3 Metrics to Track Content Impact on Pipeline and Revenue for Sales-Led Companies

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TL;DR:

• Three key metrics to measure are content-sourced pipeline, content-accelerated pipeline, and content-influenced revenue
• It's important to track these metrics to show the impact of content on revenue and justify investments in content
• Tools like HubSpot and Salesforce may not provide detailed insights, so consider using specialized software like Letterdrop
• Marketers should focus on proving ROI and understanding the impact of their work on company revenue.

It's notoriously difficult to draw a straight line from content to revenue, especially in sales-led companies. Typically, marketers in these companies focus on leading indicators like impressions and CTR rather than revenue generated.

This is a dangerous place to be, especially as layoffs in marketing are becoming increasingly common.

At Letterdrop, we track three primary content metrics to show what revenue was influenced by content at any time before, during, and after the sales cycle.

Three New Content Attribution Metrics to Measure

There are three content attribution metrics you can measure for content to help you tie content to revenue: content-sourced pipeline, content-accelerated pipeline, and content-influenced revenue.

Here's what the attribution model looks like.

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1. Tracking Content-Sourced Pipeline

Content-sourced pipeline is an attribution model where an inbound demo or signup can be attributed after a prospect has consumed content across any channel at any point in time before it becomes a deal.

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You should also track ICP accounts in orbit and keep track of what kinds of content they're consuming.

2. Tracking Content-Accelerated Pipeline

Content-accelerated pipeline refers to consumption of content across any channel in an active sales cycle before the deal is closed.

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3. Tracking Content-Influenced Revenue

Content-influenced revenue refers to closed-won revenue where a prospect consumed content in any form before buying.

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Why Is It Important to Measure Content-Influenced Pipeline?

Content teams were hit the hardest out of all marketing departments during the 198% increase in layoffs in the US between 2022 and 2023.

Pipeline impact is the most important thing to track and what you can show to your VP and other departments when people ask why you invest in content —especially in this economy.

Of course, 100% attribution isn’t possible. But you should try to at least show directional impact of what you do on revenue.

It's difficult to get continual buy-in for content, or to find a new job in content, when all you have to share is activity and vanity metrics, not revenue.

Marketers, it's your job to prove your ROI as best you can.

How To Measure Content-Influenced Pipeline

So, how do you measure these metrics to determine content-influenced pipeline?

Unfortunately, most tools — including HubSpot and Salesforce — are not tools that are able to tell you the specific content articles or headlines that are impacting revenue. This still leaves you in the dark.

We use our own software at Letterdrop to measure content-influenced pipeline. It takes all three of these primary metrics into account to give you a detailed view of the revenue impact your content has.

Here's a demonstration.

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Learn What Content Is Influencing Revenue Automatically

The time for guesswork in marketing is long over. Know exactly what content is driving pipeline so that you can iterate and showcase the true value of your marketing efforts to leadership.