What your monthly report should tell you

Many business owners get a monthly report with dozens of numbers and few answers. Clicks and impressions don’t tell you whether the ads paid off. A good report answers three questions: what did we achieve, what did it cost and what do we do next?

The numbers that matter

• Results in business terms: sales, quote requests, inquiries or bookings.
• Cost per result: what one inquiry or sale cost in ad spend.
• For online stores, revenue from ads compared with ad spend.
• Change over time: against last month and the same month last year, with seasons in mind.

What a report must include

Beyond the numbers, a report should say what was done and why: what was tested, what changed and what was learned. Without that, it’s just a printout. Just as important is next month’s action list, so you know where the budget goes.

Warning signs

Be careful if the report is all impressions and clicks, if the numbers never match your own sales, or if the contents change every month so nothing can be compared. A good partner also tells you when something didn’t work.

We report to our clients on their own dashboard, which updates itself, and go through the numbers and next steps together.