1 Agency/Client Dashboard

[Adam Kaufman]

I am wondering if a platform exists that can roll up services & reporting across multiple products for small business. Something similar to Vendasta that includes: Listings, Reviews, Email, SMS, SEO, Loyalty, ETC....

 

[JoyHawkins]

Maybe Data Studio? I know Bright Local's dashboard also includes reviews, rankings, and citation stuff.

 

[Adam Potaznik]

I just signed up to Vendasta last week, it looks interesting how they do that portal....however it won't work for me in Australia because things like their citation service is powered by Yext which isn't really very useful here.

I'm looking to build a portal of some description, either with WordPress or Zoho Creator, for clients to make similar self purchases and reports, but getting from here to there will be a long and expensive process.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Do you guys really think a customer-facing dashboard is necessary? I've found the average SMB doesn't even know what to make of half the stuff that would be included. I find our clients really just care about numbers so we focus on just sending them a simple report that shows how many leads they got and then a list of all the work we did that month (which I swear half of them don't read).

 

[Adam Potaznik]

Do you guys really think a customer-facing dashboard is necessary?

My thinking is that if I am already creating reports and analysis, and I am creating a knowledgebase/FAQ section, and a learning management system for basic training, and a helpdesk ticketing system for support and admin, then bolting on an ecommerce component is not that much further to go. Having it all available in a customer-branded portal, hopefully with a custom sub-domain on my domain, or if we are handling their website, as a sub-domain on their domain.... would make my solutions more "sticky" and more likely to get all their business, and increase their customer lifetime value.

 

[Eric Rohrback]

I'm with Joy. Most customers only care about a couple things... leads and revenue. Everything else is too in the weeds and over their heads. Unless you're dealing with a marketing director that is also on the same level knowledge-wise, it's basically a waste of time to create in-depth reports. Boil it all down to how did our work affect your business, and then figure out how else you can help - e.g., re-engage lost opportunities, build a customer retention/loyalty program, gather reviews, use paid acquisition to increase lead flow, etc...

Basically the stats we use in Data Studio dashboards or GA are more internal facing. We come prepared with the data to share and support our campaign direction, but it's usually not worth reviewing a ton of data.

Just an opinion from what I've seen, because I used to build out reports on customer facing folders/subdomains, send reporting, and build custom Data Studio dashboards. We still use Data Studio, but clients never really care about looking at the data... and they never do on their own time either unless it's tied to leads/revenue.

 

[Rich Owings]

I find our clients really just care about numbers so we focus on just sending them a simple report that shows how many leads they got and then a list of all the work we did that month (which I swear half of them don't read).

I find that it is helpful to ask if they read my reports. If they say no, I drop the report and just put a highlight or two in an email to them each month.

 

[vinchenson]

Anyone here tried octoboard?