Let’s be honest — dashboards are one of the coolest solutions, yet many companies overlook them. Maybe it’s because they think they are too complicated to set up (which, as you’ll see below, is a myth). Or perhaps they believe their current reporting methods are good enough. Whatever the motivation is, these tools often don’t get the attention they deserve. So now seems to be the right time to explore the benefits of these tools and how to choose the right ones.
Dashboard Definition
A dashboard is a tool that shows key performance indicators (KPIs) and other data a business may need. Their benefit over traditional reports is that the former can be a bit dense (it takes you quite a while to interpret them), while the latter show info more clearly. And then you can also choose a custom template when you use dashboards. There are hundreds of dashboard templates with different layouts, styles, components, token features, and more.
Dashboards Benefits
Real-Time Data Access
One of the biggest benefits of dashboards is that they give you the most up-to-date data. Let’s say you’re managing an e-commerce store. And you have a dashboard that shows you
- live sales data,
- inventory levels,
- and customer activity.
That is, you can see all the trends and respond to them. Maybe, there’s a sudden spike in demand for a product. Your dashboard will alert you and you’ll adjust inventory. Most importantly, you’ll do it faster than with a traditional report.
Smarter Decisions
Imagine you’re running a marketing campaign. You want to see how different channels are performing. You need it because each channel costs you something and so you want to see which ones are actually worth the investment. Are your Facebook ads driving more traffic than your email campaigns? Is there a particular demographic that’s more engaged? A dashboard can show you that.
Increased Transparency and Accountability
With dashboards, everyone sees everything. For example, in a sales team, each member tracks their performance against targets. This makes one feel more accountable because one sees how their work impacts the business. Plus, managers can see who needs additional support (or, vice versa, who’s excelling). In the former case, they can offer coaching and, in the latter, reward.
Time Savings
Of all the benefits of dashboard reporting, the time saved on data gathering and presenting is perhaps the most substantial. The thing here is that you would usually love to spend more time on analysis and less on data collecting. So the tools can help you automate the latter (e.g., collecting, updating) and free time for the former. You don’t need to manually pull sales data from your CRM or marketing metrics from Google Analytics. It thus gives you extra time; plus, it reduces errors.
How to Choose a Dashboard
The dashboard benefits we reviewed are impressive. Now, the trick here is that you only get these benefits if you choose the right tool.
- Identify Your Needs
List what you need from the tool. Do you need real-time updates, or are periodic summaries enough? What specific metrics are most important for your business?
- Evaluate Integration Capabilities
Ask if the dashboard integrates with your existing systems. Ideally, you should find this out from companies that have used it.
- Consider Usability
You may always hear that the tool should be user-friendly. Usually, they say that that is because if it’s too complicated, your team won’t use it effectively. In practice though, it should be added that if it’s complicated, they won’t even want to use it. They’ll just continue doing things the old way.
- Cost
Of course, when you read about different features, you immediately want them all. But each feature costs you something. So it’s wiser to first decide which features your team will really use (interview them or carry out a survey for this).
Final Thoughts
On balance, dashboards are great because they give you nicely organized real-time data. Of course, you should choose the tool thoughtfully to fully enjoy the benefits of using dashboards. For that, it’s always important to think about your needs and have a plan for how you’ll integrate the tool.
FAQs
Can dashboards be customized for different departments?
Absolutely. They can be tailored for different departments.
What are some common features to look for in a dashboard?
These are data visualization options (charts, graphs, etc.), real-time data updates, integration with various data sources, user-friendly interfaces, and customization.
How secure is the data on dashboards?
Data security is typically robust. Most tools offer encryption, secure data connections, and access controls.
