Presenting data to customers or clients is an opportunity: it is a chance to shape how they look at your solution, demonstrate the value you deliver, and guide them to better decisions.
Unfortunately, a lot of client reporting is treated as a check-the-box activity. We wanted to share some examples of high impact reporting and the features that make them effective:
1. Start simple, with a path to more information
Mailchimp’s weekly email report is especially concise, starting with just a couple of key metrics. However, they give you a chance to learn more if you are interested.
2. Assume fresh eyes
The readers of your client report might be new to the content or need a refresher from the last time they looked at it. Before you dive into the details, make sure to set the context.
In this customer report, we set the stage for new users by being explicit about the key question and how they were doing in comparison to others.
3. Capture attention with surprising insights
Spotify’s annual “Wrapped” report is a personalized view of each user’s listening habits.
In this example, Spotify developed a metric for ranking fans of different artists, letting them surprise you with fun facts like this one.
4. Be a guide
You know far more about the data and topic than your customers do. Take on the role of a guide to lead them through the data, point to key metrics, and be opinionated about what is most important.
5. Lead to Actions or Recommendations
Client reporting is an opportunity to encourage decisions and behaviors that will help the recipient.
Sprinkled throughout the Mailchimp weekly email are tips for improvement that relate to the result being shown.
6. Bring visual pizzazz
Reporting doesn’t have to be as boring as its name. The best client reporting will include data visualizations that capture attention and deliver unique insights.
Slack’s weekly email shows when the conversations are taking place in a calendar grid.
7. Specificity (is the soul of narrative)
To add a human touch, your client reporting should include specific events or activities from your data. These moments are a good counter-point to overall metrics.
In this example, FullStory’s weekly update includes some of the most interesting comments that our staff has added to the system.
At Juice, we’ve been designing customer and client reporting for over a decade. We know that it is hard to get people to engaged with data. The solution is to put the audience first, deliver attractive and intuitive data visualizations, and guide them to smarter decisions. That’s why we created Juicebox.
