AMA: Lightspeed Commerce Chief Marketing Officer, Kady Srinivasan on Demand Generation KPI's

• Quarterly OKRs:

  • Objective: Increase mid-market pipeline by 25%.

    • KR1: Launch 2 ABM campaigns targeting top 100 accounts.

    • KR2: Generate $1M in SQLs.

    • KR3: Improve MQL to SQL conversion from 20% to 25%.

• Annual OKRs:

  • Objective: Achieve $10M in sourced pipeline.

    • KR1: Launch a lead nurture series to improve lead-to-MQL conversion by 15%.

    • KR2: Drive a 30% increase in demo requests.

• Understand the Funnel: Map out the buyer journey and identify key points where demand gen has the most impact.

• Collaborate With Sales: Agree on definitions (MQL, SQL) and where demand gen takes ownership.

• Start Small: Focus on a few key metrics initially (e.g., pipeline contribution, MQL to SQL conversion).

• Evolve Metrics: As the function matures, layer in additional KPIs like cost per lead and velocity metrics.

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): While it’s a decent pulse check for customer sentiment, it doesn’t always correlate with growth or revenue.

• Bounce Rate: Taken in isolation, it’s rarely actionable and often misunderstood.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR) Alone: CTR without downstream metrics like conversion rate or cost-per-lead is incomplete.

• Time on Page: Without context, this doesn’t tell you if the time spent was valuable.

• Own:

  • Lead volume and quality (MQLs, SQLs).

  • Campaign performance (CTR, conversion rates).

  • Pipeline contribution and ROI of demand gen efforts.

• Don’t Own:

  • Pure revenue metrics (owned by sales).

  • Customer retention and expansion (owned by customer success).

Focus on the metrics you directly influence and partner closely with sales to ensure alignment.

• Start With Company Goals: Align OKRs with overarching business objectives (e.g., pipeline targets, new market penetration).

• Set Cascading OKRs: Break down the company’s goals into actionable demand gen objectives. For instance:

  • Objective: Generate $2M in pipeline this quarter.

  • Key Results: Launch 3 campaigns, achieve $500k pipeline per campaign, drive 100 SQLs.

• Project Mapping: Each OKR ties to specific initiatives. For example, a webinar might target pipeline generation for a specific segment.

• Vanity Metrics: Metrics like social media followers or email opens that don’t correlate with pipeline or revenue are dangerous to focus on. They look good but rarely drive business outcomes.

• MQL Quantity Over Quality: Pushing for a specific MQL count without ensuring alignment with sales can lead to wasted resources on low-quality leads.

• Unrealistic Targets: Setting goals like 10x growth in a single quarter without proper market conditions or resources can damage team morale.

• Own:

  • Lead volume and quality (MQLs, SQLs).

  • Campaign performance (CTR, conversion rates).

  • Pipeline contribution and ROI of demand gen efforts.

• Don’t Own:

  • Pure revenue metrics (owned by sales).

  • Customer retention and expansion (owned by customer success).

Focus on the metrics you directly influence and partner closely with sales to ensure alignment.