We have updated the dashboard – first screen when you select your group after logging into ChamberForge – to include a few new metrics. The new metrics have been added to quickly let you know how your business networking group is performing. In this blog post, we’ll look at what they are and why we added them.
Below is a screenshot of dashboard screen from one of fictional networking groups.
The four metrics added (or replaced the old metrics) are:
- Number of referrals given in last 12 months
- Number of business closed in last 12 months
- Conversion rate along with average time to convert
- Active Referrals
Number of referrals given in last 12 months
As the title indicates, this metric shows number of referrals given in last 12 months. However, it’s not a running estimate – it is up to the last day of previous month. So if today’s date is December 15, 2018, this metric will give you number of referrals from December 1, 2017 to November 30, 2018, which is 12 month up to end of previous month. Also at the bottom, it gives you average number of referrals per month. So based on data from last 12 months, you can expect number of referrals your group will be giving next month.
Number of business closed in last 12 months
From all the referrals given in last 12 months, this number shows how many of them converted to business. This should be fairly straightforward.
Conversion rate
This is simply business closed divided by referrals. Higher percentage indicates high quality of referrals. Based on data from last 12 months, you can estimate the likelihood of any referrals converting to business. Also shown at the bottom is average time it takes for referrals to close. The conversion rate, together with average time to convert, will give you a better understanding of the quality of referrals being given to each other in your group.
Active Referrals
This shows number of active referrals – those that are still outstanding and have not converted to business nor marked as lost.
Hopefully, the updated dashboard can give groups easier and quicker way to track how their group is doing.
I built ChamberForge in 2017 when I helped launch a referral networking group at a local chamber of commerce in Virginia. I realized at the time that the referral activity data can be stored in a database to drive insights about how our group is doing and what we can do as a group to help each other.
Our mission at ChamberForge is to help business networking groups and small businesses be successful through referral sharing by making it easy to share and track referrals with each other.
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