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The Ultimate Metric for BI Professionals: How to Find and Use Your North Star Metric



What Is a North Star Metric in Business Intelligence?

A north star metric is a crucial metric that reflects the core value of a business and guides its long‑term growth. As a business intelligence (BI) professional, understanding and defining a north star metric helps you align teams, measure progress, and keep strategy focused on what truly matters.

What Is a North Star Metric?

A north star metric is a single, high‑level metric that captures the core measurable value delivered by a product or service. It represents the mission and vision of the business and acts as a long‑term reference point for decision‑making.

Just as the North Star is used for navigation, a north star metric helps organizations navigate complex decisions and stay oriented toward sustainable growth.

Why Do You Need a North Star Metric?

A well‑chosen north star metric is useful in at least three key ways:

  • Cross‑team alignment: Different teams work with different metrics and priorities. A north star metric provides a shared goal that aligns efforts across the organization.
  • Tracking growth: It offers a long‑term, consistent measure of overall performance and growth, helping stakeholders understand whether the business is moving in the right direction.
  • Focusing values: It reflects what the business values most—such as loyalty, engagement, or core usage—and keeps those values at the center of strategy.

For more on aligning metrics with strategy, see How to Choose the Right Metrics for Your BI Dashboard.

How Do You Choose a North Star Metric?

Because the north star metric is so central to BI strategy, choosing it requires careful thought. It must measure the most essential aspect of the business model. Every business will have a different north star metric, but you can start by asking:

  • What is essential to this business’s processes?
  • What are the most important KPIs being measured?
  • Which KPI best captures the core value delivered to customers?
  • How can other metrics be structured around this primary metric?

For guidance on framing these questions, explore How to Master the Art of Asking SMART and Fair Questions.

Examples of North Star Metrics by Industry

Many organizations across industries use north star metrics to guide their BI strategies. Here are some examples:

Travel

  • Number of trips booked
  • Number of referrals
  • Average trip duration

Entertainment

  • Number of monthly active users
  • Number of songs or videos played
  • Average listening or viewing time per session

Health and Fitness

  • Number of workouts completed
  • Number of calories burned
  • Workout satisfaction score

Banking

  • Number of accounts opened
  • Total deposits made
  • Customer retention rate

These are just a few examples—north star metrics can be defined for many sectors, from education to gaming, depending on what value the business delivers.

Key Takeaways

As a BI professional, one of your responsibilities is to empower stakeholders to make decisions that support long‑term growth. A north star metric helps you:

  • Measure the success of the business as a whole
  • Align teams around a single, meaningful goal
  • Keep business values at the center of strategy and execution

When combined with well‑chosen supporting metrics and a clear BI strategy, a north star metric becomes a powerful tool for guiding your organization into the future.

Related Resources

Want to keep building a strong BI strategy? Explore more guides on Data Analyst BI.

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