If you’re in marketing for a timber, wood product, or manufacturing business, chances are you’ve exported your share of spreadsheets, cobbled together dashboards, and still come up short when someone asks, "Is this working?"



The reality is, most marketers in the wood industry are under-resourced and over-expected. Before the "Marketing in the Wood Industry" webinar, over 70 percent of attendees reported working in teams of five or fewer, managing everything from trade shows to social media with little time for analysis.

So what should you track? These five metrics offer clarity, alignment, and strategic traction.



1. Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI)



ROMI compares revenue earned to marketing dollars spent. It pushes the conversation past vanity metrics like impressions or likes, and into budget justification.



You don’t need perfect attribution, just directional clarity. Start by tagging campaign sources in your CRM and associating them with closed deals.

2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)



CAC = Total cost of acquiring customers (ads, events, content) divided by the number of new customers. It’s your first sanity check for return on effort.

Wysocki emphasized how many companies throw budget at traditional tactics without understanding the real cost:

Knowing your CAC lets you compare trade shows versus paid search, or direct outreach versus referral programs. It’s not just what’s working, but what’s working efficiently.

3. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)

MQLs signal that someone is moving from curiosity to consideration. In industrial B2B sales, this might mean a spec request, a pricing inquiry, or a meeting booked, not just downloading a brochure.

Wysocki was clear: "Marketing should define and track MQLs in partnership with sales."



If sales says the leads aren’t any good, it’s time to refine your criteria, and maybe your campaigns.

4. Conversion Rates (Across the Funnel)



Conversion rates measure how many people take the next step: from landing page to inquiry, inquiry to call, call to proposal. It reveals where you’re losing momentum.

Mooney's story about building a newsletter that solved a communication gap highlights a key truth: sometimes the best conversion lift comes from fixing internal processes, not fancy funnels.



Track every step. If form fills aren’t turning into calls, maybe the follow-up is broken. If proposals aren't closing, maybe the offer needs work. Every rate tells a story.

5. Sales Cycle Length (Marketing-Influenced)



Sometimes marketing's best move isn’t generating more leads, it’s helping sales close faster. This KPI looks at deal time from first touch to close.

Wysocki shared that shorter sales cycles often signal well-aligned campaigns: "If you can describe your business in one SMS and make someone interested, it works."



Look for where marketing content, automation, or campaigns help reduce questions and speed up decisions.

How to Start If You’re Not Measuring Anything Yet



If you’re not tracking these metrics yet, start with one campaign and one sheet. Mooney suggests a basic spreadsheet:

• Campaign name
• Budget
• Key asset (PDF, page, ad)
• Leads generated
• Actions taken (calls, quotes, sales)

Review it monthly. Ask, "What did we learn? What worked?" Build from there.

Fewer Metrics, Better Decisions


If you’re trying to track everything, you’ll drown in noise. Start with five metrics. Tie them directly to your sales process. Build buy-in by reporting consistently, learning together, and improving slowly.