#42: The Marketable Metric

Case studies give me the ick.

Building them is a painful process. They’re time consuming to bring together and they often feel artificial and overly manufactured.

But prospects (and sales teams) want proof that your product works! So you’re on the hook to create more, right?

Not so fast.

Quantifying your value proposition is essential to prove your product's worth and drive growth. It’s not enough to just say that it’s valuable; you need to show it’s valuable too. This is meant to be the point of case studies, but they fall short.

Enter, the marketable metric.

In today’s edition, we’ll explore the oft forgotten marketable metric. What is it? How do you find the right one? And how do you market it?

Let’s dig in.

The Marketable Metric

If you try Googling “marketable metric”, you’ll be left unsatisfied. Turns out, I think I made this term up 🤷🏼‍♀️ But the concept is sound, I promise. And I’ve used it successfully at both Unbounce and Kajabi.

Essentially, a marketable metric is a compelling number you pair with your value proposition to provide proof of success.

Marketable metrics should be:

• In aggregate (generally representative of your entire base)

• Truthful (you have the data to back it up)

• Unique (only you can claim this since it is the aggregate of your customer data)

Here are two examples.

First up, Unbounce. Here’s a screengrab of the website from the first day I joined in 2018.

The value statements are quite weak:

• Drive more leads and revenue. How many more leads? How much more revenue?

• Over 15,000 brands drive value with Unbounce. What type of value?

These value propositions are not measurable in any way, apart from the social proof from the customer count. Now contrast that to a screengrab of the website after we implemented marketable metrics.

I hope you’ll agree this is clearer and more compelling. There were a few improvements:

• Unbounce’s value metric is conversions, and we backed this up with a large stat to prove both our expertise and our success in this domain. No other company could claim this.

• Instead of saying “more leads and revenue”, we quantified it. You’ll get 30% more conversions on average.

• We knew time savings was something customers looked for, so we also quantified this too and were able to commit to 50% less time spent on building compared to other alternatives.

Let’s look at a second example from my time at Kajabi. Here’s a screengrab of the homepage from the day I signed my offer in 2022.

This content is quite dense and doesn’t leave a lasting impact.

• The #1 Platform to Grow Your Knowledge Business. What makes it number one?

• Kajabi creators have earned over $3,000,000,000. This is a great number, but the way it’s presented is overwhelming cognitively and doesn’t pack a punch.

Now, here’s the current Kajabi homepage after the new metrics were added.

A few highlights:

• We took the same marketable metric - revenue earned - but presented it in a sharper way that makes the reader stop in their tracks.

• Then we contrasted two numbers - the number of businesses creators have built on Kajabi and the reach of these businesses (customers served).

One of the other marketable metrics we developed is not highlighted here, but is equally important. The average Kajabi creator makes $40,000 annually, with one in three creators earning over six figures a year. This metric was particularly impactful because industry reports show that only 12% of creators make more than $50K a year. We sprinkled this metric throughout our website, our PR content and our social posts.

Finding Your Marketable Metric

Ready to define your own metric? Let’s review the three guidelines from earlier. Marketable metrics should be:

• In aggregate (generally representative of your entire base)

• Truthful (you have the data to back it up)

• Unique (only you can claim this since it is the aggregate of your customer data)

To start, select the value propositions you want to quantify. I suggest beginning with less than three to make this task achievable. You can always add on more later.

Next, brainstorm a list of potential data points you could use to back it up. The more the merrier at this stage. Work with your product and data team to identify which metrics are currently tracked and available. Ask them if it’s possible to start tracking the ones that aren’t.

Proceed with the marketable metrics that you are able to surface! Test, optimize, repeat.

Now you’ve just provided ammo to your sales and marketing teams that far surpass a one-off case study.

CAMPER ESSENTIALS

• 🎧 Playlist: Listen to Money with Katie’s newest podcast episode if you (like me) are looking to give yourself the gift of a sabbatical.

• 🛠 Tools: I was today years old when I learned there is a tool that will properly capitalize titles for you. You’re welcome.

Can’t believe tomorrow’s the first day of Q4. Let’s finish out this year strong, team.

- Tamara