How To Use HubSpot Dashboards To Uncover Insights Buried in Your Sales and Marketing Data

In today’s data-driven business landscape, gaining valuable insights from the information you collect is crucial. HubSpot, a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) platform, provides businesses with a wealth of data to help them understand and engage with their customers better.

However, making sense of this data can be challenging. That’s where well-designed dashboards come into play. In this article, we’ll explore how to set up dashboards that uncover valuable insights buried in your HubSpot data, enabling you to make informed decisions and drive your business forward.

This is, in essence, what everyone should be striving to set up. The goal is to have dashboards that make it easy to see the insights, use those insights to inform your action plans and see improved results month over month.

Understanding the Importance of Dashboards

Before diving into the practical aspects, it’s important to understand why dashboards are essential for your HubSpot data. Dashboards serve as visual representations of your data, summarizing key metrics, trends and performance indicators in a single, easily accessible place. They play a vital role in data analytics and decision-making for the following reasons:

Data Visualization

Dashboards present complex data in a visually appealing and comprehensible format. This makes it easier for your team to understand the big picture without the need for extensive data analysis.

Real-Time Monitoring

HubSpot dashboards can be set up to provide real-time data updates. This allows you to react promptly to changing situations, identify emerging trends and make timely data-driven decisions.

Customization

Dashboards can be tailored to your specific business needs, allowing you to track the metrics that matter most to your organization. This personalization ensures that you focus on what's relevant.

Collaboration

HubSpot dashboards can be shared among team members and stakeholders, fostering collaboration and ensuring everyone is on the same page with performance metrics and goals.

Setting Up Your HubSpot Dashboard

Let’s walk through the steps to set up dashboards correctly.

At Square 2, we usually start with a handful of basic dashboards that everyone gets but then work closely with clients as part of a dashboard and reporting workshop. During this session, we can review dashboards and talk about use cases for existing data and data that is needed. Then we can begin to help them organize the data and build out the dashboards.

If you’re looking at doing this yourself, here’s a short playbook to get you going.

Define Your Objectives

Start by identifying your business goals and the specific insights you aim to uncover. Do you want to track lead generation, monitor customer engagement or evaluate the performance of your marketing campaigns? Clear objectives will guide your dashboard setup.

Select Key Metrics

Choose the key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your objectives. HubSpot offers a wide range of data points, including website traffic, conversion rates and email engagement.

Organize Your Data

Structure your dashboard to present data logically. Group related metrics together and use visual elements like charts, graphs and tables to make the information easily digestible.

Use HubSpot Reporting Tools

HubSpot provides reporting and analytics tools that can be integrated with your dashboard. These tools allow you to create custom reports, track progress over time and visualize data effectively.

Implement Automation

Set up automated data retrieval and updates to ensure your dashboard remains current without manual intervention. Automation reduces the risk of errors and saves time.

Regularly Review and Adjust

A HubSpot dashboard is not a one-time setup. It should evolve with your business. Regularly review your metrics, check for emerging trends and adjust the dashboard to reflect changing goals and priorities.

The dashboards you set up initially are likely to evolve. Some will change, others will be shuttered and you’ll probably uncover that some new dashboards are needed. Develop an active process around optimizing your dashboards and how you use them.

Best Practices for HubSpot Dashboards

To maximize the effectiveness of your HubSpot dashboards, consider these best practices:

• • Keep it simple: Avoid clutter and focus on the most critical metrics.
  • Use meaningful visualizations: Choose the right chart or graph type for each metric to enhance understanding.
  • Set up alerts: Configure your dashboard to notify you when key metrics reach critical levels.
  • Collaborate with your team: Share dashboards with relevant team members and encourage discussions around the data.
  • Pay close attention to the time frames: I love extending short-term out-of-the-box dashboards into longer-term dashboards because that often uncovers hidden trends and insights. Instead of looking at just this month or the past three months, look at rolling 13 months to compare this month with the same month last year.
  • Keep data security in mind: Ensure that only authorized people have access to sensitive data.

Uncover Valuable Insights

A well-designed HubSpot dashboard can serve as a powerful tool for uncovering insights that may otherwise remain buried in your data. There’s a wonderful episode from season 1 of What’s Wrong With Revenue? that goes deep on this topic of insights – check it out.

By following the steps outlined in this article and adhering to best practices, you can harness the full potential of your HubSpot data, make informed decisions and drive your business forward. Remember that the key to success is not just collecting data but also using it effectively to gain a competitive edge in today’s dynamic business environment.

In a world where data is often described as the new gold, setting up HubSpot dashboards is the key to unlocking the treasure buried within your CRM data. The insights you gain from these dashboards can inform your marketing strategies, help you better understand your customers and guide your business decisions.

With a clear focus on your objectives, the right selection of metrics and an organized, automated approach, you can ensure your HubSpot dashboard becomes an invaluable asset for your organization.

Don’t forget that the process doesn’t end with the initial setup. 

Continuous monitoring, regular adjustments and collaboration with your team will keep your dashboard relevant and effective. As your business evolves, so should your dashboards to reflect changing goals and priorities.

By adhering to best practices, you can extract meaningful insights from your HubSpot data, paving the way for improved decision-making, increased customer engagement and, ultimately, business growth.

This was such an important topic that we also covered it during season 2 of What’s Wrong With Revenue – get that episode here.