How to Build a Marketing Report Quickly (Free Template) - CoSchedule

How to Build a Marketing Report Quickly (Free Template) Most marketers would rather not spend time building reports. It can be a tedious process that takes your focus off doing other work. However, good reporting is essential for proving your efforts are moving the needle. The key, then, is learning how to build effective reports quickly. That way, you’ll be able to show (with real data) how well you’re performing. You’ll also have more time to spend on things that actually make a difference (instead of compiling  reports). In this post, we’ll walk through a complete marketing report template you can use. It’s built to be flexible and editable to adjust to your own needs. We’ve also intentionally excluded complex formulas that, while beneficial for automation, can easily break when adding or removing portions you may or may not need. We’ll also show you: How to build this report using free tools. Different marketers have different tool sets and workflows. So, for the purposes of this post, we’ll demonstrate how and where to find usable data from free sources. Replace those tools with your own paid alternatives where necessary. How to analyze your marketing performance and translate it into language others can understand. How to get this all done quickly so you can spend your time on other things. Now, let’s make you a marketing reporting master. Why Bother Building Reports, Anyway? If you can find all your analytics data inside your reporting tools, or within individual apps and services themselves, then why do you need to complete formal reports? Here are a few reasons: Your boss and company executives need to see all your data in one place. They want to see your numbers, and they want to see them quickly. You need that visibility yourself. Mashing together data from multiple sources in one location can help you connect the dots in ways you wouldn’t otherwise. It’s useful for others in your company to see how marketing is performing. Beyond executives and decision-makers, other staff might benefit from seeing the numbers. To make this whole process more expedient, download your template below.How To Build A Marketing Report Quickly (Free Template)Section 1: Marketing and Sales Summary First and foremost, marketing needs to increase your bottom line. So, that’s where our reporting template will start. To begin, include a short summary of three successes your team achieved over the past month: These could include: Successful projects you’ve recently completed. Significant increases on your KPIs. Problems your team has been able to solve. Anything you’ve achieved that’s worth sharing can go in this space. Next, let’s take a look at your sales and revenue. These are the numbers that rule your entire life (as a marketer). Where to Find This Info Start with your own team to find quick wins to share. If you’re not immediately aware of what those might be, ask your supervisor or coworkers. Try to find stories that show what you’re accomplishing to earn your paychecks. Depending on your role and the size of your organization, tracking down your sales data may not be as obvious. If you don’t typically dig into tools that can show this data (CRMs, Google Analytics, and so forth), you may need to get some outside help. If that’s the case for you, here are some starting points to consider: Ask your sales team. They should have numbers for leads and revenue. Your finance department. Again, they should know how much money is coming in. Your sales management or tracking software. If your company uses such a service, see if you can get access for reporting purposes. Regardless of where they come from, what’s important is that you report accurate numbers. Recommended Reading: How to Rock at Relationship Marketing Like the Best Sales Pros Section 2: Website / Blog Performance Report You’ve likely invested a hefty chunk of change in your website. If you’re running a blog, you’re (hopefully) putting ample resources into publishing consistent content, too. In either instance, you should be making sure they’re both earning their keep.