The Secret Weapon of a Marketing Dashboard
I am about to reveal the number-one, top-secret tip for successful marketing reports and dashboards. The one CMOs ask for every time. This is the big one. I mean it.
Here it is...
Include a summary at the Beginning.
Feeling let down? Saying “duh” out loud? Sure you are. Now take a look at your report. What’s the first thing you see? It’s data in charts, isn’t it? Most marketers, in their quest to deliver credible performance numbers, go right for the charts. But what most dashboards skip is what marketers should be best at: telling a story. When numbers are all that is shown, the report makes it too easy to focus on minutiae and not the bigger picture of what happened and why. Worse still, when too many numbers are shown without context, it is impossible to tell what matters and what’s really happening. The numbers and charts become an end in themselves and not a diagnostic tool.
Why is this a problem? Because lack of context for numbers results in unconstructive dialog about the numbers themselves, and not about what’s being done to improve them. The numbers-only approach leaves senior managers frustrated that they don’t know what marketing delivers, despite so much data. It leaves marketers wondering why no one uses the report when they provide such detailed numbers. The fix is simple: Senior marketing leaders tell us that, while they appreciate and need numbers, what they really want is a summary upfront that simply tells them what it all means.
Here’s the action item: Before you get to the numbers, add a summary. Put numbers into perspective so the rest of the report backs up the headlines. Include what happened, why, and what is being done to fix the bad and do more of the good. Caution: A summary will not fix bad data, or cure the fact that a report has the wrong metrics, or too many metrics, in it. A summary will require careful thought about what the numbers mean, and which ones are most valuable to determine past performance and future requirements. Marketing reporting should be more than a litany of available facts. It serves to illuminate facts with diagnosis and insights that support better decision making.
What’s in your dashboard?