Why don’t people use their turn signal?
One of the core metrics I help customers define are what I call Turn Signals.
You could also call them Decision Metrics.
These are specifically defined metrics that are connected to a decision or “turn” you will make. Often, those I work with struggle with this concept at the beginning, so here are a couple of different ways to approach them. This always happens after you have defined Destination and Waypoint metrics.
Two main ways to figure out Turn Signals:
Option 1) —> Start with what you are already measuring. And turn them into decisions.
You likely already have some important things in mind you are measuring. Work backward from the measurement to identify what decision should be made connected with that measurement.
Example: You might start with tracking the conversion rate for website visitors. Turning it into a decision metric means defining “we will A/B test our landing page. When the conversion rate between the two pages is +- X%, we adjust traffic flow toward the higher converting page.”
Option 2) —> Start with your dilemma. What key decisions do you face that are crucial to helping you reach your destination?
You start with a blank slate for the metric. Explore what the key decisions are that you regularly make that are connected to your Destination metric.
Example: Destination metric is to grow donor base, and newsletter subscriber is a key waypoint. You are regularly faced with a decision about what to do with the landing page to convert the most subscribers. So you define a decision metric like this: “we will A/B test our landing page. When the conversion rate between the two pages is +- X%, we adjust traffic flow toward the higher converting page.”
Those are two methods that lead you to the same Turn-Signal; when to change traffic to another landing page. Deciding what that conversion rate % difference should be is an important part of defining the metrics.
As a leader, you are a full-time decision-maker. Turn-Signals are a fundamental way of turning your decision-making into into an informed and data-driven process.
I’m here,
Sawyer
