How do you measure success? (KPIs?)

Measuring KPIs is an important way to tie your output to outcomes. My approach is to ensure PMM focuses on the metrics we can influence, getting buy in from cross-functional partners, and tying this to a specific time horizon, such as quarters or 1/2 year.

For example:

• If the primary marketing, company, product, etc. goal is to grow new customers, KPIs should align to this. In a B2B role, this could be something like increase pipeline by X% QoQ, or drive X Marketing Qualified Leads.

• On the flip side, your goal is to increase revenue per customer, which would be tied to increasing product usage, such as driving % increase in MAU, or % in time spent on specific features.

• Avoid committing to KPIs that don't connect to outcomes, such as produce X number of webinars, blog posts, emails, etc. While those are outputs, this type of KPI doesn't actually connect to the specific outcomes you want to get out of these outputs.

• Another KPI to avoid is anything that is outside the control of PMM, such as specific feature or product launches. While the launch itself is important, the actual timing of that is usually outside PMM control and this could result in a missed KPI.

  • An better approach is to connect the KPI measurement to the things that can be controlled, such as readiness for launch. This could include sales enablement, beta customer acquisition, waitlist sign-ups, messaging and positioning, and post-launch targets for user adoption.