How to Look Good in Front of Your CEO

When talking to the boss of a growing company, there should be a focus on certain metrics. While the majority of CEOs will be most concerned with how much everything costs and the results that are obtained from that investment, speaking on more specific terms of lead, follower and website expenses can present a more complete picture. The following six metrics should be part of every marketing discussion with the CEO.

Cost of Acquiring Customers

Simply put, this is the total cost of marketing and sales divided by the number of new customers for a given time, which could be monthly, quarterly or annually. If the company spends $500,000 on marketing and gains 50 new customers, the customer acquisition cost is $10,000.

Cost Percentage of Customer Acquisition Marketing

This metric should always be watched carefully, as changes to it indicate issues with effectiveness or strategy. An increase can point to lower sales costs due to a quota being missed or too much money being spent on marketing.

Customer Lifetime Value Ratio

In the case of a business that has a recurring stream of revenue from its customers, the current value estimation of each customer must be compared to the acquisition cost. A higher ratio number is not always better, as it can indicate more needs to be spent on marketing and sales.

Payback Time

The payback time is number of months it takes to recoup the money spent to acquire a customer. Calculated by the customer acquisition cost divided by the monthly revenue generated by new customers, it will provide a clear metric on how well the company marketing is doing.

Originated Customer Marketing

This ratio indicates the percentage of the business that is being driven by its marketing and how much of it was from a lead generated by that marketing. The benefit of this metric is that it reveals what part of customer acquisition is directly related to marketing, which sales may not necessarily do.

Customers Influenced by Marketing

A simple metric that shows how many customers were directly influenced by company marketing, such as sales finding a lead, which later attends an event that results in a close. This percentage is usually a higher number than an "originated" percentage.

Talking about the six metrics above will inform and impress any marketing CEO.