First strategy, then metrics: A modern marketing leader's guide to OKRs | Simon AI

SeatGeek achieves 70% performance lift matching fans to thousands of events with AI agents.
Read the case study

First strategy, then metrics: A modern marketing leader's guide to OKRs

.jpg)

Author
Ed Walloga
eCommerce Executive & Guest Contributor

The strategic sequence for marketing success

1. Define your business goal
   Start by identifying which stage of the marketing funnel needs the most attention:

   • Awareness and attention: Focusing on reaching new audiences and building brand recognition
   • Conversion and revenue: Turning existing attention into customer acquisition
   • Retention and expansion: Growing revenue from existing customers through repeat purchases and upselling

2. Align your channel strategy
   Once you've identified your primary business goal, audit your available channels and tactics based on three key criteria:

   • Execution capability
   • Resource alignment
   • ICP fit

3. Map your data requirements
   Different marketing strategies require different types of customer data:

   • Awareness campaigns need audience behavior and demographic data
   • Conversion focused programs require intent signals and engagement history
   • Retention strategies depend on purchase history and product usage data

What are OKRs?

OKRs, short for Objectives and Key Results, are a framework for setting and tracking organizational goals.

Setting effective OKRs for your marketing team

1. Ensure company-wide alignment
   Start with company-wide objectives, then focus on what your team can do to achieve them.

2. Be specific when setting goals
   OKRs should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

3. Set time frames
   Each Key Result should have a time frame associated with it.

4. Be ambitious with OKRs
   Goals should be next level but achievable.

Important OKRs for customer marketing

Objective 1: Enhance brand engagement

Key Results:

• Grow social media followers by 50% across all platforms
• Increase social media interaction (likes, comments, shares) by 25%

Objective 2: Increase customer acquisition

Key Results:

• Deliver 100,000 New Customers
• Manage blended Customer Acquisition Cost to $65 or less

Objective 3: Boost customer retention

Key Results:

• Reduce Quarterly Churn Rate by 10%
• Increase Early Repeat Rate by 15%

Objective 4: Improve monthly ARPU

Key Results:

• Increase monthly APRU by 5% each quarter
• Increase revenue from upsell and cross-sell by 50%

Objective 5: Grow customer advocacy

Key Results:

• Increase Net Promoter Score by 10 points
• Improve refer-a-friend participation to drive 15% of all new customers

Objective 6: Optimize paid media performance

Key Results:

• Increase ad spend efficiency by 20%
• Diversity paid media mix with the launch of 3-5 new paid media channels

Objective 7: Amplify revenue from CRM channels

Key Results:

• Increase revenue-per-1000 sends by 20%
• Improve email conversion rate by 15%

Objective 8: Improve website performance

Key Results:

• Improve conversion rate by 15%
• Increase average-order-value by 10%

Tips for successfully implementing OKRs

1. Ensure transparent tracking
   Use tools designed for OKR tracking and management.

2. Conduct regular reviews
   Regularly assess progress against your OKRs and adjust as needed.

3. Communicate results company-wide
   Use OKRs as the framework for updates and encourage collaboration.

4. Stay agile
   Be open to shifting priorities and adjustments to OKRs.

Turning strategy into measurable success

Regularly validate that your chosen metrics align with your primary business objective. Assess whether you have the right customer data to measure performance.