Top metrics and KPIs manufacturers need for measuring RevOps success

RevOps unifies marketing, sales, and customer service into a cohesive system, and its metrics and KPIs create transparency across these functions. The right RevOps metrics provide a clear framework for contract manufacturers to evaluate, align, and optimise the processes that drive their revenue, helping to guide customer-centric decision-making and strategic investment.In a competitive market where OEMs demand reliability and innovation, metrics like churn rate, customer lifetime value, and forecast accuracy allow contract manufacturers to streamline their processes, meet client expectations, and maintain profitability, ensuring their operations support their broader revenue objectives.

Consider this:

• Organisations that align people, technology, marketing, and sales processes achieve 36% more revenue growth and up to 28% more profitability (Forrester).
• Aligned teams generate 208% more revenue from marketing efforts (Wheelhouse Advisors).
• Companies that invest in RevOps report a 10-20% increase in sales productivity (Boston Consulting Group).
• Businesses with tightly aligned sales and marketing functions enjoy 36% higher customer retention rates (HubSpot).

Key RevOps metrics for contract manufacturers

While RevOps is a cross-functional practice requiring all teams to sync and work towards shared goals, some metrics and KPIs are team-specific. Here are the key metrics contract manufacturers need to track to measure the impact of their RevOps programme, grouped by marketing, sales, and customer service.

Marketing metrics

1.  Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
   • Purpose: Measures how cost-effective marketing efforts are in acquiring new customers.
   • Relevance: High CAC compared to revenue per customer indicates inefficiency in marketing spend.
   • How to track: Add all marketing and sales costs for a period and divide by the number of new customers acquired in the same period.
2.  Lead Conversion Rate
   • Purpose: Assesses the percentage of leads generated that turn into paying customers.
   • Relevance: Higher conversion rates signify effective marketing targeting and messaging. Lower conversion rates suggest targeting or messaging may need attention.
   • How to track: Divide the number of leads converted into customers by the total number of leads gained and multiply by 100 to get a percentage.
3.  Revenue Growth Rate (marketing contribution)
   • Purpose: Shows the impact of marketing efforts on overall revenue growth.
   • Relevance: Indicates the success of demand generation campaigns and market reach expansion.
   • How to track: Subtract the previous period's revenue from the current period's revenue, divide by the earlier period's revenue, and multiply by 100.
4.  Marketing Forecast Accuracy
   • Purpose: Evaluate how well marketing predictions align with actual performance.
     
   • Relevance: Helps refine future marketing campaigns and better resource allocation.
     
   • How to track: Compare forecasted lead generation or demand metrics to actual figures and calculate the variance percentage.

Sales metrics

1.  Sales Cycle Length
   • Purpose: Measures the time it takes to convert a lead into a paying customer.
   • Relevance: Shorter cycles indicate streamlined processes and better customer alignment, while longer cycles, although typical for B2B manufacturing, may suggest internal process inefficiencies.
   • How to track: Measure the time from the first contact date to the deal closing date for all deals in a period, then calculate the average.
2.  Win Rate
   1. Purpose: Assesses the percentage of sales opportunities that result in closed deals.
   2. Relevance: Higher win rates reflect effective sales strategies and team performance.
   3. How to track: Divide the number of deals won by the total number of sales opportunities, then multiply by 100.
3.  Average Deal Size
   • Purpose: Reveals the typical revenue generated per closed deal.
   • Relevance: Larger deal sizes often indicate successful targeting of high-value customers. This is particularly useful to know for account-based marketing campaigns.
   • How to track: Divide the total revenue by the number of closed deals over a given period.
     
4.  Revenue per Account
   • Purpose: Measures the average revenue generated from each customer account.
   • Relevance: Indicates account health and the potential for upselling or cross-selling.
   • How to track: Divide total revenue by the number of active customer accounts.
5.  Sales Forecast Accuracy
   • Purpose: Compares revenue forecasts to actual sales to ensure accurate planning.
   • Relevance: Helps reduce the risk of over- or under-allocating resources.
   • How to track: Calculate the percentage variance between forecasted and actual revenue.
6.  Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
   • Purpose: Predicts the total revenue a customer will generate over their relationship with the company.
   • Relevance: Provides the necessary insight for aligning sales priorities with long-term profitability.
   • How to track: Multiply the average revenue per customer by the average customer lifespan and subtract CAC.

Customer service metrics

1.  Churn Rate
   • Purpose: Measures the percentage of customers lost during a period.
   • Relevance: Lower churn signifies better customer retention and service satisfaction.
   • How to track: Divide the number of customers lost by the total number of customers at the start of the period and multiply by 100.
2.  Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
   • Purpose: Evaluate the long-term revenue potential possible from retaining customers.
   • Relevance: Highlights the financial impact of customer service efforts on overall customer and revenue retention, shedding light on customer satisfaction.
   • How to track: Use the same formula as sales CLV but focus on lifetime values driven by repeat business.
3.  Operational Efficiency Metrics
   • Purpose: Track the efficiency of fulfilment processes that affect customer satisfaction.
   • Relevance: Higher operational efficiency leads to better service delivery and, ultimately, repeat business.
   • How to track: Use specific metrics like on-time delivery rate (deliveries on time ÷ total deliveries) and inventory turnover (cost of goods sold ÷ average inventory value).
4.  Revenue per Account
   • Purpose: Assesses the contribution of each customer to overall revenue.
   • Relevance: Helps identify high-value customers and opportunities for additional services.
   • How to track: Calculate by dividing total revenue by the total number of active accounts for the period.
     

In a RevOps model, visibility matters, but cross-team visibility across all metrics and KPIs should be strategic. Each team needs visibility into metrics directly related to their performance, but understanding adjacent teams’ metrics fosters accountability and insight into how their work impacts others. 
For example, sales teams might benefit from seeing lead conversion rates to understand lead quality, and marketing teams could review sales cycle lengths to refine their targeting strategies. However, operational metrics that don't directly influence their workflows, like logistics, should only be kept to customer service teams’ metrics dashboards. 

Other metrics to consider tracking

Beyond sales, marketing, and customer service-based indicators, here are some other manufacturing-focused metrics to consider tracking that could provide indirect insights into the impact of your RevOps:

• Factory/site visits: Factory visits show customer interest and confidence in your capabilities. Monitor the frequency and purpose of factory visits, segmenting them by new prospects and existing clients. Analyse patterns, such as whether visits lead to contract signings, project expansions, or deeper partnerships.
• New Product Introduction (NPI) success rate: If you assist with product design and prototyping, your NPI success rate reflects your ability to meet customer expectations during critical development stages. Measure the number of NPIs successfully launched without significant delays or cost overruns as a percentage of total NPIs handled.
• Value-added services adoption rate: Offering services like design support, customisation, or supply chain management can differentiate your business and boost revenue. Adoption rates indicate how customers are engaging with these offerings. To calculate, compare the percentage of customers utilising one or more value-added services to your total customer base.
• How production downtime impacts revenue: Downtime is a critical operational metric that affects your ability to deliver on time and maintain customer satisfaction. Its financial impact is directly tied to RevOps efficiency. Track downtime hours and estimate the associated revenue loss to understand its impact on your overall RevOps goals.

How to practically implement metrics and KPI tracking

Implementing metrics and KPI tracking begins with role-based dashboards created using RevOps-friendly tools like CRMs (like HubSpot) and business intelligence platforms (like Power BI). These dashboards provide tailored views for each team while incorporating shared metrics to encourage collaboration. 
Data access levels are also important for ensuring teams see the data relevant to their responsibilities. Role-based permissions prevent data overload and protect sensitive information while providing enough visibility for cross-departmental coordination. For example, customer service teams don’t require access to detailed marketing campaign metrics but should understand CLV and churn to optimise retention strategies.

Finally, cross-team reviews of shared metrics help bridge silos and maintain alignment. Using platforms like Clari or InsightSquared, teams can regularly review KPIs like forecast accuracy, revenue per account, or churn rate to understand how their efforts intersect and where adjustments are needed. These collaborative reviews ensure that metrics drive the right actions and build a culture of transparency and collective accountability.

Conclusion

The contract manufacturing industry is changing, driven by innovations like Industry 4.0 and regionalised supply chains. By leveraging the right RevOps metrics and KPIs, contract manufacturers can align their RevOps strategies with both immediate revenue objectives and long-term growth goals, giving them the data insights they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive and complex marketplace.