5 Metrics Every Growth Marketer Should Track

In the world of growth marketing, what you measure determines what you improve. But with countless metrics available, which ones should you actually focus on?

After working with hundreds of scale-up companies, I've identified five key metrics that consistently drive growth when properly tracked and optimized. These aren't vanity metrics—they're the numbers that directly impact your bottom line.

1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Customer Acquisition Cost is the total cost of acquiring a new customer, including all marketing and sales expenses. This metric is fundamental because it tells you how efficiently you're growing.

How to calculate it: Divide your total marketing and sales spend for a period by the number of new customers acquired in that same period.

Why it matters: If your CAC is too high relative to your customer lifetime value, your business model isn't sustainable. By tracking CAC by channel, you can identify your most efficient acquisition sources and double down on what's working.

Optimization tip: Break down your CAC by marketing channel to identify which channels deliver the best ROI. Often, companies discover that their assumptions about their "best" channels are completely wrong.

2. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

Customer Lifetime Value represents the total revenue you can expect from a customer throughout their relationship with your business. This metric helps you understand how much you can afford to spend on acquisition.

How to calculate it: Multiply your average purchase value by the average purchase frequency, then multiply by the average customer lifespan.

Why it matters: LTV helps you determine how much you can afford to spend on acquiring new customers. The higher your LTV, the more you can spend on acquisition while maintaining profitability.

Optimization tip: Segment your customers by acquisition channel, demographics, or behavior to identify high-LTV customer profiles. Then, focus your acquisition efforts on attracting more of these valuable customers.

3. Conversion Rate by Funnel Stage

Rather than looking at just your overall conversion rate, break it down by each stage of your funnel. This granular view helps you identify specific bottlenecks in your customer journey.

How to calculate it: For each stage of your funnel, divide the number of people who completed that stage by the number who entered it.

Why it matters: By identifying which stages have the lowest conversion rates, you can focus your optimization efforts where they'll have the biggest impact.

Optimization tip: Set up cohort analysis to see how changes to your funnel affect conversion rates over time. This helps you isolate the impact of specific optimizations.

4. Customer Retention Rate

Customer Retention Rate measures the percentage of customers who remain with your business over a given period. In subscription businesses, this is often measured as churn rate (the inverse of retention).

How to calculate it: Subtract the number of new customers acquired during a period from the total number of customers at the end of that period, then divide by the number of customers at the start of the period.

Why it matters: Acquiring new customers is typically 5-25x more expensive than retaining existing ones. Even small improvements in retention can dramatically increase profitability.

Optimization tip: Analyze the behaviors of customers who stay versus those who leave. Look for patterns in product usage, engagement, or support interactions that might predict churn.

5. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score measures customer satisfaction and loyalty by asking customers how likely they are to recommend your product or service to others.

How to calculate it: Survey customers on a scale of 0-10. Subtract the percentage of detractors (scores 0-6) from the percentage of promoters (scores 9-10).

Why it matters: NPS is a leading indicator of growth. Companies with high NPS scores typically grow 2.5x faster than competitors and have stronger customer retention.

Optimization tip: Don't just track the score—analyze the qualitative feedback that accompanies it. This feedback often contains valuable insights for product improvements and marketing messaging.

Bringing It All Together: The LTV:CAC Ratio

While each of these metrics is valuable on its own, the real power comes from analyzing them together. One of the most important combined metrics is the LTV:CAC ratio.

How to calculate it: Divide your Customer Lifetime Value by your Customer Acquisition Cost.

Why it matters: This ratio tells you how much value you're creating relative to what you're spending. A healthy business typically has an LTV:CAC ratio of at least 3:1.

Optimization tip: If your ratio is below 3:1, focus on either reducing CAC (through more efficient marketing) or increasing LTV (through better retention, upsells, or pricing optimization).

Conclusion

The most successful growth marketers don't try to track everything. Instead, they focus on a small set of high-impact metrics that directly tie to business growth and profitability.

By consistently tracking these five metrics and using them to guide your decision-making, you'll be able to identify your most effective growth levers and allocate resources more efficiently.

Remember, the goal isn't just to track these metrics, but to use them to drive continuous improvement. Set targets for each metric, test strategies to improve them, and regularly review your progress.

Need help implementing these metrics in your business? Book a free 30-minute strategy session with our team to discuss how we can help you accelerate your growth.