Marketers May Make Bad Decisions Based On Metrics

Marketing teams often focus on lead generation and cost per lead, according to MarTech. However, this focus may not translate to more pipeline if the leads are not qualified.

Lead volume is a primary measure of success for many marketers, which can lead to favoring campaigns that generate more leads at a lower cost. This may result in pursuing easier-to-acquire audiences and repeating tactics that improve numbers, even if the leads rarely become customers.

Every metric creates an incentive, whether intended or not, which shapes how teams spend time and allocate resources. When KPIs reward decisions that look good on paper but do little for the business, teams are taught to prioritize wrong outcomes.

Consider a paid media team deciding where to invest its next budget, MarTech reported. If reducing cost per click is a priority, the channel generating cheaper traffic has an immediate advantage. However, this decision may change depending on the metric used.

Dreamdata's 2026 B2B advertising benchmarks illustrate how the decision changes depending on the metric. For example, LinkedIn clicks cost more than Meta clicks, but LinkedIn's cost per company influenced was lower. A team evaluated on cost per click might favor Meta, while one focused on account-level influence could reach a different conclusion.

A metric can improve while the outcome it represents gets worse, MarTech noted. For instance, a campaign may generate more leads while lowering cost per lead, but if sales acceptance declines, leadership might question the investment. The decision depends on how many opportunities those leads generate and their potential value.

Automated optimization makes the choice of metric more consequential, as marketing platforms spend budget based on the conversion actions and values configured. Google Ads Smart Bidding, for example, uses machine learning to optimize bids for conversions or conversion value.