Prediction: Lead generation dashboards will likely be a hot topic

As marketing performance management (MPM) continues to evolve, I anticipate that marketing and lead generation dashboards will become a hotter topic. 

Many CRM providers, database gurus and a few agencies have developed preset forms to create dashboards.  I've found that most of them don't work well for companies that have a complex sale. 

What's a lead generation dashboard?  I've included an example of a recent dashboard that we created for a CEO.  It is designed it to give a complete view of company's vital marketing ROI metrics for each of their lead generation modalities (contains fictional data). 

(click on image to enlarge)

Why was this dashboard created?  Our client's CEO asked one critical question, "What's our marketing team's contribution to sales revenue?" This simple question required them to tie their marketing and lead generation results directly to each new sales new generated. 

Still, dashboards won't be the 'end all and be all' solution for marketers.  They can't fix an underperforming marketing, sales or lead generation team. 

Since marketing and sales are iterative, dashboards are best used to help you understand your baseline ROI metrics and spot trends.  They should not be used as a command and control system. 

If you seek to create something like this yourself, be prepared to spend a majority of your dashboard development efforts on collaborating with your sales team to understand their sales process and ensuring data point accuracy before looking at the technology needed.

The first step is to develop a collaborative culture that is committed to closing-the-loop on marketing investments.  Your efforts must go beyond the marketing department or your plan simply won't work.  It really needs to come from the bottom up, starting with your customers' buying process and your sales process.