4 Metrics To Track Your Business’ Growth
I love numbers! I was never really great at doing math in my head, but I always understood math concepts - even challenging ones.
This talent came in handy when I opened my yoga studio. I ran the numbers, analyzed the results, and planned for the future to grow my business. It was easy for me to see that it was all in the numbers.
I am fully aware that most people don’t feel the same way about numbers, let alone their finances, as I do. In addition, so many business owners and solopreneurs don't have any clue what to keep track of and what it all means. Let’s be honest, most of us are just thrilled to be making money AT ALL doing what we love to do. We just don't give a damn about the rest.
But the reality is that if your business is not PURPOSEFULLY GROWING, it might as well be on a train to NOWHERE.
When you BELIEVE business is good, you are happy. But, when things start going south (and they always eventually go south), if you don’t know the metrics of your business, you have no idea where to put your efforts to turn it around. By ignoring the numbers, and turning your head the other way, you are missing out on key signs that your business might be trying to tell you - before it’s too late.
Your business metrics could be the key to understanding the health and vitality of your business. I am always happy to help business owners digest these numbers and figure out where they can take their business from floundering to flying.
So what are the metrics that I used that you should be looking at too? Ok, here we go...
4 Business Metrics To Track Your Growth
While the specific metric to follow will vary depending on your specific business, the key metrics you should gather and analyze roughly fall into 4 categories. Also, keep in mind that I am always happy to help business owners digest these numbers and figure out where they can take their business from floundering to flying.
Attracting New Clients
How are you bringing in clients? What is your marketing focus? Are you primarily using social media? How many followers do you have? How many people are engaging and watching your stories? How many new inquiries are you getting? How many new clients are walking in your door in a given week? Month? Year? These are all key metrics that you could be measuring to figure out how well you are attracting clients to your business.
There are many ways you can get a handle on how well you are attracting clients. Website metrics, social media stats, or actual people walking in your door - find out what the best things to measure would be and track it. How do they know to turn to you to solve their problems if they don't know you exist?
2. Converting Prospects Into Paying Clients
How many people download your free offer and then book a discovery call? How many of your first-time clients double down with a larger, long-term package? How many of the people that are seeing your ads actually walk in the door and spend money?
You want your prospects to not only come in the door for their first session, but you want them to become committed to what you have to offer. They should be able to see the value you offer and not want to live without it.
3. How Well Are You Delivering What You Promote
How often are your customers coming back to you - setting up new appointments or continuing to use your services? What are your Google/Yelp reviews saying? Testimonials? People truly do love to give you their opinion so why not just ask them?
You might need to do some extra leg work in soliciting feedback from your clients, but it will be worth it in the end. You can get some very specific information about what you are doing right and what needs improvement.
4. Total Revenue
Don't bypass this one. Total revenue isn't as simple as it sounds.
Yes, you want to measure how much money you are bringing in weekly, monthly, yearly etc., but looking at it by the service provider, service type, time of day, or season might help you make more strategic decisions.
Also, looking at the payment type might give you some insight into your clients' behavior. If you have the majority of your clients paying in cash, are they doing that not to commit? How high are your credit card bounce rates and how quickly are they resolved?
