We have talks with clients regarding measurement, metrics, dashboards, and scorecards many times a week. Given that practically anybody can use a Martech or CRM application to generate a data report these days, you may be wondering why this problem continues coming up.
Because CMOs, and by extension the C-Suite, continue to be dissatisfied with their performance management and ability to provide meaningful outcomes despite significant analytics expenditures.
One recurring pattern we’ve found when we ask questions during these meetings is that many individuals conflate campaign scorecards with actionable dashboards. Both are useful tools for performance management and accountability, but they are not the same.
Before we discuss how to enhance a dashboard, it’s important to understand the difference between the two.
To illustrate the distinction, we utilized the example of a round of golf. We’ll summarize it here. Scorecards for campaigns are similar to those used for a game of golf.
The scorecard shows you where the hole is on the course and what the performance objective is for that hole, which is “par.” You keep track of your actual performance, or score, for each hole as you play.
You may examine how you did against the performance objective and any rivals you played with at the conclusion of the round. You’ve got a scorecard.
You won’t know why you got that score, whether it was because you made too many putts on the green or because you hit too many shots out of bounds.
Dashboards may assist you understand why you got a certain score and what you can do to improve or control it.
Scorecards should be used in marketing efforts. Setting up a scorecard with performance objectives for CTAs that are related to the consumer purchasing experience is one option.
Are dashboards only a recap of campaigns, if scorecards are beneficial for campaigns?
No.
Take a look at your car’s dashboard. It’s not a rundown of your road travels.
While the various gauges may indicate how many miles the automobile has driven, they are meant to keep us informed about how the car and we are functioning in real time.
The purpose of the speedometer is to keep us inside the stated speed limit. We may chose to speed, but we will understand why if we get a speeding ticket.
Our gasoline gauge is the same way. Its purpose is to keep us informed about the state of our gasoline so that we do not wind up stranded on the side of the road.
The point here is that the dashboard isn’t keeping score; instead, it’s offering data to aid decision-making.
A marketing automation platform or CRM system’s data is often more akin to a scorecard than a dashboard. AND these information may be utilized to build the dashboard.
When you add this secret ingredient to your dashboard, you’ll be able to create a better one. Many of the dashboards we see are made up of a jumble of data, making performance management difficult.
Data from a number of systems, but none that give insight into what’s working and how Marketing is affecting things like customer value, acquisition, retention, product adoption, share of preference, and so on.
It seems that a corporate dashboard, such as one for marketing, should function similarly to a car dashboard, in which all components inform the driver of the vehicle’s present status. How quick, what temperature is it, what tire pressure is it, and so on. A motorist can modify and make appropriate judgments depending on the information provided by their dashboard.
This brings us to our dashboard smart tip. The “secret ingredient” in dashboard creation.
It’s here: logic chains.
Are you unsure what this mysterious ingredient is or how to prepare it?
If you’re acquainted with the wonderful Indian spice known as Garam Masala, you already know that it’s made up of a number of spices! Garam Masala is similar to logic chains. They’re made up of a logical sequence of measurements and metrics.
As a result, developing a useful dashboard requires more than just good data. It’s all about picking the correct measurements and indicators that allow you to relate them to each other and the business outcomes they affect.
Thanks to Laura Patterson at Business 2 Community whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.
