Give each metric a job
Impressions can help describe exposure, visits can help describe website activity and inquiries can help describe expressed interest. None tells the whole story. Decide what question the measure can answer before classifying it as useful or irrelevant.
Separate attribution from outcomes
Attribution assigns credit to interactions associated with a measured action. Google Analytics explains it as a way to allocate credit across touchpoints. The allocation does not itself prove profit or identify every influence on the customer.
Make the reporting limits visible
Document data sources, event definitions, date ranges and attribution settings. Consent choices, offline conversations and missing records can create gaps. Different reports may use different rules. Resolve those definitions before treating a discrepancy as a performance change.
Connect the report to the next decision
Pair acquisition data with feedback about fit and follow-up. If inquiries rise but few meet the intended customer profile, investigate the offer, targeting and intake rather than celebrating volume alone.
- What changed in the underlying business or campaign?
- Which records support the conclusion?
- What remains unknown?
- Who will act on the finding?
From reading to doing
Put it to work
Illustrative review: a campaign produced 20 inquiries, of which 6 met the agreed qualification criteria. Report both figures and define the criteria. Then investigate the other 14 and any incomplete follow-up records before deciding where to increase spend. These are example numbers, not Mithril client results.
- Total inquiries
- What activity does the report capture?
- Qualified inquiries
- What agreed criteria define a useful inquiry?
- Missing context
- Which records and follow-up details are incomplete?
- The decision
- What should you investigate before changing spend?