The short answer
A small-business marketing scorecard is a short list of the same numbers every month, each tied to a decision: new customers and revenue, qualified enquiries, the source of each enquiry, conversion rate, and repeat and referral business, plus one or two leading indicators that match the current plan. It needs an owner and a fixed monthly review.
Marketing produces more numbers than any other part of a small business, and most of them are no use to the owner. Impressions, followers, open rates, time on page. A monthly report full of these looks thorough and answers nothing.
A scorecard is different. It's a short list of numbers, the same ones every month, each tied to a decision. If a number could go up or down and you wouldn't do anything differently, it doesn't belong on it.
Start from revenue and work backwards
Build the scorecard in this order:
- New customers, and the revenue from them. The result everything else exists to produce.
- Qualified enquiries. People who contacted you and were a real fit. Count these by hand if you have to.
- Where each enquiry came from. Referral, search, an ad, an event. Ask every one of them and write it down.
- Conversion. Of those enquiries, how many became customers.
- Repeat and referral. How many customers bought again, and how many new ones were sent by someone.
That's five. For most small businesses it's enough.
Add one or two leading indicators
The numbers above tell you what already happened. Add one or two that move earlier, chosen to match your plan. If this quarter's plan is to be found in search, track visits from search to your key pages. If it's reviews, track new reviews. When the plan changes, these change with it.
Leave the rest off
Follower counts, impressions and likes can stay in the tools that produce them. They're useful to the person running the channel. They aren't useful to you.
Give it an owner and a date
A scorecard nobody owns turns into a report nobody reads. One person is responsible for filling it in and explaining it. It gets reviewed on the same day every month, in a meeting where the question is always the same: given these numbers, what do we do more of, and what do we stop?
That last part matters most. The point of measuring is to be able to cut things. Most businesses only ever add.
In our system this is its own stage, Scorecards & Signals, and the monthly review is one of the fixed meetings. See how the seven stages fit together.
Frequently asked questions
What metrics should a small business track for marketing?
Start from revenue and work backwards: new customers and their revenue, qualified enquiries, where each enquiry came from, conversion from enquiry to customer, and repeat and referral business. For most small businesses, those five are enough.
What is a leading indicator in marketing?
A number that moves before results do, chosen to match the current plan. If the plan is to be found in search, track visits from search to key pages. If it is reviews, track new reviews.
Should I track followers and impressions?
Leave them in the tools that produce them. They help the person running the channel, but they rarely change a decision for the owner.
How often should a marketing scorecard be reviewed?
Monthly, on the same day, in a meeting where the question is always the same: given these numbers, what do we do more of and what do we stop?
Who should own the marketing scorecard?
One named person who fills it in and explains it. A scorecard nobody owns turns into a report nobody reads.
Stephen Conley
Founder of The fCMO Agency and Gisteo, and a Certified Duct Tape Marketing advisor.
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