The Four-Question Dashboard

"Our account manager gasped, 'Where's the bounce rate?' as he stared at my redesign like I'd deleted family photos.

I'd inherited a monster: 30+ metrics sprawled across a dozen incoherent pages.

This overload paralyzed decisions and hijacked client conversations from outcomes to trivia. Customers are ten times more likely to buy jam with 6 flavors versus 24.

Key insight: less data, better focus.

I structured the dashboard around four questions. Do you ever notice how the right framework creates instant clarity?

(1) Acquisition: Are we getting quality traffic?

(2) Behavior: Is our site persuading visitors to engage?

(3) Conversion: Are we turning engagement into outcomes?

(4) ROI: Are we spending efficiently?

Each report contains just 2-3 metrics for clarity.

This framework creates narrative flow while preventing executive overwhelm.

Before: meetings devolved into debates about minor metric fluctuations. Now, conversations target questions that drive results. The simplified dashboard impressed clients despite initial internal resistance.

The ROI report requires clients to share revenue data, and some hesitate or can’t provide it. I'm still working through that challenge.

I've noticed that marketing executives need these four questions answered to do their jobs—everything else is just pageantry.

Bloated dashboards waste effort and perpetuate bad strategy.