Diving deeper into decision-making data.

The key to solving marketing and operational performance issues lies in the data, especially the overlooked kind. 

That is according to the Apartmentalize 2025 session “Hidden KPIs to Solve Operational and Marketing Mysteries,” which challenged traditional metrics and offered new frameworks for analyzing performance. 

“We all love our standard KPIs — leads, leases, cost per lease,” said Shelly Steitz, Senior Consultant at Cadence Marketing Solutions. “But sometimes those numbers don’t tell the whole story. You have to look deeper to solve the real mystery.” 

Steitz was joined by Anne Baum, Vice President of Marketing at Towne Properties, and Lauren Dewey, Founder and Principal at Lauren Dewey Consulting. Baum urged marketers to shift their focus from individual marketing sources to the broader lead funnel.  

“We’re often too focused on top-of-funnel lead gen,” she explained. “Instead, we should be asking: Are we even generating enough awareness to begin with? Are people actually engaging with our listings and websites?” 

Baum introduced a full-funnel approach that includes metrics such as impression-to-view rate, view-to-lead and lead-to-tour ratios. “If people are seeing your property but not clicking through, your property isn’t standing out,” Baum said. 

Dewey warned that relying too heavily on vendor-reported data can skew insights. “The definition of a ‘lead’ can vary wildly,” she added. “We’ve seen vendor logs count 11-second phone calls as a lead. That’s not meaningful engagement.” 

Baum shared a case in which a popular Internet listing service reported 4,700 leads for a property. The company’s CRM showed just 1,900. “That’s more than a 100% discrepancy,” she said. “This is why it’s critical to have a single source of truth — for us, that’s our CRM.” 

Steitz encouraged attendees to dig into website referral data to uncover where qualified traffic is really coming from.  

“The website is not the source; it’s the destination,” she said. “Breaking down traffic sources...can reveal which channels bring the most engaged users, even if traffic volume is low.” 

Dewey added that setting up proper tracking and event-based conversions is essential. “If you’re not using analytics to measure performance at every step, you’re missing half the picture,” she said. 

The panel emphasized the importance of segmenting data. “Don’t just look at averages because they can hide the truth,” Dewey said. “Sort by agent, floor plan, source, whatever you can. That’s when patterns emerge.” 

She also introduced new metrics to monitor lead management: lead aging curve, tour drop-off rate and pipeline skim rate. “These help you identify where you’re losing prospects and whether it’s a marketing or leasing issue,” she said. 

Baum walked the audience through a full marketing funnel with benchmark metrics and revealed a surprising contradiction: a high lease renewal rate at a property with a 2.2-star rating and a net promoter score of -100.  

“That’s a red flag,” she explained. “They’re staying, but they’re not happy. Maybe we’re not raising rents or offering an easy renewal path. But it’s not because they love us.” 

Steitz wrapped up the session with a simple formula to determine how many leads, tours and leases a property needs based on availability and historical conversion rates. “Use math to inform your marketing spend,” she said. 

Dewey urged attendees to document their findings in case studies. “Think of it like your case file,” she said. “You’ve solved the mystery. Now tell the story, track the outcome and be ready to do it again.” 

Peter Jakel is Vice President of Strategy for LinnellTaylor Marketing.