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Data is today’s oil because its value is immeasurable. It can help you answer questions related to the state of your business.
However…
Data reporting is sometimes viewed as a necessary evil because it conjures up images of static PDFs, PowerPoint slides, spreadsheets of numbers, etc.
In other words, not many people find raw data appealing and persuasive.
Static data report formats like tables are likely to provide unreliable real-time or predictive insights.
But it doesn’t have to be this way in the current age and time.
The business intelligence industry has evolved immensely over the past decade or so. Data reports and analysis are riding the crest of this ever-growing innovation wave.
The rise of innovative data report tools implies you can create report data stories your audience is compelled to read.
One of the easiest ways of creating compelling data report examples is using charts and graphs.
Some of the charts and graphs we recommend you use in your dashboard for high-level business insights is a Sankey Diagram.
The chart comes in handy if your goal is to visualize the movement of cash and other resources in and out of your business.
It achieves this using a series of nodes and flows.
The go-to spreadsheet applications, such as Google Spreadsheet, lack a Sankey Diagram.
We recommend you install third-party software (add-on) in Google Sheets to access ready-made and visually stunning Sankey Diagrams.
Definition: Data reporting entails collecting and visualizing raw data using an easy-to-interpret format for presentation to the top management and other stakeholders.
Data reporting examples can answer basic questions about the overall condition of your business.
More so, they can break down and distill raw numbers into actionable and digestible insights you can easily incorporate into a data story.
Raw data on its own holds minimal value, especially if you don’t know where to start. However, with the aid of a waterfall chart, you can effectively visualize and interpret the data, uncovering valuable insights and trends.”
For instance, a population census data document transmits high-level insights into how many people live in a state or country. However, it does not provide in-depth insights, such as race, living standards, level of education, accessibility to healthcare, or healthcare data analytics.
If you want in-depth insights, you’ve got to go beyond spreadsheet tables. We recommend you use data visualization tools, such as chord charts because they provide a straightforward and comprehensive analysis.
You just feed your data into a data visualization tool. And boom! You have digestible insights at your fingertips.
A data reporting dashboard can provide you with a timely story of the financial health of your business. For instance, you might report on sales key performance indicators (KPIs) based on:
When data points associated with the variables (above) are visualized, they provide an accurate picture of all the deals in the pipeline.
So, what’s standing between you and actionable data reporting?
Data reporting provides the insights needed to make informed decisions, helping businesses choose strategies and actions based on actual performance data rather than intuition.
Regular reports track progress against goals and KPIs, allowing businesses to monitor performance, identify trends, and adjust strategies as needed.
Data reporting fosters transparency by providing a clear view of performance and results, which is crucial for accountability within teams and organizations.
Reports help in evaluating the effectiveness of resource use, ensuring that investments are directed toward the most impactful areas and optimizing overall efficiency.
Through analysis of data reports, businesses can uncover new growth opportunities and identify potential risks, enabling proactive management and strategic planning.
Effective data reporting facilitates better communication with stakeholders, including team members, executives, and investors, by providing clear and actionable information.
A data dashboard can help you track and monitor the performance of your business strategies.
For this to work, you’ve got to set key performance indicators (KPIs) that are relevant and aligned with your goals.
Armed with real-time insights from YouTube Analytics, you can easily optimize your strategies by doing away with what’s not working. Also, you’ll have an opportunity to unearth what’s working for you.
Without a data dashboard, you can easily miss the target. And the end goal will likely be the loss of key resources, such as money and time.
Below are some of the areas where you can implement data reporting examples.
Let’s check them out.
A data reporting dashboard can help you to understand your target market’s deeply felt pain.
Also, analyzing your data reporting dashboard before a product or a service launch means you’ll gain insights into what your target audience needs.
We recommend you put together a data dashboard to track how you’re meeting the needs of the market.
Remember, satisfaction is one of the reasons why people sleep in malls and other shopping centers waiting for the next iPhone model.
Use data reporting examples to drill down on your target market’s deeply felt needs.
Cutting costs and maximizing profits is the underlying goal of any business.
A data reporting dashboard can help you track both your costs and profits. And this implies, you’ll have an opportunity to optimize everything using the resulting insights from the dashboard.
For instance, you can easily know the significant cost drivers in your business. And this means you can cull areas that are bringing negligible value.
For instance, the chart below shows insights into loss and profits earned by a business.
Market research entails gathering data about your target market.
The key goal is to learn what keeps your target market awake at night. Or what’s their biggest pain point?
Knowing your customers is a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. This research can help you absorb the following:
Let’s assume you’ve just collected market research data. This is where a data reporting dashboard comes in.
This dashboard is usually made up of survey-oriented graphs and charts to display insights in a digestible manner. Some of the charts we recommend you use to build your data reporting dashboard include the CSAT Bar and Likert Scale Charts.
A KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) report is a vital tool for monitoring and evaluating an organization’s performance against its strategic goals. It provides a detailed overview of various critical metrics, such as sales performance, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
By including visual aids like charts and graphs, the report highlights trends and helps in understanding how well the company is meeting its objectives. The frequency of these reports can vary daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly, depending on business needs and the specific KPIs being tracked.
This report is essential for identifying strengths and areas needing improvement, enabling informed decision-making and strategic adjustments. Ultimately, a KPIs report supports effective management by providing a clear view of performance and ensuring that business strategies are aligned with organizational goals.
A Social Media Report is a comprehensive document that evaluates the performance and impact of social media activities over a specified period. It provides insights into how social media strategies are performing and helps in refining future campaigns.
Key aspects of a Social Media Report include:
Creating a dashboard requires a bunch of charts and graphs aligned with your objectives.
For instance, if you want to put together a survey-based data reporting dashboard, you’ve got to use survey-oriented visualizations, such as the Likert Scale.
If your goal is to display financial data, you want charts that use flows to create a vivid picture of the ins and outs of key resources in your business, such as the Sankey Diagram.
Google Sheets is a spreadsheet application you can use to organize, store, and visualize data using its charts and graphs.
Yes, there are charts you can use in Google Sheets to create data reporting dashboards. However, this tool lacks additional formatting capabilities to help you create an easy-to-understand data dashboard.
Besides, it lacks additional charts, such as Sankey Diagrams, that take your financial analysis to the next level.
We’re not advocating you leave Google Sheets.
Install a particular third-party add-on in your Google Sheets to access data reporting-friendly charts, such as a Sankey Diagram.
The application is called ChartExpo.
What is ChartExpo?
ChartExpo is an add-on you can easily install in your Google Sheets to access charts for building a data reporting dashboard.
This section will use a Sankey Diagram to visualize the data table below.
Let’s dive in.
| Locations | Revenue | Expenses | P&L Analysis | Amount |
| North America | Revenue | Loss | Cost of Sales | 132000 |
| North America | Revenue | Loss | Operating Cost | 159000 |
| North America | Revenue | Loss | Cost of Marketing | 170000 |
| North America | Revenue | Profit | Tax | 182000 |
| North America | Revenue | Profit | Profit After Tax | 834000 |
| International | Revenue | Loss | Cost of Sales | 162000 |
| International | Revenue | Loss | Cost of General and Administrative | 158000 |
| International | Revenue | Loss | Cost of Marketing | 145000 |
| International | Revenue | Profit | Tax | 171000 |
| International | Revenue | Profit | Profit After Tax | 753000 |
| Middle East | Revenue | Loss | Cost of Sales | 155000 |
| Middle East | Revenue | Loss | Cost of General and Administrative | 166000 |
| Middle East | Revenue | Loss | Cost of Marketing | 199000 |
| Middle East | Revenue | Profit | Tax | 151000 |
| Middle East | Revenue | Profit | Profit After Tax | 685000 |
Some insights from the Sankey Diagram include the following:
Data gives you a path to measure progress in every area of your business.
It can help inform your business decisions. For instance, it can tell you what to do away with and what to double down on.
In other words, you can easily uncover what’s and what’s not working within your business setup.
Accurate data reporting examples play a critical role in every sector of the global economy. For instance, it can help physicians to save more lives by providing data-driven and patient-first care.
In the education industry, data reports can help policymakers know areas that need urgent resources to elevate academic performance.
Generally, low-income neighborhoods are sometimes neglected in terms of funding due to insufficient data to support the action. This can be improved through coordinated data collection and analysis by key stakeholders for reporting
Other benefits are as follows…
Data reporting examples can help you to learn about what motivates and pushes your target respondents.
Also, you’ll learn what is important to them by gathering their opinions and comments.
Remember to create a conducive survey environment because it fosters trust and increases response rates.
Secondly, a data reporting dashboard provides you with an opportunity to spark conversations with your target market.
You’ll gather significant insights into their goals, dreams, fears, problems, etc.
Data reporting examples can provide you with reliable insights you can share with top management to aid in decision-making.
You won’t be shooting darts in the dark. You’ll have hard and actionable data insights to sell your ideas, recommendations, etc.
Why?
Data dashboards will provide you with insights you can use to create a compelling data story for the management and other stakeholders.
Instead of assuming your business failed to deliver, you’ll have objective feedback to gauge performance.
You don’t have to be the judge of your performance. Let a data reporting dashboard be your mouthpiece.
Static reporting (i.e., reporting using tables), while it can be accurate, does have its limits. Yes, it can only take you so far.
Why?
You’re unlikely to get real-time insights, especially if the data tables are made up of thousands of rows and columns.
Data reporting dashboards are agile and flexible. In other words, you can easily display insights into raw data for data storytelling.
Ensure that the purpose of the report is well-defined and aligned with business goals to provide actionable insights.
Use consistent templates and layouts across all reports to make them easier to read, understand, and compare.
Regularly validate your data sources to ensure the information presented is accurate and up-to-date.
Choose appropriate visual elements such as charts and graphs to display data in a clear and comprehensible way.
Leverage automation tools to streamline the data reporting process, reduce manual errors, and ensure timely updates.
Regularly solicit feedback from report users to improve the clarity, relevance, and overall usefulness of the data provided.
Always include explanations and interpretations of the data, helping stakeholders understand trends and the meaning behind the numbers.
Data reporting entails collecting and visualizing raw data into an easy-to-interpret format for presentation to the top management and other stakeholders.
Data reporting examples can answer basic questions about the overall condition of your business. Also, it can break down and distill raw numbers into actionable and digestible insights you can easily incorporate into a data story.
Accurate data reporting examples play a critical role in every sector of the global economy. For instance, it can help physicians to save more lives by providing data-driven and patient-first care.
In the education industry, data reports can help policymakers know areas that need urgent resources to elevate academic performance.
Data is today’s oil because its value is immeasurable. It can help you answer questions related to the state of your business.
The rise of innovative report tools implies you can create report data stories your audience is compelled to read.
One of the easiest ways of creating compelling data report examples is using data visualization charts and graphs.
Some of the charts and graphs we recommend you use in your dashboard for high-level insights is a Sankey Diagram.
The chart comes in handy if your goal is to map the movement of critical resources in and out of your business.
And it achieves this using a series of nodes and flows.
The go-to spreadsheet applications, such as Google Spreadsheet, lack a Sankey Diagram.
We recommend you install an add-on, such as ChartExpo, in Google Sheets to access data reporting dashboard-friendly charts and graphs.
Sign up for a 7-day free trial today to access ready-made and visually stunning data reporting dashboard-based charts, such as a Sankey Diagram.
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