# How to measure marketing by RFQs and quotes, not website traffic To measure marketing at an equipment manufacturer, count qualified RFQs, booked demos and opportunities instead of visits. Each form should be a key event in GA4 and reach the CRM with its source attached. From the CRM, the stages that matter go back into Google Ads, so an order that arrives a year later, or through a distributor, still counts. [Web version](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/measure-marketing-rfqs-not-traffic/) By David Monje, crida studio · Published 2026-07-21 · Updated 2026-07-21 ## Why website visits do not show whether marketing sells equipment A bioprocess equipment website can get plenty of visits from students, researchers and the curious, especially if it has strong technical content. Those visits help the brand, but few of them lead to a purchase. A single RFQ from a CDMO can be worth more than months of traffic. If the monthly report talks about visits, sessions and time on page, management cannot tell whether marketing helps sell. You need to measure what happens before a sale, meaning who asks for a quote, who books a demo and how many of those conversations become real opportunities. ## The B2B marketing KPIs that actually explain sales These are the metrics we suggest to a manufacturer or distributor of lab and bioprocess equipment. All of them can be counted in the CRM and split by channel, such as organic search, Google Ads, LinkedIn, trade shows or distributors. - Qualified RFQs, with scale, process and timeline. - Booked demos, at your site, at the customer's lab or online. - Qualified opportunities, when the customer shares a URS or a list of requirements. - Pipeline value generated by each channel. - Cost per qualified RFQ in paid channels. - Time from the first request to the quote being sent. ### What is a good cost per RFQ? There is no single figure that works for everyone. It depends on the value of the equipment, how many requests turn into quotes and how many quotes turn into orders. What does work is comparing cost per qualified RFQ across channels and over time, and always reading it next to the pipeline value each channel generates. ## How to connect GA4 and the CRM so every request has a source The first step is to mark the forms that matter as key events in Google Analytics 4, such as quote requests, demo requests and documentation downloads. GA4 then shows which channels lead people to take those actions. The second step is for every form to send the source, the campaign and the Google Ads click ID to the CRM. GA4 will not see every form. With consent mode, Google tags adapt to what each visitor has accepted, and people who reject cookies are not measured the same way. The CRM, on the other hand, receives every request. That is why the CRM should be the system that counts RFQs, while GA4 explains where they come from. ## What to do with deals that close a year later In Google Ads, the click-through conversion window is 30 days by default and can go up to 90. An order for a production bioreactor can come much later than that. If you only import the order, Google Ads will not link it to the click, and your campaigns will never learn what works. The fix is to import intermediate stages from the CRM that happen sooner, such as the qualified opportunity or the quote sent. Google recommends starting with enhanced conversions for leads, which add data such as a hashed email address to the click ID. If you upload them through the API, since 15 June 2026 that has to be done with the Data Manager API. ### How do we know whether an RFQ is qualified? You need to define it with sales. Usually the contact must be from an organisation that can buy, state the scale and the process and have a timeline, even a rough one. If the sales engineer rejects a request, log the reason in the CRM so you can keep adjusting forms and campaigns. ## How to count sales that go through a distributor When an RFQ comes from a country where you sell through a distributor, the CRM should record who it was passed to, on which day and with which source. Without that record, the sale shows up months later in the distributor's invoicing and nobody can link it to the campaign or trade show that generated it. Agree with each distributor on a regular update on the status of the requests you pass on, even if it is a simple spreadsheet. David Monje, founder of crida studio, led marketing at TECNIC Bioprocess Solutions, where he linked engineering, product and sales to open markets such as Germany, Scandinavia and Asia. When a sale passes through several teams and countries, measuring it depends on recording the source of every opportunity in one place. ### Should we stop looking at website traffic? No. Traffic helps you diagnose SEO, content and the website, for example to see whether a product page has lost visits. What it should not do is take the place of business metrics. In the report for management, visits should come after RFQs and opportunities. ## A monthly report that management understands The report should fit on one page. Qualified RFQs and demos by channel, new opportunities and pipeline value, cost per qualified RFQ and one line on what changed and why. Visits can appear as context, for example to explain a drop in requests. Keep the same format every month so trends become visible. With long sales cycles, one bad month does not mean much, but three months in a row with fewer qualified requests from one channel is a signal to review the campaigns, the content or the website. ## References - [Google Analytics Help, About key events](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9267568?hl=en) - [Google Ads Help, About conversion windows](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3123169?hl=en) - [Google Ads Help, About offline conversion imports](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2998031?hl=en) - [Google for Developers, Set up consent mode on websites](https://developers.google.com/tag-platform/security/guides/consent) ## The crida perspective We are a marketing, brand and technology studio based in Girona. We bring identity, content and development together so a digital experience makes sense from beginning to end. crida studio, Caldes de Malavella (Girona, Spain). David Monje, founder and director. ## Want to know how many RFQs your marketing generates? Tell us which channels you use, which CRM you have and how requests reach you today. We will review what is being measured and tell you what we would add so the report talks about sales. [Tell us your case](https://www.crida.studio/en/#contact) ## More on web design - [Marketing for biotech, bioprocess and pharma companies](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/biotech-bioprocess-pharma-marketing/) - [What a demo request landing page for lab equipment needs](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/demo-request-landing-page-lab-equipment/) - [How to use AI to research pharma accounts before a sales call](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/ai-account-research-pharma-sales/) - [Why GA4 shows fewer visits since you added a cookie banner](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/ga4-cookie-banner/) - [SEO or paid search for your business](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/seo-or-paid-search/) - [Paid search and Google Ads campaigns](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/paid-search-google-ads/) - [Business process automation from Girona](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/business-process-automation/)