Who This Helps
This is for growth marketers who track 20 numbers but still don't know which lever to pull next. If you're tired of noisy updates and want to focus effort on the one move that actually moves a channel metric, you're in the right place. The Metrics & Dashboards Basics course is built for exactly this.
Mini Case
Meet Maya. She runs growth at a SaaS startup. Every Monday, her team reports 15 different metrics. Last month, they ran 4 experiments at once. Only one showed a 12% lift in sign-ups. The rest? Flat. Maya wasted 3 weeks on low-impact tests. She needed a system to prioritize the next experiment without guesswork.
Maya used the Weekly Scoreboard mission from the course. She picked her North Star Metric (weekly active users), defined 3 supporting metrics (trial starts, activation rate, referral invites), and set realistic targets. Now her Monday meetings are 15 minutes, and she knows exactly which experiment to run next.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick your North Star Metric. Choose one primary number that reflects real value for users. For Maya, it was weekly active users. Keep it simple.
- Define 3 supporting metrics. These are the levers that move your North Star. Maya used trial starts, activation rate, and referral invites. Write them down with clear definitions.
- Set realistic targets. Don't guess. Use last month's average as a baseline. Add a 10% stretch goal. For example, if activation rate was 40%, target 44%.
- Build a weekly scoreboard. List your North Star and supporting metrics in a single dashboard. Update it every Monday. Add guardrails: if a metric drops below 90% of target, flag it.
- Prioritize one experiment per week. Look at the flagged metric. That's your highest-impact move. Run one experiment to fix it. No more than one at a time.
Avoid These Traps
- Tracking too many numbers. If you have more than 5 metrics on your scoreboard, you're spreading focus. Cut down to 4 max.
- Setting targets without data. Guessing leads to false alarms. Use historical data for baselines.
- Running multiple experiments at once. You won't know what worked. Run one, measure, then move.
- Ignoring guardrails. A drop below 90% of target is a signal. Act on it within 48 hours.
- Making the dashboard cluttered. Use clear sections: North Star at top, supporting metrics below. Less is more.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you'll have a one-page weekly scoreboard with your North Star metric, 3 supporting metrics, and realistic targets. You'll know exactly which experiment to prioritize next. No more guesswork. Just calm, focused decisions. And honestly, that feels way better than chasing 20 numbers every Monday.