marketing influence. Longer cycles mean more time for the prospect to research and consume marketing content.

Market Position KPIs

Market Share Growth

Equations:

Why It Matters: A strong indicator of competitive positioning, market share growth aligns with management’s focus on company dominance and long-term strategy.

Pros:

• Tracks competitive positioning.
• Relates directly to business outcomes.

Cons:

• Requires industry-wide data, which may be unavailable.

Using Market Share Growth as a KPI

Market share growth measures a brand’s sales as a percentage of total market sales, reflecting its competitive position within the industry. This KPI is directly tied to business outcomes, making it a valuable indicator of market dominance. However, accurate measurement depends on access to reliable industry-wide data, which is often available through market research firms, trade associations, or competitor disclosures.

Marketers should focus on showcasing how their campaigns contribute to increased brand sales relative to competitors, emphasizing gains in market share. Without collaboration with sources like industry analysts or tools that aggregate market data, smaller companies may struggle to obtain the comprehensive insights needed for accurate calculations.

Secondary Marketing Measurements You May Want to Consider

I include these as secondary because they are either not directly related to revenue, are difficult to calculate, depend on the size of your organization, or require a long period of time for sufficient data.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Growth

Equation:

Why It Matters: CLV reflects the long-term profitability of marketing efforts. It resonates with management’s focus on sustainable revenue growth and customer retention.

Pros:

• Long-term measure of profitability.
• Links marketing to revenue over time.

Cons:

• Requires reliable historical data.

Using Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Growth as a KPI

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) growth measures the profitability of customers over their entire relationship with a business, connecting marketing efforts to long-term revenue impact. To make this KPI effective, teams need consistent tracking of customer revenue, lifespan, and acquisition costs over time. For newer companies or those with inconsistent data, calculating CLV accurately can be challenging.

Marketers should highlight how their strategies improve customer retention, increase revenue per customer, and lower acquisition costs, all of which drive CLV growth. Without dedicated systems and processes to measure CLV consistently, changes in staff or priorities can disrupt its tracking and diminish its value as a metric.

To demonstrate the value of this metric, tie CLV growth to specific marketing initiatives like loyalty programs or upsell campaigns.

Supportive Marketing KPIs For Context and Depth

These KPIs may not always directly influence decision-making but can provide context to show how marketing builds value over time:

• Brand Awareness Metrics: Helps justify long-term investments in brand-building, though upper management may ask for its tie to revenue.
  Tip: Pair it with pipeline or revenue growth metrics for relevance.

• Website Traffic Growth: Upper management may value traffic growth only if tied to pipeline generation or sales.
  Tip: Include a conversion percentage to show business impact.

• Lead Engagement Score: Useful for internal discussions but less compelling for upper management without a clear link to opportunities or revenue.
  Tip: Relate it to Sales’ performance (e.g., higher win rates).

• Category Leadership Metrics: These build credibility and trust but may feel abstract to leadership.
  Tip: Frame as a competitive differentiator, tying it to business outcomes like partnership opportunities.

Metrics That May Require Extra Framing

Metrics like Content Engagement and Customer Engagement Rates can be meaningful if tied to broader goals like customer retention or customer acquisition costs. Upper management tends to see these as tactical rather than strategic unless you explain how they drive measurable outcomes.

How to Present Marketing Measurement KPIs to Upper Management

To ensure these KPIs are meaningful:

1. Connect to Business Goals: Show how each metric aligns with objectives like revenue growth, market expansion, or cost efficiency.
2. Use Storytelling: Frame metrics within a narrative, such as “Our new campaign increased CLV by 20%, driving $X in additional revenue.”
3. Prioritize Financial Impact: Emphasize metrics with direct financial implications (e.g., RPMI, pipeline metrics).
4. Simplify: Avoid overwhelming leadership with too many metrics. Focus on 5–7 that matter most.
5. Contextualize: Pair each KPI with benchmarks or industry standards for added clarity.

While all the KPIs listed have value, those that tie marketing’s efforts to revenue and business growth will resonate most with upper management. By presenting them in the right context and emphasizing outcomes that align with their strategic focus, you’ll ensure that your marketing contributions are seen as integral to the company’s success.To tailor your presentation to upper management, focus on metrics that directly demonstrate financial impact, strategic alignment, and business outcomes, and remove those that are tactical, difficult to interpret, or too granular for their level.