Here’s a sobering reality check: 60% of marketers don’t measure if their work is delivering business outcomes, according to recent Marketing Week research.
Instead, they focus on vanity metrics like website visitors and social media likes without assessing whether marketing is actually meeting business goals.
Not only is that approach hurting the bottom line, it’s eroding trust when 80% of CEOs don’t trust the efforts of their marketing teams. But without marketing, sales would plummet. This sticky situation is caused by tracking the wrong metrics or burying the good stuff under piles of data that don’t matter to decision-makers.
So. Let’s fix that, shall we?
Before we dive into the numbers, let’s get one thing straight: your CEO doesn’t (or shouldn’t) care how many Instagram likes you got last week. And, with our limited time, we shouldn’t waste time reporting and explaining numbers that do not contribute to meeting a marketing or business strategy. So, we need to present them with metrics that demonstrate how marketing drives the business forward and educate them if they want numbers of things that do not matter.
A 2024 study by Marketing Evolution found that 67% of marketing departments track metrics that their C-suite executives consider irrelevant to business performance (InkBot Design, 2024). Meanwhile, 44% of businesses lack a quantitative idea of their marketing’s impact (Optimizely, 2024).
Ouch.
Companies often track what’s easy to measure rather than what’s valuable to know.
The trick is ruthless prioritisation.
Pick a small handful of KPIS (5-7 are completely fine) that directly tie to revenue. Track them religiously. Report them consistently. Everything else is nice-to-have.
Let’s take a look at the different areas where you should be familiar with tracking your success and what that might look like.
Your website is where the magic happens. It’s where browsers become buyers, where curiosity converts to customers. Without solid on-site metrics, you’re flying blind.
Google Analytics 4 has completely changed the game, and if you’re still trying to figure it out, you’re not alone.
Tracking key metrics on your site is essential for proving your marketing drives real business results.
According to Google’s data, the average website conversion rate across all industries is approximately 2.35%. However, this varies significantly across different industries.
E-commerce sites typically see conversion rates between 1-3%, while B2B sites often perform better at 3-5%.
Other metrics will have different benchmarks; ensure you’re up to speed with your industry’s figures.
Email marketing consistently delivers the highest ROI of any marketing channel.
For every £1 spent on email marketing, the average return is £36-£40 according to multiple industry studies.
It’s measurable, trackable, and when done right, incredibly effective at driving business results.
Mailchimp’s official email marketing benchmarks indicate that email performance varies significantly by industry.
However, across all industries, businesses can expect varied results based on their sector and audience. The most recent comprehensive data shows the average email open rate across all campaigns is 42.35% (MailerLite, 2025), with click rates averaging around 2-3%.
B2B emails tend to perform better with open rates around 23-25%, while retail often sees different patterns.
GetResponse reports that segmented email campaigns see 14.31% higher open rates and 100.95% higher click-through rates compared to non-segmented campaigns.
The lesson? Targeted, relevant content wins every time.
The role of social media in the marketing mix has evolved dramatically. It’s no longer just about brand awareness – it’s about driving genuine business results and optimisation.
The challenge is that most marketers still report on follower counts and likes instead of metrics that matter to business growth.
Savvy marketers focus on the quality of traffic, engagement, and conversions.
According to Hootsuite’s 2025 social media benchmarks, the average engagement rate varies significantly across platforms and industries.
Overall social media engagement rates range from 1.4% to 2.8%, depending on the platform.
Instagram remains the most effective platform for engagement, while TikTok consistently outperforms traditional platforms in terms of engagement rates.
Recent changes coming into play for Instagram, plus its consistently high average engagement rates, make it particularly valuable for businesses looking to build engaged communities and convert.
The platform’s visual appeal and interactive features provide natural advantages for brands across different sectors.
Here’s the secret sauce: always connect your metrics to business outcomes.
Instead of: “Email open rates increased 15%”
Say: “Email optimisation drove 23% more qualified leads, worth £45K in potential revenue”
Instead of: “Social engagement is up 40%”
Say: “Social content drove 156 website visits that converted to 12 demo requests”
The best marketing metrics look at the total cost of marketing – including program spend, salaries of the team, and overhead – and relate those costs to the results you care about: revenue and customer acquisition.
Here’s how it works:
ROI = [(50 × 0.2 × £8,000) – £5,000] / £5,000 × 100 = 1,500%
This means for every £1 spent on marketing, you made £15 in revenue. For service businesses, you should aim for a 5:1 ROI ratio – making £5 for every £1 spent on marketing.
Quick tip: If you don’t know your lead-to-customer rate, start tracking it immediately. It’s one of the most important metrics for any business.
Your worth isn’t in question – your measurement strategy might be. Start with these fundamentals, tie everything back to business impact, and watch as your seat at the strategy table becomes a permanent one.
The C-suite doesn’t need to understand the intricacies of GA4 or email automation. They need to see that marketing is a revenue driver, not a cost centre. These metrics will help you prove exactly that.
