What is a KPI?
A KPI, or Key Performance Indicator, is a measurable value that indicates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. In the context of email marketing, KPIs are used to evaluate the success of your campaigns in terms of how they contribute to your overall marketing goals.
Some of the common ones are click-through rate (CTR), open rate, open reach and conversion rate. By tracking these metrics, businesses can determine whether their email marketing campaigns are successful or needs some improvement for better results.
What are the benefits of using KPIs?
There are a number of benefits to using KPIs when it comes to email marketing. First and foremost, using KPIs can help you track the success of your email marketing campaigns and identify areas where you may need to make changes in order to improve results.
KPIs can also help you measure the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts in terms of their impact on your overall business goals. By tracking key performance indicators such as opens, clicks, and conversions, you can gauge the overall success of your email marketing and make necessary changes for improving the results.
Using KPIs can help you optimize your email marketing strategy by identifying which tactics are most effective and which ones need improvement.
What are some of the most common KPIs used in email marketing?
There is a variety of KPIs that can be used in email marketing. Some of the most common include:
- Open rate: This measures how many people open your email. You can track this by using a tool like Google Analytics or by looking at the number of people who clicked on the “open” notification in their email client.
- Click-through rate (CTR): This measures how many people click on links in your email. You can measure this through tools like Google Analytics or by looking at the number of people who clicked on a link in your email and then landed on a page on your website.
- Conversion rate: It shows how many people took action after clicking on a link in your email. For example, you can track how many people sign up for your newsletter after clicking on a link in your email. Using a tool like Google Analytics or by setting up conversion tracking on your website is a great way to measure this KPI.
- Bounce rate: It tells how many emails are sent to invalid addresses or addresses that are no longer active. Again, using a tool like Google Analytics or looking at the number of emails that bounced back to you will help you get more insights here.
- Spam score: It shows how likely it is that your email will be marked as spam. You can track this by using a tool like Return Path’s Inbox Monitor or by checking your spam score with services like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. Find 50+ hand-picked & helpful tools to improve your email marketing here.
How can you determine which KPIs are most important to your business?
Determining which KPIs are most important for your business involves a few steps:
- Understand Your Business Goals: The most important KPIs directly reflect your business’s overarching goals. If your primary objective is brand awareness, your KPIs may focus on reach and engagement metrics. If you’re driving for sales, conversion rate will be a key metric.
- Consider the Sales Funnel: Different stages of the customer journey (awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty) may require different KPIs. For instance, early in the funnel, you might look at open rates and click-through rates, while further down the funnel, conversion rates and revenue per email might be more relevant.
- Industry Benchmarks: Look at industry benchmarks to understand what KPIs are critical in your sector and how your performance compares.
- Segment Your Audience: Different segments may have different KPIs. A campaign aimed at repeat customers might focus on customer retention rates, while one targeting new prospects might consider click-through rates more important.
- Past Performance Analysis: Review your past email campaigns to determine which metrics have been indicators of success or areas for improvement.
- Resource Allocation: Consider where you are investing your resources. If you’re spending a lot on content, engagement-related KPIs might be essential. If you’re investing in a new product launch, conversion rates would be a priority.
How should you go about setting KPIs for your email marketing campaigns?
The KPIs you set for your email marketing campaigns will count on your specific business and marketing goals. But here are some general tips on how to set KPIs for email marketing campaigns.
- Define what you want to achieve with your email marketing campaign. Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, increase sales, or something else?
- Once you know what you want to achieve, determine which email marketing metrics you will use to measure success. For example, if you want to increase brand awareness, you might track the number of people who open your emails or click through to your website. If you want to drive website traffic, you might track the number of unique visitors who come to your site from your email campaign.
- Once you have determined which metrics you will use, set goals for each metric that align with your overall marketing goals. For example, if you want to increase brand awareness, aim to increase the number of people who open your emails by 25%.
- Track your progress over time and make changes as needed to continue achieving your desired results.
What are some common pitfalls when using KPIs in email marketing?
There are a few key pitfalls to avoid when using KPIs in email marketing:
- Don’t use vanity metrics. Vanity metrics are measurements that look good on the surface but don’t actually tell you anything about your marketing performance. For example, measuring the number of subscribers you have is a vanity metric because it doesn’t tell you whether those subscribers are engaged or not.
- Don’t focus on isolated metrics. Isolated metrics can be misleading as they can’t provide a complete picture of your marketing performance. For example, measuring the number of clicks on your email’s call-to-action button is an isolated metric because it doesn’t tell you how many people actually converted after clicking the button.
- Don’t forget to measure your conversions. Conversion rates are one of the most important KPIs in email marketing because they tell you how successful your campaigns are at generating leads and sales. So make sure to track your conversion rates and use them to improve your campaigns.