Why B2B Marketers Struggle With Setting KPIs (And How to Overcome It)

The landscape of B2B marketing accountability has fundamentally shifted. What was once acceptable—tracking basic metrics like website traffic and social media engagement—has evolved into a more complex demand for measurable business impact. This evolution isn’t just about new tools or technologies; it’s about the changing expectations of what marketing teams must deliver and prove.

As a marketing services agency working in the industrial space, we’ve experienced this transformation firsthand. Our journey from helping clients establish basic marketing foundations to developing sophisticated, data-driven programs mirrors the industry’s broader evolution. The pressure to demonstrate ROI has become increasingly intense, especially for initiatives that traditionally felt intangible or hard to measure.

This shift has created a unique tension for marketing leaders. While the tools for measuring marketing impact are more powerful than ever, the challenge of confidently setting and committing to specific KPIs has never been more daunting.

Common Sources of KPI Hesitation

Hesitation #1: Fear of Setting the Wrong Benchmarks

The challenge of setting the right benchmarks can cause even the most experienced marketing teams to suffer from “analysis paralysis.” We’ve witnessed this hesitation firsthand in our work with industrial and construction clients. When transitioning from basic marketing metrics to more sophisticated KPIs, the questions inevitably arise: “What actually constitutes good performance? How do we know if we are truly winning?”

This uncertainty is particularly acute when dealing with evolving marketing programs. For example, the benchmarks became increasingly nuanced as organizations moved from fundamental activities like website development and sales sheets to more complex initiatives like account-based marketing and content programs. Industry averages might suggest one target, while your specific market context demands another.

Hesitation #2: Data Quality Issues

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of setting KPIs is the journey from basic data tracking to meaningful measurement. We discovered this while building marketing data programs for our industrial clients. Initially, simply visualizing website traffic, social media engagement, and email marketing metrics felt like a significant step forward. However, the real challenge emerged when stakeholders began asking deeper questions.

A perfect example of this disconnect: We once inherited a Google Ads program where the previous agency proudly touted “above industry average” click-through rates and impressions. Yet the client was frustrated by poor lead quality. Upon investigation, we discovered the ad strategy was targeting end-users rather than ideal B2B customers. This scenario highlights a crucial lesson: not all data correlates perfectly, and raw numbers rarely tell the complete story. Sometimes, what appears to be strong performance by industry standards can mask fundamental strategic misalignment.

We’ve seen other instances where website sessions might be down, yet RFQ submissions were breaking records. The key lies in understanding which metrics really matter for your specific business objectives and how they connect to actual outcomes.

Hesistation #3: Accountability Concerns

The stakes feel particularly high when setting concrete KPIs. Through our experience with email marketing campaigns targeting warm prospects, we learned to set specific benchmarks:

• 2-3% conversion to legitimate sales opportunities
• 8-10 highly interested prospects per 1,000 contacts
• 60-70% open rates

While these numbers provide valuable guidance, they also create vulnerability. Every marketing leader knows that missing publicly stated targets can impact credibility and relationships with stakeholders.

The Psychology Behind KPI Resistance

For many B2B marketing leaders, the resistance to setting firm KPIs goes beyond practical concerns. It taps into deeper psychological barriers that, while rarely discussed openly, significantly influence decision-making.

The transition from tracking basic metrics to committing to specific performance targets represents a fundamental shift in vulnerability. When we began setting concrete benchmarks for our industrial clients—like predicting 2-3% conversion rates to legitimate sales opportunities from email campaigns—we faced our own internal hesitation. The fear wasn’t just about missing numbers; it was about putting a stake in the ground that would define success or failure.

How to Break Through the Hesitation

Step 1: Start with Confidence

The path to confident KPI setting begins with acknowledging that perfect prediction doesn’t exist. Our approach evolved from simply showing dashboards and data decks to developing frameworks that tell a complete data story. We learned that success comes from:

• Building baseline metrics into the first few data meetings
• Connecting various marketing metrics to show the full picture of performance
• Understanding that not all metrics will correlate perfectly, and that’s okay

Step 2: Create a Safe Learning Environment

The key to successful KPI implementation lies in fostering an environment where both quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback shape the story. While data visualization and tracking are crucial, some of our most valuable indicators come from the human side of the business:

• Sales team enthusiasm about sharing social media content, indicating strong alignment with their needs
• Direct feedback from sales about lead quality from website submissions
• Cross-departmental conversations that go beyond numbers to discuss the real business impact

This blend of hard metrics and real-world feedback creates a more complete picture of marketing success. When a sales team is excited to share content or reports higher-quality leads, it validates our metrics in ways that pure numbers cannot. These qualitative wins often precede the quantitative improvements we see in our dashboards.

Step 3: Build Your Support System

Success in KPI implementation requires more than just internal commitment. We found that building confidence in our metrics came from:

• Aggregating data across our portfolio to identify patterns and typical win rates
• Using industry benchmarks as starting points while developing our own historical data
• Creating systems to track and visualize the connective tissue between different marketing activities

Moving Forward: Your Action Plan

Weeks 1–2: Assessment

The journey toward meaningful KPIs begins with a thorough understanding of both your data landscape and your human touchpoints. Start by:

• Auditing current data availability across all marketing channels
• Identifying key stakeholders, especially sales team members who can provide real-world feedback
• Defining what success looks like from both a metrics and business impact perspective

Weeks 3–4: Framework Development

With your baseline understanding in place, develop a framework that connects marketing activities to business outcomes:

• Select initial KPIs that balance quantitative metrics with qualitative feedback
• Establish baseline measurements using a combination of:
  • Historical performance data
  • Industry benchmarks
  • Sales team input on lead quality and content effectiveness
• Create a review process that encourages open dialogue between marketing and sales

Month 2: Implementation

Launch your measurement system with an emphasis on learning and adjustment:

• Begin collecting data while actively seeking feedback from sales teams
• Implement regular check-ins to discuss both metrics and real-world impact
• Establish a cadence for reviewing and adjusting KPIs based on both quantitative and qualitative insights

From Hesitation to Confidence

The journey from basic metric tracking to confident KPI setting isn’t just about better data – it’s about better business conversations. As we’ve experienced with our industrial clients, the most powerful moments come when data aligns with real-world feedback: sales teams enthusiastically sharing content, quality leads flowing through the pipeline, and stakeholders engaged in strategic discussions rather than just reviewing numbers.

Remember that perfect prediction doesn’t exist, but progress does. Start with the metrics you have, incorporate feedback from your sales team, and build a framework that tells your complete marketing story. Success isn’t just about hitting numbers; it’s about creating meaningful dialogue between marketing activities and business outcomes.