Why conversion rates matter and why they don’t

Metrics matter.  Metrics allow you to measure success, drive strategy, and demonstrate the ROI of your marketing efforts.  Conversions are one of the most important metrics to monitor.

Why conversion rates matter

What is a conversion?  A conversion means action.  It means that someone took some action that entered them into your funnel or moved them further down your funnel.  Examples of conversions are: downloading a white paper, filling out a form, requesting information, opening an email, and becoming a customer.

By monitoring and tracking conversions you can determine what marketing efforts are paying off. Additionally, by monitoring and tracking conversions you can identify which efforts need to be re-evaluated or even discontinued.  In short, conversion rates can help you measure your ROI.

Why conversion rates don’t matter

Conversion rates are not the Holy Grail of metrics.  Your website should be a magnet.  It should attract and engage prospective customers and current customers.  Your website should serve to educate and to establish your business as an industry leader.  Eighty to 90 percent of prospects are not ready to make a purchase when they first engage with your company.   Conversion rates don’t capture the amount of time people spend on your website, learning, exploring, and getting to know your business.   Conversion rates also do not capture the amount of time current customers spend on your website – valuing your company as a resource.

While conversion rates are an important metric to measure, remember that they are not the end all be all.

Tracking conversion rates

We created a template that you can download and use to track conversion rates and other critical metrics.  While the template captures visitor-to-lead and lead-to-customer conversion rates, you can easily modify the template to include additional conversion rates that are useful to your business.