Tracking Metrics Is Hard. Here’s What to Do About It.

Normally we point to all the things that High Growth firms do differently from ordinary firms. And we have explored some of those practices in the articles about Hinge’s 2025 High Growth Study.

But today, we want to talk about something that even the High Growth firms—those that grow 20% or more for three consecutive years—don’t do particularly well (and by their own admission).

That thing? Tracking and then actually using marketing and business development metrics.

Here’s a chart for you to ponder:

If you are like our team of analysts, your eye is drawn immediately to all that red. Uh oh.

This Chart Explained

The figure above compares High Growth firms (top row) to Low Growth firms (bottom row). It displays how study participants rated their proficiency in collecting data, using metrics to measure their marketing and business development performance, and making adjustments to their programs. Respondents used a 0–10 scale to rate their proficiency, where 0 is none and 10 is high. We grouped their responses into three categories: 0–6 = low proficiency; 7–8 = some proficiency; and 9–10 = high proficiency.

We Have a Winner?

Comparing the two growth categories, High Growth firms clearly come out ahead. A higher proportion of the High Growth group firms claims high proficiency, more of them have some proficiency, and fewer have low proficiency. We have a clear winner, right?

Yes. But.

Even the High Growth numbers are pretty terrible. Over half of High Growth firms—and two-thirds of No Growth firms—are no good at tracking metrics.

Why Marketing and Business Development Metrics Matter

High Growth consulting firms invest about 10% of their annual revenue in marketing. Everyone else in the industry invests about 5%. Either way, that’s not play money, and there are high expectations that come with those budgets.

According to the chart above, most firms squeeze their eyes shut and hope for the best. That’s because they have no idea if the activities they spend money on actually work. This seems like an odd way to run a marketing program. Even a reckless one.

Yet it’s the way many firms run their businesses.

Tracking and using metrics offers a solution to this problem. Notice I use the words “tracking and using” here. That’s because there are two parts to this solution:

1. You have to track important metrics over time; and
2. You have to do something with the results

Data gives you a level of insight you didn’t have before. Instead of relying on your gut or patchy anecdotal evidence, you can make decisions based on hard numbers. It’s freeing. And it’s powerful.

Why Tracking Metrics Is Hard

Let’s be honest. There are reasons so many organizations are weak at analytics. Here are a few quotes from our study participants:

• “Our data is all over the place”
• “We don’t understand our CRM system well enough to know which reports to use”
• “Our challenge is putting the data to work. What story does it tell and where do we go next based on insight that comes from the data?”
• “Lack of focus and time”
• “Inconsistent metrics and a team that does not understand how to use them”
• “Defining what metrics to track in the first place”
• “Unable to tell what is true business activity and what is noise”

In short—this stuff isn’t easy. While every digital platform comes with a built-in analytics panel, figuring out what’s important in each isn’t always obvious. If you use multiple platforms, logging into each and extracting the relevant information can be a chore. As if that’s not enough, some systems are much more complex than others, requiring specialized expertise to set up and plenty of training to use. And reporting on all these findings isn’t enough. Someone has to analyze all that data, interpret it and recommend next steps. Finally, you have to assemble the right team to approve the recommendations and implement them. Then the process starts all over again.

Whew! We’re exhausted. How about you?

What You Can Do About It

Here’s the good news: Because so many firms aren’t proficient at tracking data, those that can master it have a real edge over their competitors. If you can make your marketing a bit more effective than theirs—and improve it over time—you can accelerate your growth compared to the rest of the field.

There are two strategies firms can use to corral their data and turn it into a competitive advantage. One requires time and the other money. Both, of course, require the attention and support of top management.

1. Build in-house expertise—Depending on the size of your firm and the complexity of your marketing program, you will need to dedicate one or more team members to marketing performance. They will need a relatively high level of familiarity with each of your marketing and business development platforms. They will also need to keep abreast of the marketing field—from Google algorithm and social media updates to email and SEO strategy. And they will need to develop the analytical skills to understand the story the data tells. That way, they can not only report the numbers, but explain what they mean and what you should do about them.
2. Outsource your reporting—Hiring an outside team to track, report on and interpret your marketing and business development programs can be a revelation. At last, you have someone who knows what they are doing to sort through all your metrics and present the findings in a compact, easy-to-understand format. And as outsiders, they often bring a heightened level of credibility, potentially making their recommendations more palatable to leadership. But there are risks, too. They may not understand your industry, or they may be unfamiliar with a key platform in your marketing stack. Or they might not be a good cultural fit. So choose your marketing partner with care.

Once you gain command of your marketing performance, you can see where your ship is taking you—and when it is veering off course. You can also determine which tactics seem to be producing results and which ones are duds.

Now, as scientific and wonderful as this sounds, there is plenty of art involved in interpreting and responding to data. It takes experience to get a feel for it, and occasionally data can tell a misleading story. But even an imperfect system is worlds better than no system at all. You’ll notice all kinds of things that weren’t even on your radar before.

If you are in the “low proficiency” camp, don’t panic. You can start small with one or two activities. Pick something relatively easy like email analytics and start learning what the data really means—and what you can be doing better. Or find a marketing partner you trust, and bring in their expertise. The important thing is that you recognize what a huge opportunity there is right now to build a meaningful marketing advantage over most of your competition. The potential upside is beyond measure.

PS—It’s not too late to download your free copy of the 2025 High Growth Study Executive Summary. Find out what the best-performing firms do differently, so you can build a high-growth, high-profit business, too.