Why agency KPIs make or break your marketing ROI
When you partner with an agency, success hinges on clear, consistent agency KPIs. Without them, you can’t spot wins, fix leaks, or forecast budget. With them, you and your agency speak the same data language—turning gut feelings into board-ready proof.
The 7 Core agency KPIs (and Their Cadence)
1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Report: Monthly & quarterly
- Why it matters: Measures spend efficiency across all paid efforts.
2. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)
- Report: Weekly roll-up, monthly deep dive
- Why it matters: Shows pipeline health before revenue rolls in.
3. Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate
- Report: Monthly
- Why it matters: Reveals sales-funnel friction and nurture gaps.
4. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
- Report: Weekly, with campaign-level breakouts
- Why it matters: A real-time pulse on paid-media profitability.
5. Lifetime Value (LTV)
- Report: Quarterly
- Why it matters: Tells whether CAC and retention strategies are sustainable.
6. Pipeline Velocity
- Report: Monthly
- Why it matters: Combines deal size, win rate, and sales-cycle length for forecasting.
7. Net Revenue Retention (or Churn)
- Report: Monthly & quarterly
- Why it matters: Indicates product–market fit and customer success traction.
| KPI | Report Weekly | Report Monthly | Report Quarterly |
| CAC | — | ✔ | ✔ |
| MQLs | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| Lead-to-Customer Rate | — | ✔ | — |
| ROAS | ✔ | — | — |
| LTV | — | — | ✔ |
| Pipeline Velocity | — | ✔ | — |
| Net Revenue Retention | — | ✔ | ✔ |
(Internal link: /resources/agency-kpi-tracker-sheet)
How to Ensure Your agency KPIs Stay Accurate
- Align Attribution Models – Mismatch here skews ROAS.
- Audit Data Hygiene Monthly – Broken UTMs wreck CAC math.
- Standardize Definitions – “Lead” vs. “MQL” must match HubSpot/Salesforce fields.
Red Flags in agency KPIs Reporting
- Same numbers every month (copy-paste alerts).
- Inconsistent date ranges across dashboards.
- Over-reliance on vanity metrics (impressions, likes).
Best Practices for Presenting agency KPIs
- Single Source of Truth: One live dashboard everyone can view.
- Narrative Commentary: Data plus insights, not just spreadsheets.
- Action Items: Each KPI slide ends with “next move” bullets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many agency KPIs should be in my contract?
Seven core metrics are ideal; add niche KPIs only if they influence revenue.
Q: Can I demand weekly LTV reports?
Technically yes, but LTV shifts slowly; quarterly is more insightful.
Conclusion
Dialing in the right agency KPIs—and reviewing them on the correct cadence—turns agency relationships from hopeful experiments into predictable revenue engines. Share this list with your current or future partner, lock in the reporting schedule, and watch transparency fuel growth.
