We are currently in the age of information; more specifically, data. And while having all that data at our fingertips can help us make smarter decisions, it can also be quite overwhelming.
Today, 67% of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) admit they are overwhelmed by this data deluge. And while data analysts exist, it really is only a lucky few who work have access to them. For those who don’t have the benefit of a dedicated data analyst, an analytics dashboard tool is a great option.
What is an Analytics Dashboard?
Analytics dashboards are tools that aggregate and visually represent data from various sources, enabling users to monitor and analyze key metrics effectively. Basically, an analytics dashboard is a visual representation of key metrics.
Dashboards today integrate live data from numerous sources and offer AI-enhanced data processing, visualization, and interpretation. This means analytics dashboards convert raw data into actionable information, helping to boost your business performance.
When deciding what to include in an analytics dashboard, an organisation will identify a number of key performance indicators (KPI) that exist within their data. A KPI measures how effective an action is, whether departments are hitting their targets, and whether the business is meeting overall expectations. By focusing on the most important data for your business, your dashboard can give you a clearer big-picture view.
There are three main elements to consider when understanding an analytics dashboard:
Analytics dashboards are typically categorized into three types:
Strategic dashboards help to plan long-term strategies by providing a big-picture look at performance. Clear visualizations make it easier to spot growth opportunities and flag issues that need attention. For instance, a CMO might use a strategic dashboard to forecast monthly marketing strategies and decide how to distribute budget across different channels.
Examples of metrics for strategic dashboards:
A dashboard of this kind can be set to cover a longer period, for example, monthly, and may also include a metric to compare results to the previous period.
Key takeaways:
Operational dashboards are best understood in terms of urgency; they often monitor data sets that are time-sensitive and record progress moment-to-moment. Operational dashboards alert managers to critical issues that must be addressed and allow them to take fast action.
In marketing, website performance is a great example. A website performance dashboard may include metrics such as:
Monitoring these metrics ensures that direct action can be taken if any key areas are underperforming.
Key takeaways:
Analytical dashboards are the kind most commonly found in business intelligence tools. They are used by analysts to explore large data sets to identify trends, predict outcomes and help organizations make smarter decisions.
An analytical dashboard can be a valuable tool in various situations across different industries and departments. It allows users to monitor performance metrics in real time, providing insights into key performance indicators such as sales figures, customer engagement, or website traffic. Strategic planning can be guided by the high-level overview an analytical dashboard offers, helping organizations allocate budgets and resources effectively. Additionally, dashboards are useful for identifying trends and patterns, enabling quick adjustments to strategies when needed. They support forecasting and predictive analysis by examining historical data, which can be crucial for decisions like production scheduling or campaign launches.
When building an analytical dashboard, you may want to include the following metrics:
Key takeaways:
Dashboards are more than the static visualisations they once were (or still are if you use certain tools). The latest advancements come from AI. AI has revolutionized data analytics, bringing automation to complex data processes and surfacing insights that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example, Hurree uses AI for predictive analytics and automated data summaries, which saves time and enhances the accuracy of forecasts. This gives businesses a competitive advantage by anticipating market shifts and consumer behaviors ahead of time.
Using these modern dashboards with AI enhancements offers multiple benefits:
Choosing the right dashboard is crucial and should align with your business's or team’s specific objectives. For marketers, it's important to choose a dashboard that offers up-to-date insights and integrates seamlessly with other data tools. Look for a dashboard that scales with your business and is easy to use, ensuring all stakeholders can leverage it without a steep learning curve.
Analytics dashboards offer a powerful resource for organizations lacking the skills, time, or manpower to manually handle data. In this blog, we covered the basics of analytics dashboards and how marketing teams use them to gain insights and shape strategies. But it's not just marketers who benefit - departments like sales, HR, and finance can all use dashboards to clearly see and understand their data.
Empower your teams to focus on the most important data, use impactful visualizations for instant insights, and make data accessible to even the least tech-savvy team members. Dashboards enable quicker, more precise decisions, putting you in control of your data.
Get started with your free trial of Hurree today and discover how to truly harness the power of analytics and transform your company reporting using cross-platform dashboards. If you have any questions then feel free to reach out to contact@hurree.co, we'd be happy to answer them!