Killer OKRs for customer marketing success

Without goals and measurement, an organization is just a collection of activities. It’s like sailing a ship without a compass; the crew might be busy, but does the captain know where they’re going?  To achieve business growth and market leadership, a company needs a clear destination and a measurable roadmap to get there. That’s where OKRs come in.

What are OKRs?

OKRs, short for Objectives and Key Results, are a framework for setting and tracking organizational goals. Created by Intel CEO Andy Grove in the 1970s, they have since been adopted by industry leaders like Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Uber to drive growth, innovation, and alignment.  

The framework’s flexibility and emphasis on transparency and accountability make it a powerful tool for focusing teams and achieving goals.

Specifically, OKRs define "Objectives" for the team or company and map "Key Results" at the team level that are necessary to achieve them.  Unlike KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), which are often more static measures of performance, OKRs help motivate progress by keeping an inspiring "Objective" in sight and encouraging ambitious, yet achievable, efforts to get there.

Setting effective OKRs for your marketing team

There are generally four keys to writing effective OKRs:

Ensure company-wide alignment

Mapping your OKRs to overall company goals and full-year strategy is critical to everyone’s success. Start with company-wide objectives (usually set at the C-Level), then focus on what your team can do to achieve them. 

Every OKR should have a clear line-of-sight to a company-wide goal. This drives the alignment of effort, resources, and budget. 

Simply put, it ensures that everyone is rowing in the same direction. Don’t be afraid to rethink an existing team goal and the underlying activity if it doesn’t map to a company-wide objective. That underscores the value of OKRs.

Be specific when setting goals

Setting clear and measurable objectives and results is critical for marketing success. OKRs should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (otherwise known as SMART.)  For example, instead of saying, “Improve website performance,” try, “Increase conversion rate by 20%.”  

OKRs should be achievable, but that doesn’t mean easy. Goals that bring a little discomfort are a good thing; they force you and your team to think out of the box, experiment with new concepts, and push beyond the tried-and-true.

Set time frames

The “T” in SMART stands for Time-Bound, and it’s one of the most important factors in designing successful OKRs. Each Key Result should have a time frame associated with it. If it’s a full-year goal, consider breaking it down into quarterly targets. This ensures progress and allows for course correction throughout the year.

Be ambitious with OKRs

OKRs should be achievable, but that doesn’t mean easy. Goals that bring a little discomfort are a good thing; they force you and your team to think out of the box, experiment with new concepts, and push beyond the tried-and-true. 

Goals shouldn’t be impossible, but they should be next-level. (That’s why I’ve long thought that the “A” in SMART should stand for “Ambitious” rather than “Achievable.”) 

Important OKRs for customer marketing

When defining OKRs, you should keep them focused on the company’s top priorities. Generally, you should want no more than 3-5 Objectives and, similarly, no more than 3-5 Key Results for each Objective. 

The specifics will vary from company to company and year to year, based on the business's needs. What’s working, what needs attention, and what opportunities or challenges your business or industry faces will all determine which OKRs rise to the top.

That said, the following eight OKR frameworks should apply to one degree or another for most DTC Brands. They provide a good starting point when considering what OKRs give your team the best revenue and profit growth opportunities for the coming year.  (Target numbers are presented for directional purposes. Specifics will vary for each company.) 

Objective 1: Enhance brand engagement

Often written as Brand Awareness, I prefer Brand Engagement as a more substantial measure of Brand Awareness efforts, and a way to avoid awareness for the sake of awareness. 

Key Results:

• Grow social media followers by 50% across all platforms
• Increase social media interaction (likes, comments, shares) by 25%
• Grow traffic from organic channels (search and social) to 20% of total visits
• Expand your influencer network to increase influencer-driven traffic by 20%

Objective 2: Increase customer acquisition

Attracting new customers is vital for DTC business growth and will almost always be included as an OKR, though specific Key Results may vary based on growth strategy and priorities.

Key Results:

• Deliver 100,000 New Customers (20,000 per quarter in Q1-Q3 and 40,000 in Q4)
• Manage blended Customer Acquisition Cost (across all channels) to $65 or less
• Improve Conversion Rate across all marketing channels by 20%.
• Increase acquisition from Owned Channels (email, referral, etc) to 15% of all new customers

Objective 3: Boost customer retention

Retaining current customers is equally important for base growth. Without it, you end up with a “leaky bucket,” and your acquisition efforts will have to work twice as hard.

Key Results

• Reduce Quarterly Churn Rate (no purchase in last three months) by 10%
• Increase Early Repeat Rate (repeat purchase within first three months) by 15%
• Implement a Loyalty Program with at least 30% of the base participating
• For subscription services:  Improve annual plan Renewal Rate by 20%

Objective 4: Improve monthly ARPU

In addition to keeping customers longer, you’ll want to increase their monthly spending, which is otherwise known as Average Revenue per User (ARPU). 

What’s more, Retention and ARPU combine for Customer Lifetime Value (or LTV), which is a critical metric for the overall health of your business. (The more you grow the value of an average customer, the more you can spend to acquire them.) 

Key Results

• Increase monthly APRU by 5% each quarter (21% for the year)
• Increase revenue from upsell and cross-sell by 50%
• Increase revenue from subscriptions and auto-ship by 30%

Objective 5: Grow customer advocacy

Loyal customers are often an untapped resource for fueling brand awareness and base growth. Prioritizing efforts to empower and expand their advocacy to OKR-level focus is well worth considering.

Key Results

• Increase Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 10 points
• Improve refer-a-friend participation to drive 15% of all new customers  
• Generate 500 positive reviews on major review platforms

Objective 6: Optimize paid media performance

Paid media typically constitutes the most significant portion of a DTC marketing budget. While essential to a broader channel mix strategy encompassing owned and organic channels, paid media’s impact on DTC revenue growth and profitability is critical.

Key Results

• Increase ad spend efficiency (measured as Return on Ad Spend, or ROAS) by 20%
• Diversity paid media mix with the launch of 3-5 new paid media channels, driving 20% of new customers
• Drive 30% improvement in new customers from remarketing programs

Objective 7: Amplify revenue from CRM channels

As “owned media,” your CRM channels are an extremely cost-effective way to drive engagement, revenue, and loyalty. But it’s important to set Key Results with an eye toward revenue rather than the more diagnostic measures of open rate and click-through. 

Key Results

• Increase revenue-per-1000 sends (email and SMS) by 20%
• Improve email conversion rate (measured against total sends) by 15%
• Improve 30-day conversion rate (driven by CRM nurture programs) by 30%
• Increase email/SMS capture by 20% (and target a capture rate of at least 10% of visitors)

Objective 8: Improve website performance

While it doesn’t always fall under the marketing team’s purview (depending on the organizational structure), website performance should always be considered and accounted for in the marketing-triggered customer journey. 

Key Results

• Improve conversion rate by 15%
• Increase average-order-value (AOV) by 10%
• Reduce cart abandonment rate by 25%

While these examples are based on real world use cases, they are still just examples. They’re presented as thought-starters for prioritization and measurement. Work with these, but make them your own to ensure that your specific OKRs align with your overall business goals and strategy.

Tips for successfully implementing OKRs

Now that you’ve set your OKRs, there are still a few items that need consideration to ensure their effectiveness throughout your organization.

Be sure to celebrate successes. There is no better way to maintain motivation and momentum than to recognize and commemorate achieved OKRs and milestones.

Ensure transparent tracking

Consistent and easy-to-access tracking of the Key Results noted is crucial for effective OKRs. Use tools designed for OKR tracking and management to keep everything organized and transparent. Your customer data platform (CDP) and CRM system should be invaluable here. Ensure that the Key Results you choose are set up as trackable goals within your CRM system wherever possible.

Conduct regular reviews 

OKRs are meant to be a living roadmap for activity and results. Regularly assess progress against your OKRs (monthly and quarterly) and adjust as needed to stay on track. 

Be sure to celebrate successes. There is no better way to maintain motivation and momentum than to recognize and commemorate achieved OKRs and milestones.

Communicate results company-wide 

Ideally, OKRs are embraced company-wide and become a tool for ongoing alignment, recognition, and course correction. 

To ensure that everyone in the organization understands the OKRs and their role in achieving them, use them as the framework for monthly or quarterly updates, whether conveyed via email or shared in interdepartmental meetings. Encourage collaboration and feedback from stakeholders throughout the process.

Stay agile

Both external market forces and internal business needs may shift during the year. This may necessitate adjustments to Objectives due to strategic shifts or updates to Key Results due to emerging challenges or opportunities.  

While OKRs shouldn’t be changed casually, you should be open to the possibility that priorities may shift and nimble in adjusting them accordingly. Quarterly checkpoints are usually a good time for these discussions, as they provide a natural “pitstop” to assess status.

Turning OKRs into your Northstar for success

When properly crafted and implemented, OKRs are a vital tool for steering customer marketing efforts toward success. By setting clear, measurable, and ambitious goals, you can align your team, mobilize resources, and ultimately drive impactful revenue growth.  

Leveraging your CDP and CRM systems to track progress and implement key programs will help ensure your success. So dive in, set your OKRs, and let your marketing efforts set sail!

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