To help you streamline your marketing performance reporting, we asked 13 SaaS and tech marketing experts to share their top tactics for simplifying the process.
From utilizing marketing analysis tools to applying the rule of 3, these CEOs, founders, and marketing professionals offer valuable insights on how to effectively communicate campaign results to stakeholders and C-level executives.
Utilize Marketing Analysis Tools
Delivering impeccable digital marketing campaigns is not a straightforward process. It can be exhausting and challenging yet extremely rewarding. With the help of some marketing campaign analysis tools, you can simplify the reporting of the marketing campaign and channels to wider business stakeholders.
Tools are software solutions that help advertisers track and forecast campaign performance. From analyzing and tracking the multitude of metrics like ROAS, ROMI, CPC, and CPL to different channels, tools prove an effective way to simplify the reporting of the performance.
Tools help in the five main types of analytics:
- Lead generation and attribution
- Social media marketing analytics
- Web analytics
- Email marketing analytics
- SEO analytics
You can automate the entire reporting cycle and save time for other tasks. Whatagraph, Improvado, Domo, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Intelligence, Funnel.io, Supermetrics, and many others are examples of the best marketing campaign analysis tools.
Saikat Ghosh, Associate Director of HR and Business, Technource
Embrace Data Visualization
Visualizing your data has a huge impact on simplifying campaign metrics for wider business stakeholders. With data visualization, you can effectively present complex information so your intended audience can grasp valuable insights.
Through charts, graphs, and dashboards, you can highlight trends and key data points, and compare metrics. Well-made data visualization samples make communicating campaign performance appealing and easy to understand, driving better business outcomes.
Brandon Brown, CEO, GRIN
Focus on Relevant KPIs
One tactic for simplifying the reporting of marketing campaigns and channel performance to wider business stakeholders and C-level is to focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with the overall business goals.
Instead of overwhelming stakeholders with a lot of data and metrics, focus on the KPIs that are most relevant to the business objectives. For example, if the goal is to increase sales, focus on metrics like revenue generated, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition. If the goal is to increase brand awareness, focus on metrics like website traffic, social media engagement, and brand mentions.
It’s also important to present the data in a clear and easy-to-understand format. This could include visualizations like charts and graphs, as well as concise explanations of what the data means and how it aligns with the business goals.
Jason Moss, President and Co-founder, Moss Technologies
Align Metrics with Goals
One tactic I use to simplify the reporting of the marketing campaign and channel performance is to ensure that the metrics presented align with the company’s broader goals and objectives. This approach allows stakeholders to easily understand how marketing initiatives are contributing to the overall success of the company.
By framing the reporting in this way, stakeholders can quickly see the impact of marketing campaigns and channels on achieving the company’s goals, which helps to streamline decision-making and drive more effective strategies going forward.
Luciano Colos, Founder and CEO, PitchGrade
Simplify with Visuals
Using visuals like graphs, charts, and infographics to explain complex material simply can be an effective strategy. In our marketing reports at my previous employer, we included visuals to help stakeholders rapidly understand the effectiveness of campaigns and channels. We were able to do this without drowning them in jargon and technical phrases, giving them a thorough knowledge of the facts.
Percy Grunwald, Co-founder, Compare Banks
Hone in on Key KPIs
One tactic I use in simplifying the reporting of the performance of marketing campaigns and channels to wider business stakeholders and C-level is to focus on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter most to them. Instead of overwhelming them with every metric and data point, I hone in on the metrics that align with their goals and objectives.
For example, if the C-level is primarily concerned with revenue growth, I focus on metrics such as conversion rates, customer lifetime value, and return on investment (ROI). I present these metrics in a clear and concise manner, using visual aids such as charts and graphs to help them easily digest the information.
By simplifying the reporting process and focusing on the metrics that matter most, I am able to effectively communicate the impact of marketing campaigns and channels to wider business stakeholders and C-level. This helps them make informed decisions and allocate resources accordingly.
Nick Cotter, Founder, newfoundr
Set Team Expectations
The easiest way to simplify and improve the quality of your marketing progress reports is to outline your expectations with your team. There is no doubt that progress updates should be written down, but different people outline different things differently.
In spite of the tools that point out what to highlight and what not to highlight, there are still misunderstandings. Therefore, you may feel like having a 30-minute meeting with your marketing team about report structure and writing is a waste of time right now, but it might be your best decision this month.
Marco Genaro Palma, Co-founder, TechNews180
Consolidate and Visualize KPIs
By consolidating key performance indicators and presenting them in a visually engaging format, such as graphs, charts, and tables, you can effectively communicate complex data in a manner that is both accessible and impactful. This approach allows stakeholders to quickly grasp essential insights and understand the value of marketing efforts without getting bogged down in technical details or jargon.
Ilija Sekulov, Marketing and SEO, Mailbutler
Visualize for Digestibility
You know, a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Instead of overwhelming stakeholders with heaps of numbers and data, visualizations can help you condense all that information into something more digestible and easy to understand.
For example, you could create a dashboard that tracks key performance indicators (KPIs) and shows the data in a visually appealing way, using pie charts, bar graphs, or line charts. This way, your C-level execs, and other stakeholders can quickly grasp the campaign’s performance without getting bogged down by all the nitty-gritty details.
And the best part is that there are tons of tools out there to help you create these dashboards, like Google Data Studio, Tableau, or even good ol’ Microsoft Excel! So, give it a shot, and I bet you’ll see just how much easier it is to communicate your marketing performance.
John Cammidge, PPC Expert, Jcammidge
Align KPIs with Business Goals
One tactic that can simplify the reporting of the performance of marketing campaigns and channels to wider business stakeholders and C-level is to focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with the business’s overall goals and objectives.
To achieve this, it’s essential to establish a clear understanding of the business’s objectives and identify the metrics that are most important to the stakeholders. For example, if the business’s primary objective is to increase revenue, then metrics like customer acquisition cost (CAC), customer lifetime value (CLV), and revenue generated per marketing channel may be the most relevant KPIs to report on.
Brad Cummins, Founder, Insurance Geek
Apply The Rule of 3
One tactic I’ve used as a SaaS marketer in simplifying the performance reporting of marketing campaigns and channels to wider business stakeholders and C-level is to use the rule of 3 to focus on the 3 metrics that matter most to a campaign or channel.
The rule of 3 is a principle used in marketing and communication that suggests that information presented in groups of three is more satisfying, effective, and memorable than other numbers of items.
The top 3 metrics for SaaS marketers are often leads, pipeline, and revenue. In performance reporting, I often focus on these 3 metrics and use clear and concise language to explain the performance of these metrics.
This approach allows stakeholders and C-level executives to quickly understand the impact of the marketing efforts, and make informed decisions based on the data presented without getting bogged down in the details of leading indicators and vanity metrics.
Joe Kevens, Founder and Director of Demand Gen, B2B SaaS Reviews