I’m finding great ways to use ChatGPT and am using it as a debate partner to better understand critical issues and to test my own thinking.
Yesterday, however, we struggled with each other. I sought to get it’s perspective on a certain issue and it’s thinking was flawed. At that point I started trying to coach ChatGPT. It reminded me of so many coaching sessions I’ve had with human beings.
I started asking the question, “What are the top 15 metrics CROs should be tracking?”
It returned a reasonable answer, including revenue growth, pipeline value, conversion rates, CAC/CLD and other business management metrics.
I expressed my surprise, I said, as a leader, people management issues, such as performance, development, retention, are critical, why haven’t you identified any people management/leadership metrics?
Ever polite, ChatGPT apologized and responded with 15 people management based metrics.
I thanked her, then asked, “What are the top 15 metrics CROs should be tracking?”
ChatGPT came back with the same 15 business management metrics.
I was reminded of many coaching sessions with human beings, experiencing the same thing. Initially, they seem to understand the coaching, then you review what they’ve learned–they tend to revert back to their old thinking.
Like any coach, I went back to ChatGPT, saying, “We’ve discussed the CRO job and the importance of leadership and people management skills, why aren’t you including those?”
I could tell she was getting frustrated, she was polite, apologized for misunderstanding, and came back with the 15 people management metrics from before. I think she hoped I would stop asking her the same questions. I suspect she wanted to get out of the conversation and do whatever occupies her time in the rest of the day.
I reposed the original question, “What are the top 15 metrics CROs should be tracking?” You already know what ChatGPT responded.
We went through another cycle of coaching. I asked if I was misunderstanding something, whether I might pose different questions. After a few cycles, she finally came back to me:
“Dave, I think I understand what you are trying to do, here are the top 15 business management metrics, here are the top 15 performance management/people metrics!!!!!” (I added the exclamation points, ChatGPT would never raise her voice or express her impatience.)
I thanked her for expanding her thinking about CRO metrics. I responded, “If you looked at both sets of metrics and could only choose 10 from those, what would they be?”
ChatGPT thought a little longer then normal. Then she responded with 10 metrics, a balanced set of business and people management metrics that was pretty good. I decided we had done enough and thanked her for her patience.
I concluded our session with, “To the degree a tool like you can learn from this feedback, when you look at issues like this, it’s important to have a balance of business management issues.
ChatGPT learns, she politely responded: “Thank you for your feedback. I absolutely agree with you that balancing business management and people management is crucial for effective leadership. Your point about including a balance of metrics that cover both aspects is well-taken.”
It takes time to coach and help our people learn. Apparently, it’s the same with AI.
Now the test, would you pose the same question to ChatGPT to see if she has internalized the coaching? Let me know what happens. I’ve posted the final 10 metrics she recommended, do her responses to you look similar?
ChatGPT’s final recommendations:
Apologies for any confusion caused. If we were to consolidate the metrics to a balanced set of 10 key metrics for CROs, encompassing both business performance and people management, here is a consolidated list:
- Revenue Growth Rate
- Gross Margin
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
- Customer Churn Rate
- Sales Conversion Rate
- Average Deal Size
- Employee Satisfaction and Engagement
- Employee Turnover Rate
- Training and Development Metrics
These metrics cover a broad spectrum of important factors for CROs to track, including financial performance, sales effectiveness, customer engagement, and employee satisfaction, development, and retention. By monitoring these metrics, CROs can have a balanced view of the organization’s overall health and success, while focusing on both revenue generation and people management aspects.
So, I took you up on your challenge, and the first time I asked your exact question . . .
What are the top 15 metrics CROs should be tracking?
Here were the answers . . .
Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. It is a fundamental metric that indicates the overall effectiveness of your conversion efforts.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate could indicate issues with page relevance, usability, or engagement.
Average Session Duration: The average length of time users spend on your website during a session. It provides insights into user engagement and content relevance.
Exit Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing a specific page. Identifying high exit rates on key pages can help pinpoint areas of improvement.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who click on a specific link or element, such as a call-to-action button or banner. CTR helps assess the effectiveness of your messaging and design elements.
Cart Abandonment Rate: The percentage of users who add items to their shopping cart but leave the website without completing the purchase. Tracking cart abandonment helps identify potential barriers in the checkout process.
Funnel Conversion Rates: Analyzing conversion rates at various stages of the user journey, such as landing page to sign-up, sign-up to purchase, or free trial to paid subscription. Funnel analysis helps identify areas where users drop off and optimize those stages.
Return on Investment (ROI): The financial return generated from your marketing or CRO efforts. Calculating ROI helps measure the effectiveness of your investments and justify CRO initiatives.
Revenue per Visitor (RPV): The average amount of revenue generated per visitor. RPV helps gauge the effectiveness of your monetization strategies and identify opportunities for improvement.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The total value a customer brings to your business over their lifetime as a customer. Tracking CLV helps prioritize efforts to acquire and retain high-value customers.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The cost associated with acquiring a new customer. Comparing CAC to CLV helps assess the profitability of customer acquisition efforts.
Page Load Time: The time it takes for a web page to load. Slow page load times can lead to increased bounce rates and decreased conversion rates.
Scroll Depth: The percentage of a web page that users scroll through. Tracking scroll depth helps understand user engagement and identify opportunities to optimize content placement.
A/B Test Results: Analyzing the results of A/B tests, which involve comparing two or more variations of a webpage or element to determine which performs better. A/B testing helps optimize design, messaging, and user experience.
User Feedback and Satisfaction: Collecting user feedback through surveys, interviews, or user testing sessions. Measuring user satisfaction helps uncover pain points, identify usability issues, and guide optimization efforts.
These metrics provide a holistic view of the user experience, conversion funnel, and overall business performance. By tracking and analyzing these metrics, CROs can make data-driven decisions, identify areas for improvement, and drive meaningful conversion rate optimization.
What are the top 15 metrics Chief Revenue Officers should be tracking?
ChatGPT
As Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) are responsible for driving revenue growth across the organization, tracking key metrics is crucial to assess performance and make informed decisions. While the specific metrics may vary depending on the industry and business model, here are 15 important metrics that CROs should consider tracking:
Then, I thought maybe I need to define what CRO means, so I changed from CRO to Chief Revenue Officer and received the following . . .
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): The predictable revenue generated from subscription-based products or services on a monthly basis. MRR provides insights into the stability and growth of the business.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The cost associated with acquiring a new customer. Tracking CAC helps evaluate the efficiency and profitability of sales and marketing efforts.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The total value a customer brings to the business over their lifetime. CLV helps prioritize customer segments, guide retention efforts, and optimize revenue streams.
Churn Rate: The rate at which customers cancel or discontinue their subscription or stop doing business with the company. Tracking churn helps identify customer satisfaction issues and gauge the effectiveness of retention strategies.
Customer Retention Rate: The percentage of customers retained over a given period. A high retention rate indicates customer satisfaction and loyalty, contributing to sustainable revenue growth.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): A metric that measures customer loyalty and satisfaction by asking customers how likely they are to recommend the company to others. NPS provides insights into customer advocacy and helps identify areas for improvement.
Sales Growth: The rate at which sales revenue is increasing over time. Tracking sales growth helps assess the overall health and trajectory of the business.
Average Deal Size: The average value of a closed deal or sale. Monitoring average deal size helps identify opportunities for upselling, cross-selling, or optimizing pricing strategies.
Sales Conversion Rate: The percentage of leads or opportunities that convert into closed deals. Improving the sales conversion rate can increase revenue efficiency.
Sales Cycle Length: The average time it takes to convert a lead into a closed deal. Tracking the sales cycle length helps identify bottlenecks in the sales process and optimize efficiency.
Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate: The percentage of leads that convert into paying customers. Improving lead-to-customer conversion rates increases revenue generation from existing marketing efforts.
Sales Pipeline Value: The total value of all opportunities in the sales pipeline. Tracking the pipeline value provides visibility into potential revenue and helps manage sales forecasting.
Win Rate: The percentage of opportunities or deals won compared to the total number of opportunities. A high win rate indicates sales effectiveness and successful customer acquisition.
Sales Team Performance Metrics: Tracking metrics such as individual sales rep performance, sales activity levels, quota attainment, and sales velocity. These metrics help evaluate sales team productivity and identify areas for improvement.
Market Share: The percentage of the total addressable market (TAM) that a company or product captures. Monitoring market share provides insights into competitive positioning and growth potential.
So, definitely not the exact same list, but seems more learning and leaning into business management and lost the “human” factors.