Guide · C14
Choose the marketing-plan KPIs
Which KPIs should steer the marketing plan?
Direct answer
A useful KPI has a definition, unit, frequency, owner, threshold and associated action.
01Remove metrics that change no decision.
02The rule, the evidence and the next review date stay visible.
How to use this
Move from the question to the deliverable.
Which KPIs should steer the marketing plan?
Remove metrics that change no decision.
KPI dictionary
Critical comparison · SQ-04
Compare four KPI architectures before choosing
A KPI architecture is judged on its ability to trigger an action, its latency, its measurement cost and the risk of causal misreading.
Critical comparison applied to a B2B demand generation plan.
- 01List the decisions
Name the actions the measurement system must be able to trigger.
- 02Classify the signals
Separate activity, progression, result and guardrails.
- 03Compare
Assess each architecture against five constant criteria.
- 04Limit
Keep the minimum number of indicators that allows action without hiding uncertainty.
Four methods, five decision criteria
Scores run from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong). A high causality score means that the method limits unwarranted conclusions.
| Method | Actionability | Latency | Causality | Measurement cost | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activity metrics | 2/5 | 5/5 | 1/5 | 5/5 | Useful for workload, insufficient for decisions |
| Static funnel | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 | Readable, but hides time and cohorts |
| Leading / lagging tree | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | Best compromise for steering |
| Single north star | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 | Concise, too weak to correct |
01The leading / lagging tree is retained when several teams can act on distinct nodes.
02The static funnel stays useful for a committee reading, but must be completed by cohorts.
03A north star replaces neither the quality guardrails nor the capacity measures.
Methodological assessment, not a universal ranking. The best architecture depends on the decisions and on data quality.
Coherence controls
Minimum conditions before validation.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
The status, the evidence and the owner must be available for review.
Usable deliverable
KPI dictionary
Explore the decision further with an interactive control, or start from a structured template to produce your deliverable.