Analytics: Defining Lagging Indicators and Key Metrics

Metrics to track and report healthcare marketing campaign results

In a recent post we discussed “leading indicators;” those incremental metrics that allow healthcare marketers to anticipate the success of their efforts, even before a campaign ends. In this post, we’ll look at “lagging indicators,” the metrics that marketers can use to track and report the final results of a campaign, including goal-driven metrics and conversions such as click-throughs, form completions, phone calls or patient volumes.

Lagging indicators offer different ways to measure results, depending on the type of campaign running, what the big picture goal is, and how often it will be measured. Here is an overview of the lagging indicators and metrics we use in various types of marketing campaigns.

Mass Media Advertising Metrics

As the name suggests, the goal of mass media advertising is to reach as many people as possible. Therefore, a primary lagging indicator is the actual number of people reached by the marketing messages. It can be virtually impossible to determine whether someone reacts specifically to a TV commercial, but if trackable calls to action are built into the spot (for example, URLs, unique phone numbers, or iTV interface), engagement and conversions can be measured. Lagging indicators then could be phone calls, inquiries, or booked appointments. But unless the creative has a unique, measurable metric, or it is event specific, the only lagging indicator that can be pulled from mass media advertising is actual audience size and awareness.

Online Advertising Metrics

When it comes to online advertising, the most important metric is the conversion rate. It can also be broken down and analyzed by the cost per conversion and view-through conversions, which is when someone sees an ad and doesn’t click on it, but then goes to the site on their own and converts. The conversion rate determines if the campaign was successful in achieving the tactical goals.

Web Marketing, SEO and SEM Metrics

Just like online advertising, the most important lagging indicator to analyze for website marketing and SEO/SEM is the conversion rate. To gain more perspective on how and why people convert, some analytics tools provide insight on how the majority of conversions are arriving on the site, what page they convert on, the average number of actions taken on the site, the average time spent, and visitor demographics. If a pattern develops, it’s possible to adjust the marketing to create a more favorable environment for conversions.

Email Marketing Metrics

Email marketing also offers richer behavioral data than traditional marketing. It’s possible to monitor email success through comprehensive analytics reports similar to online advertising, website activity, and SEO. An inbound management system allows access to reports of the effectiveness of each email, providing insights for adjustment of content or style to mimic the most popular emails.

The first lagging indicator in email marketing is the CTR to a landing page or website. After that, the determining lagging indicator is the conversion rate for the desired action, be it inquiries, registration for an event, or making an appointment. The conversion rate not only indicates which email content was of most interest to subscribers, but also the best days and times to send out emails, which could help cultivate more conversions.

Set Goals and Watch the Numbers

Defining the right lagging indicators allows marketers to measure the most significant milestones and outcomes of their marketing efforts. Every type of marketing is measurable, from advertising, to social media, to email newsletters. Each type has its own tools to track successes and failures. What it all boils down to is setting reasonable, measurable goals and identifying the relevant metrics that will be used to determine campaign success or failure at the beginning of the process. This is the only way to truly know what your marketing ROI is and how you can continue to improve upon it.

Learn more about analytics in the white paper, Healthcare Marketing Analytics.