Get more from your data with marketing dashboarding and data visualization
Why marketing dashboarding is crucial for success
In the past, marketers compiled reports from each advertising channel on Excel spreadsheets, which got messy, time-consuming and of course, left plenty of room for error. By the time the spreadsheet was complete, new data had already become available. Instead, interactive marketing dashboards have replaced this outdated method of data analysis, enabling you to see an overview of your various campaigns and KPIs in one place and in real-time.
There are plenty of advantages to using a marketing dashboard in conjunction with data visualization techniques:
Clearer Insights Than Raw Data Analysis
Dashboards and data visualization can help to identify trends and patterns that wouldn’t be immediately obvious from looking at raw data sets at a glance. Data visualization tools make it easier to process information and discover trends and root causes by enabling you to quickly filter and aggregate data in more meaningful ways. This can give you valuable insight into what’s working well and where improvements need to be made, with the agility to respond quickly to optimize campaigns.
Finally, using a marketing dashboard can help to improve communication and transparency between team members by providing a centralized place for all the relevant data. This makes it easy for everyone to access the information they need and ensures that everyone is working with the same up-to-date data.
The most successful marketing dashboards are often the simplest.
Components of a marketing dashboard & data visualization tools
1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
A good dashboard should contain the most important KPIs that you’re tracking. Examples include sales, email sign-ups, number of leads generated and conversion rates. This helps you quickly gauge your progress towards set objectives and stay on top of your performance indicators.
2. Metrics / Analytics
These are data points which allow marketers to compare and measure their results over time – such as cost per lead, customer acquisition cost and website engagement data. Metrics like these help you gain insight into your campaigns’ effectiveness, so you can make adjustments if needed.
3. Reports / Data Visualization
This aspect of the marketing dashboard will typically include charts, graphs or tables which help make the data more digestible and easier to understand at a glance. Having these visual aids in place allows for better insights into trends taking place across different areas of the business, such as marketing campaigns and product sales performance etc.
4. 360-Degree View
The importance of using different sources of online and offline data cannot be understated. By having a 360º view of your data, you can gain invaluable insights into your business operations. Online data sources such as impressions and costs from social media and PPC campaigns can give you a detailed picture of the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, while offline data sources like sales and brand awareness can provide valuable insights into your overall business performance. By integrating both types of data, you can get a complete picture of your business and make informed decisions that will help you improve your bottom line.
How to organize your dashboard
It is equally important to organize your dashboard in such a way that it adds value otherwise, you won’t use it to its full potential. To do this, your dashboard should be:
√ Easily accessible
√ Show data in order of significance, with the most important KPIs/metrics at the top
√ No more than 10 visuals to avoid cluttering the dashboard
√ Use visually-appealing colours that won’t aggravate eyes (e.g., avoid high-contrasting colours like red and black)
√ Be void of any unnecessary design elements
√ Invite sharing and collaboration
Types of data visualization for your dashboard
On the topic of visuals, you need to decide what type of data visualization you would like to utilize. Your options are:
√ To show continuous data, such as your ad spend over time, you can use line graphs
√ Use bar graphs when comparing distinctly different categories of data, such as conversion rates from each paid ad channel
√ For an overview of the contribution of various categories to the whole, such as the percentage of traffic that came from each of your paid channels, use pie charts
√ When you want to highlight the various stages of the customer journey or your sales funnel, you can use funnel charts
To aid you in making the most of your data, there are a number of data visualization tools we regularly use when building dashboards. These include Looker, PowerBi, Tableau and Datorama.
Why choose Indaru to build your marketing dashboard?
We have extensive experience in building customized marketing dashboards for a variety of different business sizes and industries, so we know how to tailor them to your specific needs…
We use the latest data visualization tools and best practices to ensure that your dashboard is both accurate and visually appealing. Our team of experts can help you to interpret your data and make better decisions about your marketing strategy going forward.