Insights for Entrepreneurs

10 Business KPIs Your Business Should be Tracking

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Glory Simmons

07 Feb 2023 on Insights for Entrepreneurs · 9 min read

Business KPI

9 min read

Running a small business or an enterprise, we need to keep in mind that we doing business in the digital era. So, we are being able to track and monitor our business performance with just a few clicks.

Just calculating the profit and loss alone will not keep your business to survive in the market. Many more indicators will determine the current working condition of your business.

Many entrepreneurs have failed to keep track of all indicators and that made them fail in the industry. They struggle to compete with others as they are completely unaware of their operations.

If you are running a small business or even planning to start one then you need proper guidance about monitoring key performance indicators (KPI). This article will give you a premium handbook about all business KPIs and will make you succeed in your business goals.

Business KPI

What is a Business KPI?

Business KPIs are quantitative metrics that any business type can use to analyze its different modes of business operations. If you want to know how much reach you have gained through social media posts, you can check specific KPIs and get details.

Likewise, all activities that are carried out in your business will have dedicated indicators. All business KPIs are related to performance marketing that will measure sales and revenue channels effectively.

Why are KPIs important for businesses?

KPIs are very essential for any business just like a medical checkup for your body. To understand our health condition we will go through some blood tests and the reports will give quantitative measurements that indicate your current health condition.

By knowing the result you will start focusing on your diet and lifestyle and will make sure that you will regain your health soon. Here the blood test results can be directly related to KPIs. Without going for a medical check you may not know how your body is working. Likewise, without monitoring or keeping track of your business KPIs, you cannot have complete control over your business.

10 Business KPIs you need to monitor

When we talk about Business KPIs, numerous KPIs differ from business to business. Here we will analyze the most common business KPIs and will study their importance in maintaining our business.

Orders count

Sales are the primary goal that any business wants to achieve. If you get more orders, it means your revenue is increasing and it is a positive sign for your business growth. You may have several lead-generating channels for getting leads that result in order conversion.

You can keep an eye on those channels and can find out which source is producing more leads and supporting your business in getting conversions. There are several more indicators related to sales that need to be monitored.

How to set KPI tracking on order count?

  • You can set KPI tracking on several monthly orders.
  • Find the increase in the percentage of sales done to new customers in a month.
  • The overall increase in monthly sales.

Profit and Loss

Profit and loss are considered to be twins for businesses. You will be getting ups and downs in your business. Once you may face more profit and sometimes you may face severe loss. It is mandatory to expect both in your business.

You need to keep track of your extra expenses and additional income sources and have a keen eye on them to maintain your business. Analyzing the profit and loss margin will help you identify how well you are spending and earning through your business.

How to set KPI tracking on profit and loss?

  • You can track quarterly profits.
  • The cost of running your business quarterly
  • Per month profit and loss after excluding all expenses.

Annual sales growth

Each of us gives more importance to monthly sales growth and keeps comparing it with previous months’ numbers. At one point we will be satisfied with this report alone. But to identify the real growth you need to monitor the annual sales growth of your company.

Turnover varies from season to season. Some businesses are seasonal and some businesses may not have product sales during a particular season. You need to identify your peak month of sale and also times when the sale is very low. For this, you need to track the entire year’s sales growth.

How to set KPI tracking on annual sales growth?

  • After getting the entire year’s sales report, track them according to seasons like winter, summer, etc.
  • Keep tracking during festival times and periods when you have given more offers and discounts.

Inventory

90% of businesses require inventory and it has to be maintained effectively. Confusion in inventory management will lead to heavy losses. At any point in time, you should not run out of stock when there is a demand for a product in the market.

You can easily find out which product is fast moving and which one is not performing well in the market. According to the demand you can maintain the stock and also can give offers for slow-performing products and make them move faster among customers.

How to set KPI tracking on inventory?

  • Find the stock-to-sales ratio.
  • Check liquidity ratio
  • Find out how much stock needs to be added for products that move faster.
  • Identify which offer is working well on slow-moving products.

Accounts payable rate

To run a business with physical products you need to depend on manufacturers and suppliers. You will be paying them often for products you buy and deliver. The account payable rate has to be monitored to check how much transaction has been made for a particular supplier or manufacturer.

Any business may spend more in this department and this will have a huge impact on calculating the profit margin of the company.  By tracking these reports, you can identify if any unwanted expenses are made and if so, you can minimize those expenses.

How to set KPI tracking on the account payable rate?

  • Calculate quarterly overhead cost that includes suppliers and all staff.
  • Cost per transaction made per month.

Consumers grievances

Every business will be focusing more on acquiring new customers, promoting their brand, increasing sales orders, and generating more revenue. They may forget to focus on consumers’ grievances. This will become a threat in the future if not addressed properly. Without retaining customers there is no point in spending on products and new businesses.

Then and there you need to identify what problems your consumers are facing by listening to their grievances. This is the best form of showing your gratitude to them and this will satisfy the customer and will make him stay with your business for a long time.

How to set KPI tracking on consumer grievances?

  • The number of complaints received per quarter.
  • Which is the most common grievance that is shared by many consumers.
  • How many issues have been resolved in a quarter?
Business KPI

Market share value

The market share you gain indicates how successful your business is performing in the market. If the share value is larger then you are doing good business in your region. The market is full of competition and you are competing with giants in your field.

Apart from analyzing your products, sales growth, and important business KPIs, you should also focus on your market share value. Keep track of your value and make sure you maintain the share throughout the year.

How to set KPI tracking on market share value?

  • Find out your percentage share of sales in the market
  • Compare your order value with your competitors every quarter.

Level of customer satisfaction

You can get details about the number of customers through proper reports. But are you sure that all your customers are satisfied with your product and service? This is the main indicator that you need to keep an eye on as you may lose your business silently without knowing the cause.

Customer satisfaction levels can be monitored by tracking several aspects. You can get their feedback then and there and can ask for their suggestions to improve your business. When you allow them to communicate, you may come to know whether they are satisfied or not. If not then you need to take measures to gain their attention again.

How to set KPI tracking on customer satisfaction?

  • Set a score for customers’ satisfaction level.
  • Check the response time your employee takes to address your customers’ grievances.
  • Have a count of repeated orders from existing customers.

Online traffic

Today we can’t find a business without a website. As we all know that any customer before buying a product from any company will visit the company’s website and then will decide on buying the product. The website acts as a major revenue-generating tool that will increase your customer base.

You need to spend more on your website design and give an excellent user interface and user experience to the visitor. Make sure you offer a mobile-friendly website that will grab the attention of mobile-using visitors. If the online traffic of the website increases then automatically you can start getting leads and orders.

How to set KPI tracking on online traffic?

  • No visitors to the website in a quarter
  • Post engagements on social media every week
  • The source generates more traffic to the website in a quarter.

Revenue growth rate

The revenue growth rate may look like a single term but in detail, it has multiple aspects to calculate in your business. This is a perfect insight that will let you know how your business is expanding or shrinking over a while. We have already calculated our annual sales growth and you may wonder what is the revenue growth rate and how it differs.

With revenue indicators, you can make it more simple by identifying every revenue-generating source. For eg. You can calculate revenue on customer-wise. You can track each customer and can find out how much revenue they have given to the company and from this, you can identify their customer lifetime value and prioritize them accordingly.

How to set KPI tracking on revenue growth rate?

  • Calculate revenue by-products
  • You can also calculate revenue by features or services.
  • Revenue growth by month, quarterly, half-yearly and annual.

Takeaway: Track your business growth through Business KPIs

There are many more KPIs apart from the above-mentioned list. It depends upon your business type and product or service type. But we have listed the basic ones that will direct you on the right path and will assure you to get better returns and stay long in the market.

Before setting a business goal, you need to first focus on the metrics to monitor. KPI tracking is the most reliable way to find out whether you moving towards your business goal or being stagnant at any point. This tracking will not only save you from the current crisis but also protects your business’s future.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Glory is a creative content writer whose writing has a deep connection with users and can provide SEO-friendly tech-driven content. Being a freelance content writer, all her writings meet the demands of any online business, solopreneur, start-up, and brand.