Preet Singh on Metrics, Measurement, and Making Marketing Decisions That Matter

In this special edition of The Executive Outlook ,we had the opportunity to sit down with Preet Singh , a data-driven leader and entrepreneur. Preet has spent his career at the intersection of data, technology, and business growth, from building his own company to mentoring startups and driving innovations in marketing and analytics. His journey is a story of curiosity, adaptability, and following opportunities where they lead.

During the conversation, Preet shared that his entry into the world of data and digital marketing was largely by chance. “I’m from a finance background,” he said. “I started working at a finance company right after university and realized finance wasn’t really my thing. I was looking for something else to do, and because I was a recent graduate, I got the opportunity to apply for a graduate role in a big media agency where I got into digital marketing.” 

He recounted his early career, saying that he worked at a couple of big agencies for about three and a half to four years. “At my last agency that I worked at, I met a couple of people who became my co-founders for the company we started about ten years ago, called Indago Digital, focusing on digital marketing and analytics services,” he explained. 

According to him, his role evolved over time from performance marketing towards analytics and data. “I’ve always been interested in numbers, technology, and data. Over the last four or five years, the focus became more on this space just because I was interested in it. And it was a good business decision because obviously this field has exploded, especially in the marketing analytics area,” Preet said. He further defined that building a separate division for analytics was both a personal passion and a sound business move.

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He added by sharing a major milestone: “We ended up selling our company in November last year. We were absorbed by one of Australia’s largest independent agencies. I worked there until about a couple of months ago, after which I resigned for a few reasons. I’m now looking to work on some of my personal projects and a couple of things that I’m hoping to launch in the next few months. That’s very exciting.” 

The conversation turned to marketing analytics and measuring success effectively. Preet Singh explained that the industry is already very measurement driven. “If you’re putting X dollars into your campaigns, you need to understand what the effect of those campaigns is. Usually, everyone has baseline metrics that they measure, like clicks or conversions or impressions or anything else that’s important to the business,” he said. 

He shared that beyond baseline metrics, every business needs a bespoke set depending on objectives. “If you’re an e-commerce business, you’d measure things like add-to-cart rates, where people are dropping off, how many transactions you’re getting, revenue per transaction, etc. For B2B businesses, the focus is usually on lead-based metrics like marketing-qualified leads or sales-qualified leads,” Preet said.

He highlighted a common challenge in analytics: over-measurement. “Obviously, you don’t want to get into a trap of over-measurement, because if you’re measuring too many things, it’s very hard to make a judgment or an actionable insight. You need to prioritize what truly matters and gradually improve upon it. If the previous steps have made an impact, that’s okay,” he said. 

When asked about common mistakes in analyzing marketing data, Preet said, “One of the biggest mistakes is lack of focus on key metrics. Teams can work in silos, each with its own KPIs. That misalignment can cause conflicts or misalignment in the overall business objective. For example, marketing might focus on bringing as many leads as possible, while sales focuses on converting them. If the quality of leads isn’t aligned, it creates issues.” 

He further defined the challenges for smaller or medium-sized enterprises. “There isn’t always a singular platform to connect the dots easily, and some solutions can be expensive. But there are ways to unify metrics across teams, and it’s essential for businesses to work towards a common objective,” Preet said.

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Preet also spoke about over-reporting. “Even today, I see a huge amount of time going into useless reporting. Organizations maintain ten different dashboards that no one looks at. There’re efforts and costs involved, but rarely are the reports actionable. A lean reporting system is much more effective,” he said. 

The discussion shifted to guiding businesses on marketing strategy. Preet said there’s no one-size-fits-all framework. “It really depends on the objectives, the type of industry, and the budget. Marketing is dollars in, dollars out. If you have a $1,000,000 budget, you can obviously do a lot more with that money versus a $100K budget, for example,” he explained. 

He emphasized the importance of organic traffic. “Generally, a lot of your traffic should come from organic channels. If a business is spending heavily on paid media but still getting low organic traffic after a few years, you need to look elsewhere. Organic strategies grow your audience and presence sustainably,” Preet said.

Preet spoke about how search and digital measurement are evolving with new platforms. “Search is becoming more complex with chatbots and AI-driven systems like Gemini,” he said. “While traffic from these sources is still a small portion of total traffic, it’s important to measure it. Businesses need to understand how to track this traffic as part of their overall strategy.” 

He added that new tools are emerging to track AI-driven traffic, but measurement is still evolving. “Tools like SEMrush have started tracking AI citations and references, but it’s not exact science yet. Businesses need to be aware of these trends and work towards them,” Preet explained. 

Throughout the conversation, Preet emphasized that data analytics is often treated as a secondary topic. “From my experience, data analytics is always kind of the last topic within the whole strategy conversation. Leaving it behind usually comes back to biting businesses later. I’d say nine out of ten times, neglecting measurement comes back to you in the future. Think of it as an insurance policy. If you measure properly today, you’re future-proofed, and you won’t scramble for data in three, six, or twelve months,” he said.

Preet shed light with his words on integrating analytics into business strategy. “Data is not just numbers; it’s the foundation for decision-making. Whether it’s optimizing campaigns, understanding customer behaviour, or guiding investments, having proper measurement ensures businesses make informed choices,” he said. 

He concluded by reflecting on the pace of change in the industry. “The digital world is evolving every day. The platforms, methods, and measurements – they’re all changing. Businesses need to remain adaptable, focus on key metrics, and understand that analytics is not optional but essential for sustainable growth,” Preet said. 

During the conversation, it became clear that Preet’s approach blends curiosity, practical experience, and strategic thinking. His journey from finance to digital marketing and eventually building a successful analytics-focused company illustrates the importance of following interests, being adaptable, and using data thoughtfully to drive business success.

Preet Singh’s insights offer guidance not just for marketers or analysts but for anyone looking to grow a business in today’s data-driven world. Measurement, alignment, focus, and adaptability are the keys he consistently highlights, reminding us that understanding data isn’t just about numbers; it’s about making better decisions, improving results, and preparing for the future.

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