12 KPIs That Your Business Should Measure Using Market Research

As a business owner, you likely know that measuring the right key performance indicators (KPIs) of your market research strategy is crucial for understanding what’s working and what’s not in your business’s market strategy. But did you know that market research services can provide invaluable insights to help you determine the KPIs you should be tracking?

In this blog, we will suggest 12 market research KPIs that you can measure using various market research strategies and techniques to monitor the health and growth of your business. Tracking these metrics will help you make more informed, data-driven decisions.

12 market research KPIs metrics for business growth

1. Customer acquisition cost

Knowing your customer acquisition cost—that is, how much you spend on average to acquire a new customer—enables you to calculate the lifetime value of a customer and determine if your marketing expenses are effective. Survey customers about how they heard about you and your business or use marketing attribution to track their journey and calculate the cost per acquisition.

2. Customer lifetime value

While customer acquisition costs focus on new customers, assessing customer lifetime value allows you to quantify what existing customers are worth to your company in the long run. Conduct cohort analyses on customer data or survey customers about their buying habits and projections to estimate their lifetime value.

3. Net Promoter Score

The Net Promoter Score indicates customer loyalty and the likelihood of recommending your brand. Regularly survey customers using NPS methodology on a 0–10 scale to benchmark and improve your score over time. An increasing NPS signals growing brand advocacy.

4. Customer churn rate

Knowing your customer churn rate allows you to gauge customer satisfaction and retention. Track churn through data analysis, surveys, and interviews with churned customers to understand why they left and improve retention. A decreasing churn rate suggests higher customer loyalty.

5. Market Share

While harder to calculate directly, market share indicates how your brand or business compares to competitors. Combine secondary market research on total market size with your sales data to estimate market share. An increased share signifies you’re winning against rivals.

6. Customer lifetime

Customer lifetime—that is, the average length of time a customer remains with you before churning—is key for assessing retention. Analyse user data to detect patterns or ask customers about their expected loyalty timeframe. Rising customer lifetimes signal greater retention.

7. Brand awareness

Brand awareness reflects recognition and recall of your brand. Conduct surveys and focus groups to measure aided and unaided brand awareness among target demographics and in today’s social media world, social media like Facebook, Instagram, etc. are the most powerful tools you can use for brand awareness. Growing awareness means your marketing is working.

8. Sales Cycle Length

Understanding how long it takes from initial contact to close a sale enables you to gauge marketing and sales effectiveness. Conduct win/loss analysis and interviews with sales teams to identify bottlenecks causing longer sales cycles. Shortening the sales cycle length can boost revenue.

9. Traffic-Conversion Rates

Tracking website or landing page traffic and conversion rates lets you quantify the visitor-to-customer journey. Use web analytics and split testing to see which pages or campaigns produce the best conversions. Improving these rates leads to a higher ROI.

10. Repurchase Rates

Measuring how often customers make repeat purchases shows brand and product loyalty. Tabulate repeat purchase data or survey customers about repurchase drivers and future projections. Increasing repurchase rates signals that you satisfy and retain buyers.

11. Customer Satisfaction Score

Measuring overall customer satisfaction through surveys and ratings is key to understanding perceptions of your products, services, and support. Benchmark scores over time and across customer cohorts to identify areas for improvement. Increased satisfaction correlates with higher loyalty and lifetime value.

12. Product Return Rates

Analysing the reasons for product returns and the overall rates of returns provides actionable insights into improving offerings. Look at return data and interview customers on pain points. Reducing return rates signifies higher-quality products with better market-product fit.

Market research is an invaluable tool for guiding strategic decisions and unlocking growth opportunities. By regularly tracking key performance indicators enabled by ongoing market research, companies gain crucial feedback for understanding customers and competitors. This empowers smarter resource allocation, effective performance optimisation, and data-driven decision-making. To keep up with dynamic markets, investing in continuous market research is essential for businesses seeking to accelerate growth and maximise competitiveness.