8 Tips For Getting Dashboards Right With Cross-Channel Metrics

Measurement and attribution go hand in hand, and one of the most basic elements of a good attribution model is a solid dashboard with tangible metrics that are clear and easy to read. With the evolution and rise of digital advertising, dashboards have become increasingly popular and complex.

While dashboards originated largely with clicks (and most dashboards are click based) there are many other post-click actions and data points that indicate consumer engagement and are helpful to monitor and evaluate for a complete picture of media performance.

Dashboards are meant to inform the user of key trends and response patterns through aggregate data, so it is important to include metrics that cross media channels. This includes calls, QR Code swipes and store visits, among others. As media channels are converging – and aren’t working in isolation– it is crucial to track cross channel performance.

Consumer response spans different media/campaigns and different response channels. Each response may spur a different activity or additional response.  As the search experience has changed, different metrics measuring different devices are now interrelated. Dashboards can help understand the flow of consumer behavior.

Dashboards are not one size fits all. Each agency and/or media publisher should build a dashboard that reflects its own unique goals and priorities and provides simplified dashboard views for their clients. Successful dashboards effectively communicate agency and publisher results.

While one may be very interested in using the info for greater consumer targeting, another may be focused on increasing resulting foot traffic, or tracking a consumer’s various touch points before culminating in a purchase. Given this, it is important to consider which metrics matter to you and your team and how to integrate them.

Here a few tips to consider in developing an agency or media publisher dashboard that demonstrates user-based or audience specific key performance insights across channels:

1. Don’t forget about attribution. Whenever possible give credit for purchases, inquiries and searches to the appropriate media.
2. Include your media spend for an accurate reflection and comparison of ROI.
3. Roll up the metrics into different summarized views. For example, compare performance by campaign, media type, geography, distribution partner and brand. Slice and dice the data so your dashboard can better inform your media decisions and serve as a tool to optimize and refine the program to drive higher response, performance and ROI.
4. Make sure there are options for different user-level or role-based views, e.g., executive vs. operations vs. account/campaign management. Each role would want a different presentation of the dashboard metrics tailored for their particular needs.
5. Think outside the box. Your ad partners may provide separate canned dashboards, but take the time to work with them to hone in on the most important elements for supporting your goals and develop an integrated view that is meaningful for your specific organization and goals.
6. Ensure that your ad partners have robust APIs that allow you to manipulate the data so you can view it in a format that works for your organization.
7. Track cross media metrics like calls. Call data such as demographic profiles, location, peak calling times, call durations, and keywords spoken offer valuable insights that are not available with many other performance metrics.
8. Obviously, there are many cross-media insights to be gleaned and the big picture is important, but each channel also has its own unique value proposition that should be showcased meaningfully in the dashboard.

Whatever your media mix – some combination of digital, mobile, traditional and social – a strong dashboard will help you see how your efforts are performing individually and collectively and how changes to any of the moving parts affects the overall results.

Standalone data points don’t tell a compelling story – the insights are in the aggregate views. Your dashboard should be a continuous business intelligence and customer intelligence platform that helps shape your future media efforts.