“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” This century-old quote shouldn’t apply to modern marketing. With the right analytics framework, you can measure—and optimize—every marketing dollar.
The Marketing Measurement Framework
Three Levels of Measurement
Level 1: Activity Metrics
- Emails sent
- Posts published
- Ads running
- Events hosted
These tell you what you’re doing, not if it’s working.
Level 2: Performance Metrics
- Open rates
- Click-through rates
- Engagement rates
- Traffic volume
These show immediate performance, not business impact.
Level 3: Business Metrics
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
- Customer lifetime value (LTV)
- Revenue attribution
- Return on investment (ROI)
These connect marketing to business outcomes.
Essential Marketing Metrics
Acquisition Metrics
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Lead Conversion Rate
Revenue Metrics
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
LTV:CAC Ratio
Payback Period
Efficiency Metrics
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Marketing ROI
Attribution Models
Understanding Attribution
Attribution answers: “Which marketing touchpoints contributed to this conversion?”
Common Models
First Touch
Last Touch
Linear
Time Decay
Position-Based (U-Shaped)
Data-Driven
Choosing Your Model
| Business Type | Recommended Model |
|---|---|
| E-commerce (impulse) | Last touch |
| E-commerce (considered) | Linear or position-based |
| B2B short cycle | Position-based |
| B2B long cycle | Data-driven or position-based |
| Brand awareness focus | First touch |
Building Your Analytics Stack
Essential Tools
Web Analytics
- Google Analytics 4 (free)
- Mixpanel (product analytics)
- Heap (auto-capture events)
Marketing Automation
- HubSpot
- Marketo
- ActiveCampaign
BI & Visualization
- Looker Studio (free)
- Tableau
- Power BI
Data Warehouse
- BigQuery
- Snowflake
- Redshift
Data Architecture
Dashboard Design
Executive Dashboard
Show business impact, not vanity metrics:
Campaign Dashboard
Track individual campaign performance:
Common Analytics Mistakes
1. Vanity Metrics Focus
Followers, impressions, and page views feel good but don’t pay bills.
Fix: Always connect to business outcomes.
2. Attribution Tunnel Vision
Obsessing over perfect attribution is futile—aim for directionally correct.
Fix: Use consistent model, focus on trends over absolutes.
3. Short-Term Thinking
Measuring campaigns over days when they need weeks or months.
Fix: Define measurement windows by sales cycle length.
4. Ignoring Incrementality
Not all conversions would be lost without marketing.
Fix: Run holdout tests to measure true incremental impact.
5. Data Silos
Marketing, sales, and finance using different numbers.
Fix: Single source of truth in data warehouse.
Reporting Cadence
Weekly
- Campaign performance snapshots
- Anomaly detection
- Quick optimization opportunities
Monthly
- Full funnel analysis
- Channel performance
- Budget vs. actual
- A/B test results
Quarterly
- Business impact review
- LTV:CAC analysis
- Attribution model review
- Strategy adjustments
Annually
- Full marketing audit
- ROI by initiative
- Planning and budgeting
Building a Data Culture
Principles
- Decisions require data: No gut-feel major decisions
- Transparency: Dashboards accessible to all
- Accountability: Teams own their metrics
- Curiosity: Ask “why” before “what next”
- Iteration: Measure, learn, adjust, repeat
Making Data Actionable
Every metric should answer:
- What happened?
- Why did it happen?
- What should we do about it?
Conclusion
Marketing analytics enables:
- Data-driven decision making
- Efficient budget allocation
- Clear ROI demonstration
- Continuous improvement
At Sajima Solutions, we implement analytics frameworks that connect marketing to revenue. Contact us to measure what matters.