A report the owner actually reads: the 7 metrics of a growth dashboard
Marketing reports tend to overdo it: dozens of charts of impressions, clicks and followers, and no clear answer to the owner’s question — “is the money we invested coming back?”. A useful growth dashboard fits on one screen and starts with revenue.
The seven metrics
Revenue by channelHow much did each channel bring in real sales?
How to calculate it: Sum of revenue from closed sales, grouped by the source recorded in the CRM or ERP.
How to read it: It’s the report’s starting line. Compare it with each channel’s investment in the same period.
CAC — customer acquisition costWhat does it cost to win a new customer?
How to calculate it: Total marketing and sales investment in the period ÷ number of new customers in the same period.
How to read it: On its own it says little: compare it with ticket and LTV. CAC rising month after month signals a saturating channel or a leaking funnel.
ROAS by channelHow much revenue comes back for each unit of currency invested in media?
How to calculate it: Revenue attributed to the channel ÷ media investment in the channel.
How to read it: It needs to be read against break-even ROAS, which depends on contribution margin.
Cost per qualified leadWhat does a lead that sales accepts cost?
How to calculate it: Investment ÷ leads that met the qualification criteria.
How to read it: More useful than raw cost per lead: a cheap channel that only brings leads with no fit ends up expensive.
Conversion rate by stageWhere does the funnel lose the most people?
How to calculate it: Number that moved to the next stage ÷ number that entered the stage.
How to read it: It shows where to act: generating more leads won’t help if the loss is between proposal and close.
LTV — customer lifetime valueHow much does a customer leave over the whole relationship?
How to calculate it: Average revenue per period × contribution margin × average retention time.
How to read it: It sets how much is healthy to spend on acquisition. A widely used benchmark is LTV at least three times CAC.
Sales cycleHow long does it take from first contact to sale?
How to calculate it: Average days between lead creation and close, for deals won in the period.
How to read it: It helps avoid judging campaigns too early and forecast revenue for the coming months.
How to organize the dashboard
Top: revenue and investment
Period revenue, total investment and CAC, compared with the previous period.
Middle: channels
A table with investment, qualified leads, sales, revenue and ROAS by channel.
Bottom: funnel
Conversion by stage and sales cycle, to show where to act.
Footer: notes
What changed in the period, what was tested and what will be done — the context no chart provides.
At Manáry, this dashboard is built in Looker Studio with integrated data from ad platforms, GA4, the automation tool and the CRM — and it’s one of the final steps of media and data onboarding.
Example of a one-page dashboard
| Block | Metrics | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Result | New revenue, total investment, CAC | Is the investment coming back? |
| Channels | Investment, qualified leads, sales and ROAS by channel | Where should the next dollar go? |
| Funnel | Conversion by stage, sales cycle | Where does the funnel lose the most people? |
| Base | LTV, repeat purchases, cancellations | Do customers stay and buy again? |
| Notes | Tests, changes and next steps | What did we learn and what changes now? |
How often to read each metric
- Weekly: investment, leads, cost per qualified lead and campaign alerts — to correct course quickly.
- Monthly: revenue by channel, CAC, conversion by stage and test results — to decide budget and priorities.
- Quarterly: LTV, LTV:CAC ratio, sales cycle and targets — to review strategy.
Looking at every metric at the same frequency is the fastest way to make bad decisions: long-term metrics fluctuate in the short term and prompt unnecessary changes.
Vanity metrics: what to take out of the main report
Impressions, reach, likes and follower counts help diagnose campaigns, but rarely answer whether the business is growing. Keep them in a supporting tab for the operations team and leave only the metrics tied to revenue, cost and funnel in the main report.
The custom Looker Studio report, with media, GA4, automation and CRM integrated, is delivered at the end of Data & Analytics onboarding and Paid Media onboarding at Manáry.
Frequently asked questions
Which metrics must a marketing report include?
Revenue by channel, CAC, ROAS or ROI by channel, cost per qualified lead, conversion by funnel stage, LTV and sales cycle.
Which tool should I use to build the dashboard?
Looker Studio is a free option that connects GA4, Google Ads, spreadsheets and, through connectors, other ad platforms and CRMs.
How often should the report be presented?
A weekly check-in for operational adjustments and a monthly meeting for budget and priority decisions usually work well for most companies.
What are vanity metrics?
Metrics that look positive, such as reach and likes, but don’t show whether the business is generating revenue. They’re useful for diagnosis, but shouldn’t drive investment decisions.
Want a dashboard the whole team understands?
We gather your business’s questions and deliver the report with every source integrated.
Want to apply this to your business?
Manáry looks at your real numbers — media, website and CRM — and hands back the priorities in order of impact.
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