Redefining Performance: What Are We Really Measuring?
Indigenous and decolonial scholars and organizers have long pointed out that what’s often called “human nature” in marketing and psychology is deeply shaped by dominant colonial values, like individualism, ownership, urgency, and speed.
So when we say things like, “You have to feed base human psychology to make marketing work…”
We have to ask: whose psychology?
And whose values are driving the metrics we measure?
Historically, marketing as a discipline grew alongside colonial expansion and industrial capitalism. Early advertising sold entire worldviews that justified imperialism and exploitation.
That legacy lives on in the extractive, transactional approach baked into most traditional marketing strategies.
Sure, email opens and follower counts aren’t meaningless. A rise in opens can show relevance, and a spike in followers could reflect curiosity or resonance.
But what if instead of changing what we track, we look to change what we believe is worth tracking in the first place?
What if people don’t act out of pressure, but because they feel seen and invited in?
In this spirit, here are five human-centered marketing metrics to start tracking that we don’t talk about enough.
5 Human-Centered Metrics to Start Tracking Now
1. Unprompted Referrals
Did someone recommend you without being asked? Did a new person mention your name in a Slack thread, LinkedIn DM, or casual intro?
When someone shares your work without being asked, they’re signalling they trust your brand. People don’t recommend what they don’t believe in.
How to track it:
- Add a quick “How did you hear about us?” field in your intake forms.
- Scan new email sign-ups for domain names or connections to partners.
- Create a Slack or Notes doc to record every time someone says, “My friend told me about you.”
Look for patterns. Is a specific post, phrase, or offer being mentioned again and again?
2. Story Repeats
Is your message being echoed in someone else’s words? Have collaborators, clients, or participants started adopting your language or retelling your frameworks?
When someone quotes your language, repeats your metaphor, or reshapes your framework in their own words, they are signalling emotional connection and deep engagement. It means you gave them something they could relate to and retell.
How to track it:
- Pay attention to how people describe your work back to you in meetings, emails, or community spaces.
- Set up saved keyword searches on LinkedIn or Twitter for distinctive phrases you’ve coined.
- Record testimonials as they are spoken, not just cleaned-up versions.
Save screenshots in a shared folder as proof that your ideas are landing and spreading organically.
3. Return Engagement (Without Incentive)
Did someone come back to your page, newsletter, or offering without a push or promo?
When someone revisits your site, newsletter, or offer without a special discount or urgent push, it means your work left a lasting impression. They remembered and they chose to come back, no scarcity tactics required.
How to track it:
- Use your email platform or website analytics to spot returning visitors or subscribers who open 3+ emails over time.
- Watch for names that pop up repeatedly across different offers, downloads, or comments (especially unpaid ones).
- If you run events or webinars, note who attends more than once without needing to be resold.
Create a tag in your CRM to track those who show up consistently without promo nudges.
4. Consent-Based Participation
Are people signing up for things they weren’t sold hard on? Are they engaging at their own pace, because they feel safe and invited?
When someone signs up because they want to and not because you created a scarcity loop or made them fear missing out, it’s a powerful sign of self-directed trust. It also reduces buyer’s remorse and builds long-term engagement.
Coercive funnels convert. But invitation-based systems build trust and choice. Both work, but only one builds long-term community.
How to track it:
- Look at your opt-in pages: how many people convert without urgency language or countdown timers?
- In surveys or intake calls, ask: “What made you want to sign up?”
- Notice the time gap between when people find you and when they act. Longer gaps can signal internal motivation.
Segment your sign-ups by campaign tone (urgent vs. invitational) and compare long-term engagement rates.
5. Value-Driven Replies
You sent a newsletter, and someone replied. Exciting! Did they offer praise? Or expansion?
When someone replies to a newsletter (or post) with a story, reflection, or real question — that’s conversation and builds real connection.
How to track it:
- Flag email replies or DMs that go beyond “great post.”
- Log any comments or messages that tell you how a message landed emotionally, not just intellectually.
- If you use email software, set an automation rule that forwards meaningful replies to an inbox or tags them for review.
Don’t forget to respond! You can also use some of these (with permission) to shape future content. It deepens the loop of co-creation.
In Action…
What You Can Do This Week (5–10 min):
- Review your last report. What were you really measuring? Was it activity or relationship?
- Pick one trust signal to track. Choose the one that’s already showing up quietly (referrals, return visitors, participant stories) and start capturing it.
- Update your metrics dashboard. Even if it’s a sticky note or a shared doc, make space for non-traditional signals. What you measure shapes what you notice.
Brands Live in Human Communities, Not in Spreadsheets of KPIs
The goal isn’t to throw out every traditional metric, but to repurpose what the numbers are in service of.
There can still be branding and campaigns, but the tone, intent, and process shift.
Where traditional marketing uses scarcity and speed to push action, a human-centered model uses storytelling and invitation to make space for thoughtful participation.
In our Non-Dominant Branding Playbook, we contrast the traditional funnel: Attention → Conversion → Sale with a relational model: Trust → Participation → Belonging → Collective Action.
If that’s the journey, then let’s measure:
- How trust is building
- Where participation is showing up
- When belonging turns into co-creation
Because when people feel seen, respected, and involved as co-creators, we develop true loyalty and advocacy.
Until next week,
Sarah & Jamie
P.S. At Recess Labs, we find that sweet spot where smooth ops meet magnetic messaging to help you scale your impact, not staff overtime. Here’s where to reach us.
P.P.S If this resonated, you’ll love our Non-Dominant Branding Playbook (it’s free!)
