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What metrics should I be looking at (from both digital product and business point of view) as a product manager, business analyst, quality analyst, data analyst, web analyst, data scientist?
A. Product-related metrics
1) Usage analytics of your Key functional areas:
For e.g., How customers are using the key features on your product (e.g. Search, download, shortlist, bookmark, save print, sort, delete, etc.)
These metrics would be respective to the user journey. In data analytics terms, they would be part of a funnel representing the user’s consecutive actions in a user journey.
Use the below metrics for all the important action items/buttons on your product:
# Average no. of clicks on a certain button per day (accounting for all users)
# Total no. of clicks on a certain button per user session
Use the below metrics for all important articles/posts/content asset on your product:
# Average no. of Views of a certain article/post on a certain page per day
# Total no. of Views of a certain article/post per user session
Successful Metrics – The aim could be to see an increase or decrease in the metrics, depending upon your business driver. Generally, we want more interactions with the user, so this metric should go up.
Note: Be conscious of the ‘unit’ of the metrics. It has to be consistent for comparison.
2) Determine Drop-out rates in the customer journeys of the above (You can use ‘Exits’ and/or ‘Abandons’)
For e.g. I started at step-1 of ‘Search’, and didn’t pursue further to step-2 or step-3.
Some sample metrics that you could use are given below:
# Exits – In the user journey, find out the % of the time a user comes to that specific page, and then exits the site. This would highlight the fact whether your efforts of keeping the user on that page is working or not.
# Abandons – In the user journey, find out the % of the time a user comes to that specific page, and then abandons that page to go to some other page on your site/product. This would highlight the distractions present to the user on that page if you want them to spend more time on that page.
Successful Metrics – The aim could be to see an increase or decrease in the metrics, depending upon your business driver. Generally, we want these metrics to go down.
B. Business-related metrics
1) No. of Key accounts & Licenses:
– Acquisition: How many new clients you acquire monthly?
– Retention: How many existing users renew their subscription?
Successful Metrics – this should go up
2) Cost of Acquisition:
in other words, Earnings per Lead: How much does it cost (Marketing, etc.) to convert a lead into a paying customer?
Successful Metrics – this should go down
3) Conversion rate:
No. of clients converting from Free Trial to paid subscribers (Include any other marketing funnel you have applied)
Successful Metrics – this should go up
C. Finance-related metrics
It is very important for the product manager to be aware of this element in an early start-up.
Finance is the Oxygen for the early stage start-up, and you need a continuous flow.
In case of a start-up at an early stage, depending upon the funding structure,
there would be a set of financial goals & metrics that must be tracked under a ‘CFO Dashboard’.
You will have to keep a track of your finance numbers on P&L and Balance Sheet, and to be reviewed based on the company’s strategy – what their financial targets, ROI, Cash Flow needs, growth plans are.
