14 Leading and Lagging Marketing Goals

In marketing, we often chase numbers as if they’re the Holy Grail. It’s a tantalising idea that some goals or metrics can give you the full picture, that there’s a secret formula waiting to be unlocked. But marketing isn’t that simple. People get hung up on things like conversion rates or social media followers, thinking that these numbers are tell-all indicators of success – when they’re just part of the story.

You can’t gauge the success of a marketing strategy by one or two metrics alone. It’s a misconception that’s as widespread as it is misleading. It’s tempting to think that there’s a shortcut to understanding your market or your audience, but the truth is, there’s not. It requires a nuanced and comprehensive approach that looks at a range of indicators, both leading and lagging, qualitative and quantitative.

So what are the best leading and lagging marketing performance indicators? 

Some top leading metrics are social media engagement, subscriber growth rate, number of campaigns, chatbot support inquiries, click-through rates (CTR) on pay-per-click (PPC) ads, A/B test results, and number of optimised landing pages.

As for lagging metrics, take a look at overall sales revenue, email open rates, return on advertising spend (ROAS), customer satisfaction rates, cost per acquisition (CPA), conversion rate, and ranking on target keywords.

What Are the Best Leading and Lagging Marketing Performance Indicators?

Leading and lagging indicators are key metrics that help a business owner understand and manage marketing performance. Leading indicators are predictive measures that give early signs of future success, such as web traffic or new leads, allowing you to make proactive decisions. 

Lagging indicators, on the other hand, show how well you’ve performed in the past, such as sales revenue or customer retention rates, providing a concrete evaluation of your strategies. 

In short, leading indicators help you steer the business in the right direction, while lagging indicators tell you if you reached your desired destination. Both are essential for effective marketing and business growth.

7 Examples of Leading Indicators

1. Social Media Engagement

Gauge the temperature of your audience’s interest in your brand. High levels of likes, comments, shares, or retweets show people’s curiosity and connection. Some would say this is a vanity metric, but I beg to differ. It’s about understanding whether people care about what you’re saying. Engagement gives you a real-time connection to what resonates and what falls flat. It’s raw, unfiltered feedback.

2. Subscriber Growth Rate

Are people signing up? Then you’re providing value. If not, something’s wrong. 

Building an email list or increasing followers on a platform can be a slow and laborious task. But the numbers can be telling as they represent a breadcrumb trail leading to a potential feast of results.

3. Number of Advertising Campaigns

Quantity doesn’t mean quality. Multiple campaigns might show ambition, but they can also indicate a lack of focus. You’ve got to be careful not to overextend or lose focus.

Pro tip: More advertising campaigns don’t necessarily mean better outcomes, but they can be a sign of an expanding business and greater market reach.

4. Chatbot Support Inquiries

What are people asking? What are they confused about? 

The number and nature of inquiries can reveal what’s working and what’s confusing for customers. It’s like a crystal ball into the customer experience. Addressing those inquiries and making the necessary changes ensures that the future of your brand looks a bit brighter.

5. CTR on PPC Ads

Click-through rates show what’s working in real-time. High CTR means the message is resonating; low CTR could signal a disconnect. It’s a living, breathing metric that tells you – live, by the way – how your ads are performing.

6. A/B Tests 

I used to find A/B tests completely unnecessary, but after years of being in the digital marketing industry, I’ve come to terms with how non-negotiable these are to a content strategy. You need to let go of your ego, put your ideas to the test, and let the results speak for themselves.

A/B tests are like mini-experiments that allow you to peek into alternate realities. What if you change a headline, a color, or an image? What if this hook is better than another? Maybe our audience prefers video over static posts? These tests offer evidence of what could be, guiding your next steps and sometimes even surprising you with unexpected discoveries. You would typically have one control set versus a challenger (variable) set.

7. Optimised Landing Pages

It doesn’t matter how pretty your website looks. If it isn’t optimised to transform curiosity into conversion, you won’t get the sales you’re looking for. A well-optimised landing page gets people where they need to go without confusion or distraction.

Pro tip: Confused people don’t buy.