Regardless of whether you operate as a B2B or B2C entity, navigating shifting market trends and optimizing the sales process can be tricky, to say the least. So, it’s little wonder that companies place high priority on their return on investment when trying to figure out how to get more customers.
How many sales leads did the latest ad campaign generate? How many leads converted into sales? By diving into these types of numbers, companies are often able to determine which sales and marketing efforts are truly effective, and which tactics are holding them back.
But how can looking at your ROI truly help you get more customers? It’s one thing to be presented with a set of numbers and statistics. It’s quite another to turn that information into actionable results that grow your business. Here are a few key tips to ensure that your data analysis will actually deliver the results you need.
Focus on the Right KPIs
Your key performance indicators (KPIs) can ultimately make or break your business. If you’re focused on the right goals and targets, you’ll be better able to determine what changes you need to make. If you focus on the wrong KPIs, however, you’ll end up wasting your time and resources in areas that don’t have any impact on customer growth.
In the sales world, there are a few KPIs in particular that should be among your chief areas of focus. For example, tracking your new contacts rate and client acquisition rates help you gauge performance among your sales staff. This information can be used to quickly identify traits that allow certain sales reps to overachieve, as well as what might be holding others back.
Using conversion rates to compare the outreach tactics used by your team can also help you identify which methods are most effective at gaining new customers. For example, you might find that email outreach yields a higher conversion rate than cold-calling. By using this information to redirect the efforts of your sales team, you can generate a better return on investment and spur faster customer growth.
Consider the Power of NPS
Another key metric that can help you get more customers is your net promoter score (NPS). Unlike traditional customer satisfaction measurements, NPS uses one question to help companies gauge consumer loyalty: “How likely are you to recommend our product/service?” Answers are given on a scale of 0 to 10, and many businesses also simply ask “Why?” as a followup question to gain more detailed information regarding the rating.
In a nutshell, anyone who responds with a 9 or 10 is considered to be a “promoter” — someone who is highly likely to remain a steady customer, buy more of your product, and even recommend your company to friends and colleagues. Those who respond with a score between 0 and 6 are labeled as “detractors” who are unlikely to remain loyal to your business. Individuals who score a 7 or 8 are considered “passive” — in other words, those who could become a promoter or detractor depending on future interactions. The data combined from these aggregate responses is used to produce a total score for the company regarding the state of customer loyalty.
NPS is a powerful tool because it allows you to provide greater context to the numbers you receive from a typical ROI report. Customers are often willing to fill out short surveys, and with qualitative responses accompanying a numbered ranking, your team can better determine why you are (or aren’t) achieving business goals. With clear, direct insight into your customers, you can adapt services, marketing strategies, and other tactics to improve loyalty so you can gain and keep more customers.
