Paid measurement scorecard

Purpose

Paid spend is judged on measurement, and most B2B teams cannot answer basic questions about it in under half an hour. A channel that looks expensive may be working, and one that looks cheap may not be generating pipeline. This skill checks the measurement before the spend is judged, so budget decisions rest on data the team can trust.

When to use

• Before scaling a paid budget.
• Before cutting a channel that looks expensive.
• When leadership asks what paid is delivering, and the answer takes too long.
• When a new team inherits a paid program with unclear reporting.

Route elsewhere when:

• The question is which metrics justify action once measurement works. Use paid-optimization-signals.
• The question is the attribution model in depth. Use revenue-metrics.

Inputs

• The paid channels in use, and the dashboards that report on them.
• The conversion tracking in place for each channel.
• The CRM records of paid-sourced leads, with their stages.
• The owner and reporting cadence for each dashboard.

The five questions

Score each from one to three. Be honest. A score is a description of what exists, not what is planned.

1. Blended dashboard. Is there one dashboard showing overall pipeline from paid and organic together?

• 1: no dashboard.
• 2: a limited dashboard that needs work.
• 3: a reliable dashboard used regularly.

2. Channel dashboard. Is there a dashboard for each channel showing spend, pacing, and conversions?

• 1: no channel dashboard.
• 2: a limited dashboard that needs work.
• 3: a reliable dashboard used regularly.

3. Conversion tracking. Are conversions from paid channels tracked?

• 1: no conversion tracking.
• 2: tracked through on-site pixel conversions.
• 3: tracked through offline conversions, meaning pipeline and closed-won records matched back to the ad.

4. Web analytics. Is a web analytics tool in place?

• 1: none.
• 2: installed but not configured.
• 3: installed, configured, and used for decisions.

5. Attribution. Is there an agreed process for deciding what is working?

• 1: not really.
• 2: everyone has an idea, but it is not written down.
• 3: it is documented and agreed by the team, without one function's bias.

Procedure

1. Score each question with evidence: name the dashboard, the tracking setup, or the document. A score without evidence is a 1.
2. Time a basic question. Ask one: what did paid deliver last month, and what did it cost per opportunity? If the answer takes several reports and more than about thirty minutes, record that as a finding.
3. Read the total. A total close to the maximum means measurement can support decisions.
4. Apply the blocker rule. Any question scored one blocks scaling spend until it is raised. Scaling on weak measurement spends money the team cannot judge.
5. Set the fix order. Fix conversion tracking and attribution first, because every other measure depends on them, then dashboards.

Output

• The five scores, each with the evidence behind it.
• The time taken to answer the basic question, and whether it passed.
• A list of blockers, and the fix order.

Quality bar

Every score has evidence. A one on any question is treated as a blocker to scaling. Attribution is written down before it is relied on. Watch for scores given on intention rather than what exists, a dashboard counted as reliable without anyone using it, and offline conversions claimed where only pixel data exists.