For any business, big or small, marketing reports serve a significant purpose. They play an important role in monitoring and examining the work flow of the department. But, often the value of marketing is underestimated, and they ultimately fail to reach the mark. Poor reports provide very little value or lack enough guidance for the company for future investments. But, it does not have to be that way. So, here we have stated six crucial ways to make sure your marketing reporting is fruitful, to determine the value of your effort and investment to the entire business.
#1 Communicate in the Same Language
Many marketers tend to use a lot of fuzzy terminology like clicks, impressions, and opens while reporting the results. But, rather, you should concentrate more on data and analytics. This way, you will be able to measure results better, and get a clear picture of how marketing is affecting sales, as well as create a report in the same metrics that c-level executives use. Doing so, you are more like the sales department, which distinctively manifests a clear-cut contribution to the company's bottom line.
#2 Real-Time Reporting
Marketing reports may cover a huge time span. They may focus on the details of the last month, last quarter, and even last year. But, the industry evolves from time to time. That is why business today needs to generate up-to-date reports in real time, so you will exactly know how your marketing campaigns are performing.
#3 Look Ahead
When you watch evening weather forecasting on a news channel, their report is centered on what temperature it is right now and what it is going to be tomorrow – not what it was in the last week. However, most marketing reports appear similar to the last month’s weather report. Indeed, you can use previous reports as a reference to compare your current progress.
Look ahead in your reports. With over 60 marketing channels today, marketing has become highly predictable. Figure out which activities will be the most effective and prepare a report on the campaigns that you think will be more productive. Note down details like how much ROI you expect until a particular date. Doing this will help you work on problems up front, rather than failing and fixing them later.
#4 Concentrate on the Final Numbers
According to IBMA Digital Marketing Company marketing reports normally focus on details such as how much money was spent on different marketing strategies, mediums and other line items. But, the most critical part – profit or loss is often overlooked or missing. Marketing report must answer the most important question – how much did marketing added to the final financial number?
For marketing to remain effective and valued, it must give all the details of financial contribution to the business.
#5 Return on Investment
Every business exists to gain profits, and money is what measures the success of business. However, marketing is often perceived as just an expense. Financial officers want to know what they are getting for the money spent. Therefore, in addition to the figures, marketers should also focus on the company’s return on investment.
#6 Cover All the Areas of the Business
The new era of better marketing reports will include many areas of the business. This includes sales, marketing, finance, analytics, and other parameters. It is important to gather information from these different fields and integrate them into an executive-level view. New efficient technologies can make this possible, and help promote the growth of marketers and their importance in the company.