CRM Dashboard: Benefits, Importance & Key Elements

Customer experience is one of the factors used to measure business outcomes. Consumers today have more industry influence. They are interested in a product, its marketing, and its outcome.

This has compelled businesses to invest in their customer support teams to meet rising customer demands. They use customer relationship management (CRM) systems to track and manage interactions with customers.

A CRM system is software that helps businesses manage their interactions with customers and potential customers.

Customer Relationship Management dashboards are designed to provide departments with a preview of client information, products, services, and feedback.

In this article, we will learn what a dashboard for CRM is and its importance. We will also discuss the benefits of using a CRM dashboard as well as its key elements.

We will then learn how to create a CRM dashboard in Power BI.

Table of Contents:

1. What is a Customer Relationship Management Dashboard?
2. Importance of a CRM Dashboard
3. Benefits of Using a CRM Dashboard
4. Key Elements of a Customer Relationship Management Dashboard
5. Make a CRM Dashboard
6. Wrap Up

What is a Customer Relationship Management Dashboard?

A dashboard for CRM is a centralized data hub that displays customer-related metrics and KPIs. It enables organizations to:

• Manage interactions with their customers
• Track sales
• Monitor marketing
• Monitor team performance

A Customer Relationship Management dashboard displays all the important information a user needs to know at a glance.

Importance of a CRM Dashboard

A Customer Relationship Management dashboard, alongside a web analytics dashboard, is a crucial tool for businesses and organizations of all sizes. Together, they serve as central hubs for monitoring and managing customer-related data.

Here are the reasons a CRM is important:

• Helps Identify Trends, Patterns, and Anomalies

  • Visual charts, graphs, and reports can help identify trends, patterns, and anomalies in customer interactions and behavior.

• Provides Real-time Insights

Many CRM Analytics dashboards offer real-time or near-real-time data updates. This feature enables businesses to react quickly to changing customer needs, preferences, and issues.

For example, sales teams can identify and pursue hot leads using CRM Analytics. Customer support teams can promptly address urgent customer concerns with the help of CRM Analytics.

• Improved Decision-making

With access to consolidated customer data, decision-makers can make more informed choices. Sales strategies, marketing campaigns, and customer support initiatives can be optimized based on data-driven insights.

Understanding the differences between a Power BI dashboard vs. report can further enhance decision-making by providing the right tools for analyzing and visualizing data effectively.

• Enhanced Customer Service

The Customer Relationship Management dashboard gives customer support teams access to customer data. The customer support teams can therefore provide personalized and efficient support.

Benefits of Using a CRM Dashboard

Using a dashboard for CRM offers numerous benefits for businesses of all sizes. These include:

• Personalized Customer Interactions

Customer Relationship Management dashboards can give insights to help customer service teams offer personalized customer interactions. The data can also help shape marketing initiatives and make timely responses.

• A Competitive Advantage

Customer Relationship Management dashboards provide organizations with a competitive advantage. They can garner insights that can help them adapt to changing market conditions.

• Get Higher Quality Customer Insights

You can integrate CRM software with other business tools and systems. These include marketing automation software, email, calendars, and sales management software. This means that you get a better understanding of your customer’s data visualization.

Key Elements of a Customer Relationship Management Dashboard

The elements of a CRM dashboard vary depending on a company’s goals and needs.

Here are the key elements of a Customer Relationship Management dashboard:

• Customer Information. These may include purchase and communication history, account status, and customer segment.
• Sales and Revenue Metrics. These may include total sales, sales by product, region, and revenue trends. The customer dashboard can also include the sales funnel. This is a visual representation of the sales pipeline, showing leads, opportunities, and deals at each stage.
• Lead Conversions Information. The number of leads in the system and the percentage that have been converted into customers.
• Support and Service Information. These include open and resolved support tickets, and the average time taken to respond. Feedback and ratings from customers on the support they receive can also be incorporated.
• Data Visualization. Visual representations of data, such as bar charts, pie charts, and line graphs, make data more digestible and can effectively illustrate complex concepts, such as the cost of living comparison by city.

Make a CRM Dashboard in Power BI

There are many Customer Relationship Management dashboard examples. In this section, however, we’ll learn how to create a CRM dashboard in Power BI. We’ll use the Sankey Diagram (Sankey Chart) as an example.

Stage 1: Logging in to Power BI

• Log in to Power BI.
• Enter your email. Click the “Submit” button.

• Enter your password and click “Sign in”.

• Choose whether to stay signed in.

Stage 2: Creating a Data Set and Selecting the Data Set to Use in Your Sankey Chart

• Go to the left-side menu and click the “Create” button.
• Select “Paste or manually enter data“.

• We’ll use the following British Airways review dataset.

Country	Seat_type	Recommended	Type_of_traveler	Stars
Hong Kong	Business Class	yes	Family Leisure	5
United Kingdom	Economy Class	no	Solo Leisure	3
Iceland	Business Class	yes	Solo Leisure	3
Iceland	Business Class	yes	Couple Leisure	5
Canada	Economy Class	no	Family Leisure	5
Qatar	Business Class	no	Business	3
United Kingdom	Economy Class	no	Couple Leisure	3
Spain	Economy Class	no	Couple Leisure	1
United Kingdom	Premium Economy	no	Couple Leisure	9
Germany	Economy Class	no	Business	7
United Kingdom	Economy Class	no	Family Leisure	3
United Kingdom	Business Class	no	Solo Leisure	5
United Kingdom	Economy Class	no	Solo Leisure	3
United Kingdom	Economy Class	no	Couple Leisure	3
United Kingdom	Business Class	no	Family Leisure	5
United Kingdom	Business Class	yes	Business	5
United Kingdom	Business Class	no	Couple Leisure	3
United Kingdom	Economy Class	no	Couple Leisure	3
United Kingdom	Premium Economy	no	Couple Leisure	1
United States	Economy Class	no	Business	9
United Kingdom	Economy Class	no	Family Leisure	7
United Kingdom	Premium Economy	no	Solo Leisure	3

• Paste the above data table in the Power Query Window.

• Click on the “Data Hub” option on the left-side menu.
• Power BI populates the data set list. (If you have not created a data set, refer to the Error! Reference source not found section.)
• The data details are shown below:

• Click on the “Create a report” dropdown, as shown below.
• Select “Start from scratch.”

Stage 3: Adding the Power BI Sankey Diagram Extension by ChartExpo

• To finish creating our Sankey Diagram, we’ll use an add-in or Power BI visual from AppSource.
• Navigate to the Power BI Visualizations panel.
• Click the ellipsis (…) highlighted above to import the Power BI Sankey Diagram extension by ChartExpo.

• The following menu opens:
• Select the “Get more visuals” option.
• The following window opens:

• Enter “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” in the highlighted search box.
• You should see the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo”, as shown in the image below.

• Click the highlighted “Add” button.

• Power BI will add the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel.

Stage 4: Drawing a Sankey Diagram with ChartExpo’s Power BI extension

• Select the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel.
• The following window opens in the report section of your dashboard:

• You can resize the visual as needed.
• Go to the right-hand side of your Power BI dashboard.

• You’ll select the fields to use in your Sankey chart here.
• The ChartExpo visual needs to be selected, though.
• Select the fields in the following sequence:
  • Country
  • Recommended
  • Seat_type
  • Stars
  • Type_of_traveler

• You’ll be asked for a ChartExpo license key or email address.

Stage 5: Activate your ChartExpo Trial or Apply a Subscription Key

• Select the ChartExpo visual.
• You should see three icons below “Build Visual” in the Visualizations panel.

• Select the middle icon, “Format visual“.
• The visual properties will be populated as shown below.

• If you are a new user,
  • Type in your email under the section titled “Trial Mode”.
  • This should be the email address that you used to subscribe to the ChartExpo add-in. It is where your ChartExpo license key will be sent.
  • Ensure that your email address is valid.
  • Click “Enable Trial.” You’ll get a 7-day trial.

• You should receive a welcome email from ChartExpo.
• The Sankey Diagram you create under the 7-day trial contains the ChartExpo watermark (see below).

• If you have obtained a license key:
  • Enter your license key in the “ChartExpo License Key” textbox in the “License Settings” section (see below).
  • Slide the toggle switch next to “Enable License” to “On.”

• Your final chart should look like the one below. If you get a license, the Sankey Chart will not have a watermark.

Insights

At level 1, Country, the United Kingdom had the highest number of travelers (60%). The United States had the second-highest number of travelers (10%). Spain had the lowest number of travelers (1%).

At level 2, Recommendation, 81% of the total travelers recommended British Airlines. 19% of the total travelers did not recommend it.

At level 3, Seat type, most of the travelers paid for an economy class seat (50%). Business class came in second with a total of 36%. The premium economy class had the least number of travelers (4%).

At level 4, Type of traveler, most of the travelers had traveled as a couple (29.79%). 26.60% of the travelers traveled for family leisure. 25.53% traveled for business.

FAQs

Can You Build a CRM in Power BI?

It is possible to build a CRM in Power BI. Power BI can be integrated into CRM systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365 and HubSpot, either through a Power BI connector, a direct connection, or a third-party connector.

Power BI data modeling enables you to organize and structure your CRM data. It also defines relationships between tables and data sources.

It also provides other features like data refresh that keep your CRM data up to date.

What is an Example of a Good Dashboard?

A good dashboard effectively communicates key information, is visually appealing, and provides actionable insights. It is also tailored to the business’s specific needs.

What is a Customer Dashboard?

A customer dashboard summarizes customer’s data from various sources. It shows customer information and other metrics that show customer satisfaction.

It helps you better understand your customer base. You also get to better understand your customers’ expectations.

This helps you create better and more personalized customer experiences.

Wrap Up

Customer Relationship Management dashboards are a must-have tool for every company looking to improve their customer experience. They enable businesses to manage and optimize customer relationships effectively.

They provide a centralized platform for measuring and visualizing KPIs, sales, and customer interactions.

Businesses can obtain valuable insights about their customers. CRM dashboards provide platforms for customers to share their experiences with the company’s products and services.

This helps companies make informed decisions about how to enhance their products, services, and marketing campaigns.

You should define the purpose and objectives of the Customer Relationship Management dashboard. This way, you ensure that it meets the specific needs of your organization.

A well-designed customer dashboard will enable your company to achieve more success in customer-centric pursuits.