Analytics is a well-known term in the world of business. Company leaders and managers are constantly expected to make decisions based on important data.
Nowadays, managers go through data for everything from marketing initiatives to cash flow reports so they can measure the success of their business operations. Since we’re flooded with data, analytic reports exist to summarize everything into a digestible document. These documents break down the statistics, analyze ongoing trends, and provide insights into behaviors of the targeted demographics, either consumers or other businesses.
However, all reports aren’t created equal. Depending on the industry you work in and the type of data you want to obtain, the standard reports only skim the surface when it comes to identifying current trends and looking to find a way to enhance or streamline processes. On the other hand, customizable reports can save you valuable time, and money, and offer you exactly what you need.
Below, we take a look at the main benefits of custom reporting vs. standard reports and how you can get deeper insights into how processes are working and how to improve them to get the desired result.
Measure Performance
One of the main reasons why customized reporting is an excellent feature for many companies is that not all people define success in the same way. Every organization has its own set of goals and strategies to meet them.
In the real estate sector, for example, customizable reports can help evaluate performance more quickly, track leading indicators like response rate to evaluate lead sources and agent performance faster, see if leads from each source are responsive, and track appointments set by agents.
Custom reports are also a great opportunity that provides in-depth data on your marketing efforts to attract new leads and generate sales. The status of potential leads in your marketing funnels can also be included to show potential revenue and where you need to step up.
Save Time with Automation
A great benefit of custom reporting vs. standard reports is the time efficiency. Instead of collecting data, preparing and crunching numbers in an Excel spreadsheet to then be able to create the report, you could instead use a tool that will do all this for you.
After the initial setup, the reporting process can be fully streamlined and automated. As all data feeds into the report/dashboard are live, any additional incoming requests can be done quickly by simply making the needed changes to the existing report.
Tailored To Your Specific Needs
The great thing about custom reports is that they can be built to specification, providing the information you need and omitting any data that isn’t required from the report. Standard reports have their uses but every business and organization is unique and they require slightly different information from their reports.
Creating a unique report that is suitable for your business will allow you to focus on the information you need and quickly obtain it, without having to dig down and risk obtaining incorrect data.
Boost Team Productivity
Custom reports are highly suitable for different business sectors like finance, sales, or marketing. The main goal is to translate any data into actionable insight that can help your team make smarter and evidence-based decisions.
The standard reports do not delve deep into the analytics when it comes to identifying trends whereas by creating custom reports, you can help your sales team get more deals and guide your marketing team when it comes to determining what is working and what is not, and bring the different teams together with multi-channel marketing reports.
Custom Visualizations
Creating your visualizations can help you interpret your data more easily and make well-informed decisions. With custom reporting, you can find graphs, funnels, maps, charts, and other visualization tools that will show the data you care about and require.
You can add design elements to customize the appearance of your dashboard/report and provide orientation and guidance so that the viewer can fully understand your report with just one glance. Controller elements such as the date range will make it possible for you to jump between different periods and filters and hover-over effects will make your reports more interactive and insightful.
Final Words
We live in a world where we sit on piles of digital data, and luckily analytics reports exist to condense all information and help us digest it better. Custom reporting luckily breaks down the statistics, analyzes trends, and provides valuable insights so that your business can step up its game and improve its ROI. When you obtain a collection of custom reports, you’ll be able to see correlations that simply are not visible in the standard reports and they will help you set yourself apart from the rest.