Food Hub Sales and Marketing Metrics You Should Be Tracking

In any business, what we measure, we improve. Tracking key metrics ensures that you understand what is working, where improvements are needed, and how to optimize operations. Without numbers and clear tracking, it’s impossible to know if you're getting better or worse.

Metrics are more than just numbers—they are stories that tell us how to grow and thrive. Whether it’s understanding customer behavior or evaluating the impact of partnerships, tracking these insights gives you the power to make data-driven decisions that benefit producers, customers, and the hub itself.

Atul Gawande wrote in Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance:

"Count something. Regardless of what one ultimately does in medicine—or outside of medicine, for that matter—one should be a scientist in this world. In the simplest terms, this means one should count something. … The only requirement is that what you count should be interesting to you."

In this blog, I’ll walk you through the key metrics you should be tracking as a food hub, explain why they matter, and show you how to measure them effectively.

Food hub metrics you should be tracking

Marketing metrics

Email performance metrics

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools we use to engage customers and drive orders. However, it’s impossible to know if your efforts are paying off without tracking key email metrics. We use Flodesk for our email marketing. Like many different platforms, it allows us to measure email performance to understand engagement and make improvements.

In addition to Flodesk, we use Local Line’s built-in price list emails. This feature allows you to create automated emails to price list subscribers on a pre-set cadence. 

What to Track:

• Total Email Subscribers: Measure how your list grows over time.
• New Subscribers: Track new people joining your list.
• Emails Sent: Monitor how many emails are sent through Flodesk.
• Price List Email: Evaluate the performance of emails containing product or pricing updates.
• Open Rate (OR): Measure the percentage of recipients who opened your email.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Track how many recipients clicked on links inside your emails.

How to Use This Data:

• Use A/B testing on subject lines to improve open rates.
• Create segmented lists for more personalized campaigns (e.g., new vs. returning customers).
• Analyze CTR trends to see what content resonates most with readers.

Orders from Email Campaigns

It’s not enough to grow an email list; you need to turn subscribers into buyers. We track the performance of email-driven orders to see how well our email strategy translates into sales.

What to Track:

• How many Orders did you receive?
• How many new customers? Track how many first-time buyers are acquired through emails.
• What is your Average Order Value (AOV)? Measure the average amount customers spend per order.

AOV= Total Revenue / Total Orders

How to Use This Data:

• Offer incentives for first-time buyers to increase conversions.
• Track AOV to see if bundling products increases order size.
• Use revenue data to create targeted re-engagement campaigns for inactive customers.

👉 Need help thinking of new offers? In this article, we go over 5 winning offers to run from your online store.

Did you know you can easily pull your AOV from Local Line? 

Steps: 

1. Head to your Reports tab. Click on Orders in the top navigation bar.
2. Add your filters. You can filter by order date range, fulfillment date range, and/or price list. 
3. Scroll down to Avg Order Amount. Note: this value includes fulfillment taxes, fees, and discounts.

Partnership Metrics

Collaborative partnerships can expand your reach and drive new leads. We measure the success of these partnerships by tracking engagement and lead generation.

What to Track:

• How many Collaborative Partners Promoted your Giveaway?
• How many people did you reach out to for collaboration?
• How many leads were captured as a result of Partnerships?

How to Use This Data:

• Focus on building relationships with partners who deliver results.
• Analyze the number of leads generated to see which collaborations offer the best ROI.
• Use partnerships to expand your audience through giveaways or joint events.

Extra: Paid Advertising Metrics

Advertising is only effective if it produces a solid return. We measure Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and Cost per Lead (CPL) to ensure that every dollar spent drives results.

What to Track:

• ROAS - Return on Ad Spend: Measure how much revenue is generated per dollar spent.

ROAS= Revenue from Ads/Total Ad Spend

• CPL - Cost per Lead: Calculate how much it costs to acquire each new lead.
• Conversions: Track how many leads convert into paying customers.

How to Use This Data:

• Allocate ad budgets toward campaigns with high ROAS.
• Use CPL to find the most cost-effective platforms for lead generation.
• Refine your targeting and messaging based on conversion performance.

Revenue Metrics

Revenue is the ultimate measure of success. We track revenue across customer types and producers to evaluate how well we are supporting the community and meeting financial goals.

What to Track:

• What was the total customer revenue?
• Total Revenue Generated through email?
• Total Revenue from New Customers?
• Total Revenue from Returning Customers?

How to Use This Data:

• Compare new vs. returning customer revenue to evaluate retention efforts.
• Identify top-performing producers and explore ways to expand their offerings.
• Set quarterly revenue goals and adjust strategies based on performance.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV helps us understand the long-term value of a customer and informs strategies for retention.

CLV= AOV × Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan

How to Use This Data:

• Create loyalty programs to increase purchase frequency.
• Send targeted offers to high-value customers.
• Forecast revenue by identifying trends among repeat buyers.

👉 We hosted a workshop: Mastering Retention: 4 Cheap Ways to Keep Your Customers all about customer retention. Watch the recording to get our best insights.

Final Thoughts: What We Measure, We Improve

"The things we measure are the things we improve. It is only through numbers and clear tracking that we have any idea if we are getting better or worse." — Atul Gawande

Start measuring what matters and watch your business thrive. With Local Line, you can easily track key metrics like Average Order Value (AOV), customer retention, and more—all in one place. 

Ready to take control of your numbers and grow your business? Sign up for Local Line today, and see the impact clear tracking can have on your sales. Don’t guess—measure, improve, and succeed.