A north star metric (NSM) is the number that captures the core of your value proposition AND shows whether your organization is growing. It is the measurable promise you make to your customer. For example, for Spotify that might be "listening minutes per user," for Airbnb it might be "nights booked," and for a B2B SaaS company it might be "active accounts per month." It is not an arbitrary KPI (Key Performance Indicator), but the metric that all other metrics point to.
Why a north star metric?
Many organizations manage on a forest of KPIs. This leads to fragmentation, loose priorities and endless discussions. An NSM provides direction. Teams better understand what their work contributes to, decisions become simpler and investments easier to justify. It prevents confusing growth with busyness: only actions that increase the NSM really count.
How do you set up a north star metric?
Start with your customer: what behaviors show that someone experiences value from your product or service? Choose a metric that has three characteristics:
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customer-centric: shows that customers are really using your value proposition;
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predictive: if this metric increases, sales growth will follow almost automatically;
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simple: everyone in the organization understands it in one sentence.
Then work this into a KPI tree: supporting metrics per department that contribute to the NSM. This way you link daily steering (e.g. response time or conversion) to your main goal.
For whom is a north star metric relevant?
For organizations that are growing and need focus. Scale ups use the NSM to keep investors and teams focused, corporates use it to combat fragmentation, and B2B companies use it to get marketing, sales and service moving in the same direction. Whether you have five or five hundred employees, a clear NSM speeds the path to sustainable growth.
Examples of north star metrics by industry
The right north star metric varies by industry and even by organization. Whereas a SaaS company focuses on active users, e-commerce often focuses on repeat purchases and average order value. In the manufacturing industry, lead time and contract value play a bigger role, while in business services, customer satisfaction and repeat business are important. Here are some examples by industry to make the difference concrete.
Software/SaaS
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HubSpot: number of active accounts logging in weekly and experiencing value.
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Spotify: number of listening minutes per user per month.
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Slack: number of messages sent per active organization.
E-commerce
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Number of repeat purchases per customer within 6 months.
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Average order value combined with order frequency.
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Percentage of customers returning after first purchase.
Manufacturing
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Number of active contracts or maintenance orders per month.
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Average lead time from quotation to production order.
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Customer satisfaction (NPS) linked to repeat orders.
Business services.
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Number of repeat customers per quarter.
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Number of projects completed within scope and budget.
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Hours spent versus billable revenue.
B2B technology/IT.
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Number of companies using software weekly for critical process.
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Number of tickets resolved via self-service (service efficiency).
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Percentage of new deals coming from existing accounts (upsell/cross-sell).
How do you report a north star metric in HubSpot?
In HubSpot CRM, you capture your NSM as a goal and link it to supporting KPIs. You build dashboards that focus on the NSM, with underlying reports on marketing, sales and service. Think about:
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retention and expansion with existing customers.
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lead time from first contact to customer.
HubSpot Goals, custom properties and cross object reports help to continuously track NSM. Combine this with alerts in Slack or Teams so deviations are immediately visible.
How does Bright help with this?
Bright helps organizations to sharply define and translate their north star metric into practice. We start with a short workshop in which we map customer value, goals and existing KPIs. Together we determine the right NSM and build a KPI structure that provides direction. Then we set up HubSpot so that the NSM is always visible: properties, workflows and dashboards tailored to your process. Finally, we train teams in how to use it so that every decision contributes to the same goal.
Want to focus your organization on what really matters?
Schedule an introduction via our contact page and find out how we bring your north star metric to life.
