When We Count Everything, Nothing Matters

The proliferation of marketing metrics is a mixed blessing. In theory all that data allows marketers and communicators to reach the exact right audience with the exact right offers in an ever more effective and powerful way.

The reality is often quite different. In siloed organizations (probably including yours), each team pursues their own metrics – for the social media team it’s retweets and shares; for the web team it’s visits; for the fundraisers it’s dollars, etc. Preschool teachers have a name for that when it’s 4-year olds doing it: parallel play.

With everyone chasing different numbers, internal collaboration – never a strong suit at most non-profits – becomes ever more difficult.

Siloed metrics is like winning battles but losing the war.