Why no one is reading your reports
Look familiar? We’ve all been there, the weekly meeting, all the A3 size excel spreadsheets printed out for everyone, rulers on standby, magnifying glass…check.
My work at Distributed often lands me in these situations. I see this day in and day out. Reports filled with hundreds of rows and columns of data, the odd bar chart, tab after tab of pivot tables and it’s all justified because the highest paid person in the room likes it that way. I’m here to tell you it doesn’t need to be this way, and it shouldn’t be this way.
I’m a big fan of excel, the flexibility of it, pivot tables were a revelation, and yes, you can design some nice looking dashboards in excel. However, more and more, we are dealing with huge data sets, complex calculations, and so many metrics that I sometimes wonder if we will soon run out of 3 letter abbreviations.
In the digital marketing world, excel just doesn’t cut it any longer. We need to cut through the noise and tell the stories hidden in our data. The human brain is simply not designed to comprehend tables of data. It is our duty as analysts and digital marketing professionals, to bring the story out of the table.
Take the following example, one which I think highlights my what I’m trying to say.
- We have an internal excel sheet which lists restaurants in London. It’s a good source of information for when you are looking for somewhere to eat.
2. Now look at the same data, visualised in Tableau.
Spot the difference?
If I was a client, I know which one I would prefer. You just can’t do that in Excel! I can very quickly see where the restaurants are located relative to me, I can see where the cheap and expensive restaurants are, I’ve got their details at my fingertips, and can use the filters to narrow in on my preferences. I’ve got a much better understanding of the data in this format, and it allows me to explore my options in ways that the excel sheet could never do.
We spend millions of pounds on advertising, using images that catch the eye, that tell our story, that communicate to our customers…why wouldn’t take the same initiative when it comes to communicating our data, which ultimately is just as valuable.
Here’s another favourite of mine.
How long does it take you to count the number of 9’s below:
(do it really, no cheating)
Got it?
Now let’s apply some basic data visualisation and try again.
Beautiful isn’t it?!
It’s simple, but extremely effective. And we should be looking at our reports, and thinking how we can apply the above examples.
What are my key takeaways from this?
- We have more data than ever before, we need to ensure we are communicating that data effectively
- Humans prefer a visual representation of data is superior
- It’s time to invest in technology and tools to help you understand and present your data
- Learn and understand how to visualise data effectively (top tip: you can download a free trial of tableau and get started right away)
- And then check out this great blog
The next time you’re asked to build a report, consider these points, challenge yourself and your team to do something better, challenge your client or your boss to look beyond tables.
