Ask HN: What are some interesting metrics for a B2B startup?
We see a lot on HN about metrics: it is mostly a matter of growing fast and getting traction. This is all focused on consumer startups though: The traction you are getting, are you on your way to hit a million users, do you see a hockey-stick growth rate, etc.
But what about business-to-business startups? I am the CTO of a B2B startup, and for now we are working under the radar, talking to a few businesses and gauging interest to define what our product and service offering needs to look like to be sexy for them.
Are there any common metrics in the B2B world that kind of work? Here are my favorites: Qualified Lead Velocity Rate (via Jason Lemkin) - http://saastr.com/2012/12/12/why-lead-velocity-rate-lvr-is-t... Are you able to sustainably grow qualified leads? Distribution and sales needs to be predictable (as Aaron Ross says) so that you can do it over and over, not just one-offs. Cohort Growth (via Armando Mann) - http://prezi.com/dyny1qyjsvri/acquisition-engine-draper-univ... Cohort Growth is being able to demonstrate that every so often you are increasing your ability to derive value from a set of customers (higher retention, more upsells, lower costs). Basically the second order of LTV. So those above are for B2B startups that are already growing. The basic metrics for B2B startups (e.g/i.e. SaaS) is LTV (lifetime value of customer), CAC (customer acquisition cost), retention/churn, revenue, virality coefficient (referral effectiveness), etc. All this being said, I wouldn't automatically discount all consumer startup metrics. A lot of metrics I learned from the casual gaming industry are just as relevant in b2b, just in a different flavor and numbers. Thanks a lot ! As for discarding the consumer startup metrics, of course not, but having worked in a high-growth consumer startup before with millions of users, I am a bit lost when I see number 3 or 4 orders of magnitude below what I am used to.
Thanks !