1. Stop Reporting Numbers That You Don’t Plan to Act On

Vanity metrics often sneak in because they’re easy to get, not because they mean anything. The real test? If the number goes up or down, would you change anything?

A few ideas:

• If a metric doesn’t affect strategy, drop it from the main dashboard
• Keep secondary metrics in the background for context but not decision-making
• Prioritize clarity over volume: 5 good metrics are better than 25 confusing ones
• If you MUST include them, have them in an appendix

2. Tie Every Metric to a Business Goal or Funnel Stage

Marketing doesn’t operate in a vacuum. If a number isn’t connected to revenue, cost reduction, retention, or growth, it makes itself harder to defend.

A few ideas:

• Map each tracked metric to a specific stage in your funnel (awareness, consideration, conversion, retention)
• Define “what good looks like”. Is 3% click-through a win or a warning?
• Use metrics to tell a story, not just a snapshot

For example: “Traffic is flat, but conversions improved, because we focused on bottom-funnel retargeting.”

3. Build Reporting That’s Built for the Business, Not the Channel

Most dashboards start in GA4, Ads Manager, or HubSpot, but your exec team isn’t fluent in those tools. They want to see results in business terms, not ad spend details or email open rates.

A few ideas:

• Roll campaign-level data into summary-level views (e.g. cost per lead, cost per qualified lead, CAC)
• Use plain language to explain performance: “We exceeded our goal by 14%” is more valuable than a chart with five filters
• Show trends, not just snapshots. At Smartt, we like to use arrows, deltas, or sparklines to track direction, not just totals, even if it means taking a screenshot of a visualization and then adding red and green lines over it to highlight the trend.

4. Report Results While They Still Matter

Too many teams launch a campaign, then disappear into “we’ll report on it next quarter” mode. But if you don’t learn while it’s live, you miss the chance to adjust.

A few ideas:

• Set a rhythm: weekly reporting for in-flight campaigns, monthly summaries, quarterly retrospectives
• Make post-mortems a system, not a one-off: What worked? What didn’t? What’s reusable?
• Create a single “lessons learned” doc or dashboard, so each campaign makes the next one smarter

5. Track Fewer Metrics, But Tie Them to Real Impact

You don’t need to be a data analyst to report marketing results. But you do need to connect the dots between what you’re doing and what it’s doing for the business.

A few ideas:

• Pick 1 to 2 primary KPIs per channel or initiative
• Build lightweight attribution (it doesn’t need to be perfect, just directional)
• Collaborate with sales or operations to align on definitions of success (a “lead” means the same thing to everyone)

This way, you’re building a fast, reliable reporting system that doesn’t require a data team to maintain, but still passes scrutiny when the CFO asks, “So what did we get out of that?”

To Put It Into Practice…

If your dashboard is full of metrics you wouldn’t defend in a boardroom, it’s time to rethink what you’re measuring.

Focus on the numbers that shape strategy. Track what you’re willing to act on. And turn every campaign into a smarter one.

That’s exactly what we help teams do with FlexHours… stitch together strategy, execution, and results. From tracking setup to post-launch reporting, we help you prove what’s working, fix what isn’t, and keep your growth engine moving.

Want help building reporting that actually matters? Let’s talk FlexHours.