We’ve all felt it. The high of seeing that spike in followers, the pride in a post going viral, the rush when likes and comments boost engagement and get our notifications popping on the cell phone screen. But I’m going to say something that might sting a little: those metrics are pointless if they don’t tie into real business outcomes.
When I launched my first business, GiGi’s Dance Academy in 2003, social media wasn’t a thing. Success was measure exclusively in number of clients and profits. Fast forward to social media hitting the stage and the birth of my coaching company Seizing Happy® I quickly became obsessed with “reach” and “likes.” My dashboard lit up. My ego soared. But at the end of the month, my bank balance told a different story. I had traffic, but not profits. I had comments, but not conversions. I had attention, but not sustainability.
That experience taught me that there are three metrics that matter far more than mere visibility. They’re not flashy, but they’re meaningful. They’re the ones that grow businesses, not just egos.
1. Profit Margins — not just Sales
It’s tempting to celebrate revenue leaps. But revenue doesn’t pay the rent. Profit does. In fact, many small businesses report average net profit margins of roughly 7–10%. (venasolutions.com) Some industry analysis places the average net margin across U.S. enterprises at about 8.5%. (venasolutions.com)
Here’s the shift I make: rather than asking “How much did I sell?” I ask “How much did I keep?” If you sell $100,000 and your net margin is 8 %, you keep $8,000. If you sell $80,000 and your margin is 12 %, you keep $9,600. Suddenly the lower sales number wins.
“We don’t grow a business by chasing revenue alone — we grow it by expanding the slice we keep of each sale.”
Tracking margin means tracking cost of goods sold, overhead, waste, time, and even your own salary. It helps you see whether your business model is truly viable or only looks successful on paper. Aileen Martinez, master bookkeeper and founder of Rise Up Bookkeeping, says most entrepreneurs overlook this entirely: “Revenue is a feel-good number, but profit tells the truth. I always remind my clients that every dollar you don’t track has the potential to quietly disappear. You can’t grow what you don’t measure.”
2. Conversions — not just Engagement
Engagement makes us feel good: likes, shares, comments. But engagement rarely equals clients taking action to buy. Conversions, the portion of your audience who move from interest to purchase, or from visitor to lead, are what actually move revenue.
Industry benchmarks show that landing-page conversion rates across all industries are around 6.6 % as of Q4 2024. (unbounce.com) On a broader scale, average website conversion rates should sit around 2–3 %. (invespcro.com)
To give these numbers meaning, if you had 1,000 website visitors and a 2% conversion rate, that’s 20 leads or buyers. With the same traffic of 1,000 website visitors and a 6% conversion rate, it’s 60 sales. That’s 3× the results, without tripling spend.
Likes feel good. Conversions feel real and they bring cash in the door.
To move from engagement to conversion, treat every click as a step in the funnel, optimize your landing pages, make your offer crystal clear, and test relentlessly. Because conversion rate is a lever you can pull whereas things like changing algorithms, lack of posting consistency can make “reach” beyond your control. If you have 10 minutes, grab my $7 Clarity Kickstart Assessment to find the exact place your business is losing momentum.
3. Client Retention & Lifetime Value — not just New-Customer Counts
Bringing in new customers is exciting, but keeping them is far more profitable. The lifetime value (LTV) of a client — how much they spend over time — and your retention rate tell you whether your business is built for tomorrow, not just today.
This is one of the key reasons I built the Simple Business System program for my clients, to teach them the best way to package their genius and have their clients become lifelong.
I’ve found many businesses chase new leads at high cost, while ignoring the goldmine of existing clients. If you increase retention by even 5%, studies show profits can grow by 25–95%.
Tracking retention means you look at churn (how many leave), repeat purchase rate (how many come back), and upsell/cross-sell rates (how many spend more later). These are the metrics that build a sustainable business — the kind that can weather nearly anything because your client loyalty remains regardless of what’s happening outside your business.
4. Putting It All Together: What to Do Now
So what’s the action plan? Here’s how I apply this in my business and how I coach my clients to do the same.
- Calculate your current net profit margin. Revenue minus all costs (including your time) divided by revenue. Is it above ~7–10% benchmark? If not, ask what costs you can reduce, what you can charge differently, what you can remove entirely.
- Measure conversion rates along your funnel. From traffic → lead → buyer → repeat buyer. If a landing page is converting under ~3–4%, commit to testing and improving until you reach 5–6%+ (or better, depending on your niche). Don’t be afraid to ask your community for their thoughts like “what kept you from buying?” “What made you want to buy?” “What is clear or not clear about the offer?”
- Track retention and lifetime value. Calculate how much a client is worth over their lifetime. If most of your profit comes from one-time purchases, consider creating offers or services that encourage return business with fantastic value that increases loyalty, referrals and reviews.
- Abandon metrics that don’t feed outcomes. Followers, impressions, page views are fun but if they’re not tied to leads, sales, higher margin, or repeat business, they can distract more than they help. Choose to focus on what converts, after all we got into business for financial freedom, not likes.
When I shifted from celebrating “500 new followers” to celebrating “5 new high-profit clients” my business finally gave me the freedom I had been posting for. When I stopped measuring “traffic” and started measuring “how many converted” my efforts felt sharper and my motivation stayed stronger longer because I was actually seeing results. And when I focused on “how many clients came back” as much as I focused on “how many clients came in” my business truly bloomed.
Yes, it’s more complex than counting likes. But business is more than social proof. Business is proof in the bank (and on the books).
Here’s to tracking what matters — and building something that lasts.
