What is a marketing dashboard?
A marketing dashboard is a screen that pulls key metrics from your ad platforms, analytics, and CRM into one view. It lets you track performance against goals without opening each tool separately.
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What a good dashboard includes
Start from the questions the viewer needs answered, then pick the few metrics that answer them. An executive view may focus on revenue, spend, and return, while a channel manager may need click and conversion detail.
Show each metric against a target or a prior period. A number with no comparison is hard to interpret.
Common dashboard problems
Dashboards fail when they show too much, rely on inconsistent definitions, or pull from data that no one checks. If two reports show different totals for the same metric, people stop trusting both.
Document how each metric is calculated and where its data comes from. Review the dashboard regularly and remove charts nobody uses.
Common questions
What should be on a marketing dashboard?
Include metrics tied to your goals, such as spend, conversions, cost per acquisition, revenue, and return on ad spend. Add context like targets and trends, and leave out numbers that don't lead to a decision.
What tools are used to build dashboards?
Teams use business intelligence tools, reporting platforms, and spreadsheets, often fed by a data warehouse or connectors to ad platforms. The right choice depends on your data sources and team.
How often should a dashboard update?
Match it to how often you make decisions. Daily is common for active campaigns, while weekly or monthly may be enough for strategy views.
What is the difference between a dashboard and a report?
A dashboard is an ongoing, usually live view of key metrics. A report is typically a snapshot for a set period, often with written analysis and recommendations.
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