The document discusses how to create meaningful reports. It defines meaningful reports as those that empower decision-making and inspire action. It emphasizes choosing the right data for the audience, displaying data in a way that encourages narrative, and including all relevant data to provide context. The document provides examples of poor reporting practices like using too much data without explanation, and good practices like succinct displays of the most important metrics and annotations that explain events. It concludes by advising readers to ensure their reports help the audience make decisions.

1. How to Create
Meaningful Reports
From Toxic Mold to Google Analytics
October 2016

2. Toxic mold & meaningful
reporting???
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3. 3
February 2015
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4. 4
July 2016
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• Memory loss
• Severe cognitive impairment
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Excessive urination
• Extreme fatigue

5. 5
10 weeks of testing yielded
lots of reports
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…but none were meaningful.

6. 6
Status Quo:
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no change in action.

7. meaningful: meaningful report:
What do we mean by meaningful?
• having a serious, important, or
useful quality or purpose.
• communicating something that
is not directly expressed.
• a report that empowers and
informs decision making.
• a report that inspires
confidence in taking specific
action.
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8. 1. meaningful reports:
empower and inform decision
making.
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9. 2. meaningful reports:
inspire confidence in taking
action.
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10. Why care about reporting?
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11. We spend a lot of time reporting.
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12. And it’s going to get harder
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13. Challenges facing digital marketers
• Explosion of new tools, KPIs
• Closed-loop attribution remains elusive
• Turning fire-hose of data into narrative
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14. Weak reporting is
• Poor choice of data
• Poor display of data
• Missing data
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characterized by:

15. • Effective choice of data
• Effective display of data
• Complete data
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Great reporting is
characterized by:

16. 1. Choose the right data for
your audience.
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17. 17
Choice of Data
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• 4 Complete Blood Counts
• 3 Liver & Kidney panels
• Brain MRI
• Sleep Study
• Abdominal Ultrasound
• Photo diary

18. 18
Choice of Data
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What are you doing
for me again?
Should I care about
these numbers?

19. 19
Choice of Data
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Lowest funnel metric
available for this
client.
Right data for the
right audience.

20. 2. Display data in a way that
encourages narrative.
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21. 21
Display of Data
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I have no idea what
this means but I’m
told not to worry.
Data from sleep
study.

22. 22
Display of Data
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What decisions can
be made from this
report?
This is awful, btw.

23. 23
Display of Data
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I see a lot of this
kind of reporting
from agencies.
Information
density is usually
not a good thing.

24. 24
Display of Data
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Succinct and crystal
clear.
Always err on the
side of simple.

25. 3. Include all relevant data to
give context.
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26. 26
Data Completeness
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Something is
missing here.
What happened?

27. 27
Data Completeness
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Turned off all PPC
ads for holidays.
Timelines make more
sense with event
annotations.

28. 28
Data Completeness
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One critical annotation was
missing from my health
story.
I found (and cleaned up) a
lot of mold in our bedroom
shortly before getting sick.

29. 29
What action did we take?
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• Moved into a tent
• Hired a certified mold
remediator for testing
• Reviewed indoor air data
• Started treatment plan
• Threw away our stuff
• Learned a lot about mold!

30. For Great Reporting
1. Choose the right data.
2. Display it in the right way.
3. Include all relevant data.
• Before you share a report, ask yourself
Does this help my audience make a decision?
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31. How to Create
Meaningful Reports
October 2016
Thank you!
Mark Sullivan
@mpsulli