Key Performance Indicators, KPI for short, are the metrics that show whether you are on track toward your goals. Think of them as your organization's instrument panel. They translate strategy into concrete signals per team. Think of conversion per step in the customer journey, ticket turnaround time, or revenue per segment. Preferably use a mix of leading indicators (predictive signals, such as number of qualified appointments) and lagging indicators (outcome measures, such as turnover and retention).
Why Key Performance Indicators?
Without KPI you steer on feelings, with KPI you steer on facts. KPI give focus, make progress visible and speed up decisions. Teams discuss the same figures, recognize bottlenecks earlier and can test which action works. That gives peace in the operation and more pace in growth.
How do you set up Key Performance Indicators?
Start with your goal and work back to the behavior that predicts the goal. Choose a small number of key metrics for each team. Define exactly what you measure, what source you use and who owns it. Also define what good, neutral and action required means. Make it measurable in your CRM or other source system and test the definition with all stakeholders. Conclude with a simple OKR (Objectives and Key Results) cycle where you reconcile goals and results each quarter.
Example. If you want to increase new sales, then marketing can drive on qualified leads MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead), sales on conversations with decision makers SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) and service on renewals retention. Together they form a KPI tree that contributes to the same North Star metric (overarching key objective).
How do you manage on Key Performance Indicators?
Create rhythm. Plan a short progress moment weekly and a deeper one monthly. Always look at trend, context and cause. If a KPI is red, choose one action holder, determine the next experiment step and check the outcome in the next meeting. Use dashboard notes for decisions, so knowledge doesn't get lost in separate emails. Link KPI to enablement, i.e. training, playbooks and tooling, so that improvement actually lands. If you want to know how to get teams aligned, read our article on alignment.
What apps do you use for Key Performance Indicators?
The best app is where your data originates, complemented by a clear layer for reporting.
HubSpot is the central foundation for many B2B teams. You manage contacts, deals, tickets and campaigns in the same CRM and build reports and dashboards on them.
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Google Looker Studio is useful for marketing and traffic from different data sources.
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Microsoft Power BI works well for organization-wide analytics and links to financial data.
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Google Sheets or Excel are perfect for prototyping and quick analyses.
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Databox and Klipfolio are useful for mobile kpi boards and goal tracking.
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Slack or Microsoft Teams can show notifications when a limit is reached, so everyone sees immediately what needs attention.
HubSpot interfaces with all these apps via standard integrations or the API. Benefits: a single customer view without separate exports, automatic alerts in Slack or Teams, dashboards in Databox or Klipfolio fed directly from your CRM, and easy data flow through to Looker Studio or Power BI. Result: less manual work, faster insights and less chance of errors.
What does HubSpot bring to this area?
HubSpot turns KPI into not single numbers but daily steering. You set definitions in the CRM, assign owners and set goals for each team with goals. Then you link each KPI to the appropriate source data, such as contacts, deals, tickets or campaigns. Alerts and notifications allow you to take immediate action when a threshold is exceeded. This keeps KPI alive in the operation instead of a monthly retrospective.
HubSpot has a powerful report builder that lets you create reports on contacts, deals, tickets and campaigns, as well as cross object. You build funnels, attribution reports, cohort and trend analysis, set goals by team, share dashboards with permissions and send automatic email updates to stakeholders. You create filters, segments and date windows per user or per team. This makes reporting a regular part of steering and not just a monthly export.
On top of that, the report builder provides exactly what you need to steer by KPI. You create reports on multiple objects, build funnels for throughput, attribution reports for channel contribution and cohort or trend analyses for development over time. You bundle these reports into dashboards per target group, set permissions, add short descriptions and send automatic email updates to stakeholders. With filters and date selections per user, everyone sees only what is relevant. Result: one truth, clear focus and faster decisions.
Here's how to do it
Start with the question, not the graph. Determine which object you need, such as contact, deal, ticket or campaign, and which properties count. Then build the right report type. Consider a funnel report for your pipeline, an attribution report for channel contribution, or a service report for response times and satisfaction.
Bundle reports into a dashboard by audience. Create an executive dashboard with the North Star metric, revenue and retention, a marketing dashboard with reach, conversion and CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), a sales dashboard with pipeline quality and success rates, and a service dashboard with CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score), NPS (Net Promoter Score) and CES (Customer Effort Score). Add descriptions, set up e-mail updates and use alerts when a value goes above or below the threshold. This way, the dashboard becomes a working tool and not just a picture.
How does Bright Digital help with this?
Bright Digital helps link your strategy to daily steering. We start with a short KPI scan in which we focus on goals, definitions and data sources. Next, together we design a KPI tree per phase of the customer journey, determine ownership and set norm values. Then we set up HubSpot as a central source of truth. We customize fields and views, build data quality workflows, and set up dashboards that fit your consultation structure. Finally, we train teams, document the work in practical playbooks, and schedule monthly reviews. The result is clarity, faster learning and an organization that steers by data instead of feeling.
Ready to steer on the right KPI and accelerate your growth
Schedule a scan via our contact page. We'll map out your key steering metrics and deliver a concrete improvement plan with quick wins and next steps.
