Ego Metrics and What Counts

In a keynote address last month, Jonathan Becher, the CMO for software developer SAP, asked his audience to rethink the way they measure success. He cautioned, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” In his talk before marketers at the Summit event for SeriousDecisions, he spoke about the need to focus on end results rather than what he called "ego metrics."

Ego metrics are statistics that are easily gathered and that we use to prop up our image. We measure traffic to our site. We count the clicks visitors made and how much they downloaded. We watch as the Facebook page overflows with friends and our Twitter account gains followers. These statistics make us feel like we're doing a good job and we can put them into a chart for anyone who asks, but do they really result in quality leads or sales?

There are more important measurements out there, but they're difficult to quantify. Still, they have the strongest impact on developing and closing sales. Are potential customers really aware of your company and what it does? What do they really think about you?

Visitors to your website have probably been to dozens of sites that day before they came to yours. And, they'll probably visit a hundred more by the end of the day. Do they remember your site? Do they have your brand fixed in their minds so that when it comes time to make the purchase, they return to your site, your company? This isn't something easily measured.

Reputation is another area that really counts, but isn't easily counted. Our Facebook friends who "like" us are always there with a positive word. On the other hand, those who are unsure about us or have had a bad experience are likely to remain silent on our web pages. But, they will be posting on other sites. They will be sending emails to colleagues. They will be making comments in staff meetings. We can't count these numbers, but we can see them reflected in inquiries and sales.

What really counts, the end results, should be clear enough. We want customers to transition from awareness to a commitment that puts them in the sales pipeline and ultimately moves the sales needle. Do "ego metrics" correlate with sales numbers? Becher's point wasn't that we need to abandon numbers, but to remind us that some of the most important numbers can't be counted.