GUIDE / REPORTING
A marketing report that helps you make decisions
A good report doesn't stop at a chart. It connects a business goal, reliable measurement and a decision: what do we do next?
1. Start with a business question
Do we want more sales, more qualified enquiries or better profitability? One main goal gives the report structure. Clicks and reach are useful, but on their own they don't tell you how healthy the business is.
2. Separate outcomes from activity
Report separately on the team's actions, audience response and business outcomes. Publishing ten articles is an activity. Website visits are a response. Qualified enquiries or sales margin are outcomes.
3. Define every number
For acquisition costs, state which costs are included and who counts as an acquired customer. For revenue, explain whether returns, taxes and cancelled orders are included. Don't compare figures calculated on different bases.
4. Put comparisons in context
Show performance against the goal and a comparable period. Note seasonality, promotions, pricing and availability changes. Growth over the previous month doesn't necessarily mean improvement if the market is growing faster.
5. Don't simply add up platform results
Different ad platforms may claim the same sale. Agree on a shared reference point: store data, CRM or an agreed analytics system. Use platform reports for optimisation too, rather than treating them as independent sales figures to add together.
6. End with a decision
For every important observation, add a hypothesis, action, owner and review date. Example: category traffic is growing but purchases aren't — check product availability and search relevance before increasing the budget.
A simple monthly report structure
Goal → result → context → completed work → data limitations → insights → three priorities for next month. That's enough to make the report a basis for discussion and decisions rather than a screenshot archive.