Everybody has Dashboards, but how do we get the best use out of them?

We live in a time where customers demand fast service and businesses demand more data. The trouble is, processing bigger datasets and finding insights can be time consuming. Without the right tools, too much information can sometimes act as a hindrance.

One solution we believe should be more prevalent in the near future is the use of real-time dashboards which continuously updates to show you the latest information. This is something that has been around for a while but is surprisingly slow on the uptake. We ask ourselves:

  • Why you should care about dashboards
  • How Dashboards can be help you succeed

Why should you care about dashboards?

Imagine you are driving back from work on a nice Friday evening with the windows down and your favourite song comes on the radio. You are just about to enter a motorway where there aren’t any petrol stations. The trouble is, you need to maintain concentration on the road but you need to quickly understand if you need to put more petrol. What do you do? You look at your vehicle dashboard. Instantly you see the petrol arrow is nearly pointing to ‘E’ signalling you need to go to the petrol station. Crisis averted.

In a similar fashion, decision makers need to quickly understand changes in their business environment and respond in a timely manner, this can help enhance customer service, minimise losses and provide the insights necessary to innovate and stay ahead of competition. Using dashboards will help you:

1. Simplify your data, if a picture is worth 1,000 words, and a video is a book then a dashboard is a library.

2. Monitor and track KPI’s and metrics, for instance you might notice that site speed has shot through the roof because a server is down, you can quickly make the changes necessary to correct this before it becomes a major issue.

3. Analyse data from different suppliers all in one place, this will allow you to get a 360 degree overview on your business, making connections from different sources.

How dashboards can help you succeed?

With dashboards, you are able to monitor campaigns across different channels all under one single interface, this will save you a whole lot of time as opposed to logging into each channel to see your KPIs.

It also allows you to make connections between different channels, for example if the cost per click for Google PPC decreases dramatically you might find that you should divest away from promoting on Instagram and more on Search. Having a dashboard lets you get from analysis to insight much quicker.

Dashboards allow you to see real-time updates through a user-friendly interface. It is much easier to grasp trends when using visualisation techniques like charting. However, the factor separating a dashboard from a chart is the fact that it is dynamic. Giving users the ability to interact with visualisations mean they can often segment the data however they like providing insight on what age range makes up the majority of sales and what items they are buying.

How has this helped Brightblue Consulting?

It is clear that Big Data has been buzzword in the recent years and so it should be, with bigger datasets companies demand more comprehensive analytical tools to process their data. However, perhaps more importantly, it is paramount that decision makers are able to interpret the data and come up with insights. This is where data visualisations help. Here at Brightblue Consulting, we have found that using dashboards revolutionised the way we deliver insights to clients. Clients often prefer looking at dynamic dashboards as opposed to static charts where they can interact with the real-time data through segmentations and from gain a deeper understanding about their business.

 

Brightblue Consulting are a London based consultancy which help businesses drive incremental profit from their data. We provide predictive analytics that enable clients to make informed decisions based on data and industry knowledge. Through Market Mix Modelling, a strand of Econometrics, Brightblue has a proven track record showing a 30% improvement in marketing Return on Investment for clients’ spend. If you are interested to find out more please contact us through email by clicking here and one of our consultants will get back to you shortly.

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