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10 ways marketing dashboards save you time

PUBLISHED ON 28 JULY, 2014

 

1. By automatically integrating all of your data into one place

Those days of wasting many valuable hours simply reorganizing, copying, transcribing and cleaning up data from various different sources and manually inputting them into Excel are long gone now that you have access to automated marketing dashboards.

2. By ensuring data accuracy

Let’s face it, human error is quite common when undertaking repetitive tasks, such as the tedious copying and pasting of data between various sources and Excel. When your data is automatically integrated all chance of these errors is eliminated; ensuring data quality. Not only is time saved in compiling the data, it is also saved by not having to confirm and reconfirm values. Perhaps more importantly, time is not wasted analyzing inaccurate data, drawing poor conclusions and acting upon these for inefficient results

3. No replication of data analysis

Often distinct teams work to disparate aims and in the process waste time by replicating data collection and analysis. Automated dashboards simply eliminate these inefficiencies.

4. Emails. Emails. Emails

How many emails are sent back and forth trying to make decisions on actions to be taken? We imagine you are quite familiar with these 50-email-long threads full of different opinions (and often devoid of decisions), that keep coming in every 3 seconds. So how can automated marketing dashboards help?

• Avoid irrelevant and excessive emails– personalised dashboards with collaboration features allow you to join the most relevant conversations, and avoid those that are not important to you.
• Avoid that constant pinging of your inbox– emails are especially disruptive to general efficiency, as we have become manic about constantly checking them. All this time adds up, and lack of concentration on other tasks may also be costly.  Keeping all your marketing insights in a separate environment not only gives you access at all times, it also avoids intrusion- allowing you to remain focused on other vital tasks.

5. No more meetings

Often meetings are called lightly, run poorly, and are disbanded without any real conclusions being drawn.
Automated marketing dashboards can provide you with a forum for ideas and communication that makes the calling of many meetings unnecessary. This forum can allow each individual to take time to evaluate the information presented and share carefully thought-out opinions, as well as comment on the suggestions of others. This considered collaboration can lead to better decisions than those rash ones made in meetings, and can generally allow more time for analysis as time is not wasted organising and running ineffectual meetings.

 

6. Clear and Beautiful visualizations

This might seem like a strange one, but can you really tell me you have never wasted quite a bit of time in Powerpoint trying to make your presentation for your boss just that bit more beautiful? Automated dashboards will provide you with strong, compelling and beautiful visualisations that best communicate your insights.

7. Well-organized data that is easy to comprehend

Have you ever received a report only to find the structure complex and confusing? Have you ever had to ask a colleague to explain what they were trying to represent?

Marketing dashboards should present your data in a clear, logical and well-organised fashion, assisting understanding and avoiding time wasted in seeking clarification.

8.  Timely data can lead to timely decisions

Perhaps you have received some data, worked very hard on evaluating all the possibilities and finally come up with a (well, you think at least!) genius idea, only to present it to your colleagues and find out that it is too late, the situation has changed This will never occur when a marketing dashboard presents you with all your data in a timely manner.

* What do we mean by ‘timely’, you might be asking- real-time data for us is not necessarily second-by-second data, but data provided within the correct time frame to allow impactful decisions to be made that can lead to improved performance.

9. Clear outline of responsibilities

Marketing dashboards can allow you to not only clearly outline which roles and responsibilities pertain to different individuals, but allow you to monitor the performance of these roles by providing transparency through workflows. Workflows allow you to see which tasks have been assigned to and completed by each individual involved. This eliminates decision-making bottlenecks by adding accountability to the process.

10. Analysis will ALWAYS lead to decisions and action

Perhaps you know the frustrating feeling of working very hard on a project and coming up with a solution, only to have no final decision made on it and no actions implemented. Perhaps the project got re-prioritised, or simply forgotten in a mass of emails and tight schedules. Having all communication, suggestions and recommendations for decisions clearly outlined on your marketing dashboards increases the cost of not implementing actions and means that these suggestions will never simply be missed.

Bonus time saver: Learn from your mistakes!

By recording all suggestions, decisions and actions in one central hub or dashboard that allows access to historical data, you will have every opportunity to learn from your mistakes. Avoiding making the same mistake again will save you time, and these repositories will also provide you with insight into inefficient past solutions and guide you towards better future decisions.