Measuring Marketing Impact in METS: What KPIs Actually Matter

10 Nov

If you’ve ever tried to justify marketing spend inside a METS business, you’ve probably heard the same line: “How do we measure the ROI?”

It’s a fair question and one that every business asks, no matter the industry segment. But in mining and METS, the usual marketing metrics don’t tell the full story. This is a B2B environment where deal cycles stretch for months, sometimes years; where buying decisions are made by committees, not clicks; and where reputation can be worth more than reach.

So how do you measure impact in a sector where relationships, trust, and brand equity drive the bottom line?

1. The problem with copy-pasting consumer marketing

If you are a METS company and you measure success using consumer-style KPIs: clicks, likes, website traffic, follower count, you need a reality check. Those numbers have their place and give indicative signals to your tactical efforts, but consumer style metrics rarely translate to sales or brand influence in a B2B mining context.

Mining is not a volume game. It’s a credibility game. One meaningful connection with a mine manager or procurement manager is worth more than 10,000 anonymous clicks from people who will never buy from you.

The problem is that many METS companies borrow from the consumer playbook, chasing engagement metrics designed for fast-moving, low-consideration purchases. But in mining, decisions are slow, complex, and relationship driven.

Rather than measuring success by surface-level engagement, focus on the metrics that matter for your world:

· Lead quality, not lead quantity.

· Meeting conversions, not pageviews.

· Reputation and recall, not reactions.

2. The Website trap for early startups

Many companies over-invest in aesthetics over effectiveness. You don’t need a $50,000 website built to the standards of a fashion retailer or SaaS startup. You need a functional, credible, easy-to-update platform that communicates your capability, differentiators, and contact pathways clearly.

B2B websites in METS should be fit-for-purpose, not over-engineered. If your customers are maintenance planners, mine managers, or procurement officers, they’re not browsing for design innovation — they’re looking for clarity, proof, and trust signals.

Stop overpaying for visual polish and start investing in content depth — case studies, capability statements, technical documentation, and proof of delivery.

3. So what KPIs actually matter?

Here are the marketing metrics that genuinely move the dial for METS businesses:

a. Lead quality and conversion rate

How many qualified inquiries are reaching your sales team from marketing channels?
Are they within your ideal customer profile (mine operators, OEMs, EPCMs)?
Track conversion rates from marketing source → proposal → quote → closed deal.

b. Relationship velocity

In B2B mining, deals depend on relationship momentum.

Measure engagement depth: meeting requests, demos booked, follow-up cycles.
A marketing campaign that reduces the average sales cycle by 20 % is worth more than 20,000 impressions.

c. Share of voice (SoV)

Benchmark your company’s visibility versus competitors in trade media, LinkedIn, and conference conversations.
Tools like SEMrush or manual media audits can track how often your brand is mentioned relative to others.
Growing your share of voice correlates strongly with increased market share.

d. Website engagement, not traffic

Instead of fixating on visits, focus on:

Time on page for service or case-study sections.
Downloads of capability PDFs or spec sheets.
Contact-form submissions.
A few hundred qualified visitors per month can outperform thousands of irrelevant clicks.

e. Brand sentiment and trust

Harder to quantify, but arguably the most valuable long-term KPI.

Track how your brand is talked about in the market:

Are you seen as reliable? Innovative? People-centric?
Are decision-makers mentioning your company positively in industry circles?

For METS companies, brand sentiment is currency. It influences whether you make the tender shortlist, whether procurement trusts your safety record, and whether Tier 1 miners view you as a partner or a supplier.

4. The overlooked metric: brand sentiment as longevity insurance

Brand sentiment doesn’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet, but it’s what keeps you in business when market cycles turn. In mining, contracts ebb and flow, but trust sticks.

If a client believes your brand delivers, communicates clearly, and treats people well, they’ll come back even after projects pause. Positive sentiment shortens the next sales cycle before it even begins.

To monitor it:

Collect informal feedback from customers, site contacts, and partners.
Watch LinkedIn mentions, comments, and tone of conversation.
Run short customer surveys focused on perception, not satisfaction.

Sentiment is the bridge between marketing and reputation.
It’s what turns transactions into relationships — and relationships into longevity.

5. Balancing brand building with performance metrics

The METS sector tends to lean too heavily on performance marketing (lead generation, SEO, digital ads) and underinvest in brand marketing (storytelling, content, visibility).
But in long-cycle industries, brand is performance.

A strong, consistent reputation does more to influence tenders than any single campaign.
Measure both:

Short-term (Performance KPIs)

Marketing-qualified leads (MQLs)

Conversion rate

Engagement rate

Long-term (Brand KPIs)

Brand recall in target market

Sentiment score / perception feedback

Share of voice in trade media

Repeat customer ratio

6. Social proof and thought leadership

LinkedIn has become the new trade-show floor. Measuring marketing impact means tracking visibility and authority among industry peers.

KPIs worth watching:

Follower growth among target personas (not total followers).
Average engagement rate per post (likes + comments ÷ impressions).
Inbound connection requests from decision-makers.
Mentions or shares by recognised mining voices.

A single credible LinkedIn post that reaches 10,000 industry professionals is more valuable than a glossy ad in a print magazine and costs almost nothing.

7. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, but it must be consistent

Mining and METS marketing teams often treat visibility as an occasional project, not a continuous process. But modern marketing isn’t about large one-off spends — it’s about small, consistent, evidence-based actions.

The best ROI comes from:

Regular, high-quality LinkedIn activity.
Well-designed case studies that demonstrate delivery.
A credible, functional website that supports sales conversations.
Strategic use of trade media and partnerships.

You don’t need perfection — you need presence.
A good message delivered consistently will outperform a polished campaign delivered rarely.

Steven Rodgers