Once you have signed a client and their campaigns are up and running, the bulk of communication will be via client reporting.

Each client will have a different format and frequency for their reports, but it’s clear that client reporting is a great way to show value and keep clients coming back over time.

However, as you grow your agency, you will likely have to deal with something many agencies don’t experience: manual reports don’t scale.

The time required to generate client reports manually can add up quickly, making it a major bottleneck in growth.

Client reporting should be automated to the maximum extent possible.

This article will discuss how to automate client reporting, from start to finish.

• What to include in Client Reports
• Data Storytelling in Client Reporting
• Report Automation: How to Streamline Your Agency

How to scale your agency with automated client reporting

Let’s get started.

What to include in Client Reports

Each report’s content will vary depending on what type of marketing you are doing. However, there are some common elements that all reports should have:

• Summary of the Report
• Google Analytics – All Channels
• Google Analytics – Goals (Conversions).
• SEO Rankings
• Social Media Overview
• PPC Overview
• Email Overview

Summary

Many clients don’t know the details of every marketing campaign. This makes the summary of the report extremely important. This section allows you to summarize your analysis and plan for the next month.

Google Analytics All Channels   

The Google Analytics All Channels section shows the campaign’s overall success, including visitor sources and KPIs like session duration, bounce rates, conversions, and KPIs. This section can help you plan your next month’s marketing strategy.

Google Analytics – Goals

Next is a section that tracks conversions (or Goals) which can be anything, from emails to purchases, in Google Analytics. This section gives clients an overview of their overall ROI and provides a detailed look at metrics related to goal completions, such as conversion rate and dollar value.

SEO Rankings

SEO rankings let you track and report search engine rankings on Google and Bing. It is possible to see how rankings change over time and identify keywords that need more attention in the future.

Social Media Overview

Your client’s social media overview will show them the most important metrics for each platform. This includes audience engagement metrics like total followers, engagement, reach, etc.

Overview

Next is an overview section that tracks pay-per-click campaigns across multiple platforms. This section includes metrics like total ad cost, cost-per-click, conversions, and impressions.

Email Overview

This section is for email marketing managers who manage campaigns for clients. It allows you to track key metrics like open rate, click-through rate (CTR), and growth in subscribers over the month.

Data Storytelling in Client Reporting

Let’s now discuss what you should include in client reports. Now let’s talk about how to take your reporting one step further and tell compelling stories with your data.

Data storytelling is the art of turning raw data into a story that highlights key trends, patterns, or changes. It is achieved by combining three core elements:

• Data: Data storytelling requires you to first collect and combine the data into one place. Reporting software has the advantage of automatically retrieving data from different sources using an API.

• Visualization: The next step is to take the data and apply data visualization so that anyone can understand it. This will allow you to turn raw data into actionable insights that reveal trends and patterns.

• Narrative: Data storytelling should include a narrative that explains the significance of the data and highlights any important KPIs.

An example of data storytelling in client reports is adding annotations and goals on your line charts or date-based column charts.

Report Automation: How to Streamline Your Agency

Automation is the last piece of client reporting. While the initial setup of client reporting can take some time, automation allows you to focus on the most important tasks like improving results or adding unique insights to each report.

Automating your business processes takes time. Automation is not something that can be done overnight. The following are the key steps to building an automated client reporting system. 

• Centralizing your data
• Leveraging report & dashboard templates
• Creating best practices for client communication
• Assign data views & governance
• Empowering your sales team

Data Centralization

Client reporting can be difficult because you have to pull data from multiple marketing sources into one view. Switch between accounts and simplify campaign monitoring with a single interface.

Leverage Report & Dashboard Templates

Once you have consolidated your data into one view, it is time to use dashboard and report templates. You may decide to create a custom report from scratch. However, templates are a great starting point and can be customized for each client. Report templates enable you to concentrate your efforts on campaign results, ultimately allowing you to scale more efficiently.

Best Practices in Client Communication

Once you have set up client reports, it is important to clearly define the best practices for client communications within your agency. Client communication can differ depending on the client’s needs so it is recommended that you establish this during your onboarding process.

Assign Data Views and Governance

The next step is to give access to your clients, regardless of whether you have decided to send periodic reports to your team or offer 24/7 access to a dashboard. You can schedule automatic emails each month if you opt for periodic reports. Live dashboards allow clients to create their login and customize the permissions to ensure that clients only see what they need.

Workflow Automation

Automating agency workflows is the last step. Our marketing reporting tools are a great way to accomplish this. It allows you to create staff accounts and assign tasks to them, as well as monitor their progress.

Summary: Automated Client Reporting

Reporting to clients is essential for building and scaling a successful agency. However, manually creating reports can be both inefficient and time-consuming. Reporting software makes it possible to automate the collection, aggregation, and visualization of data. This allows you to focus on higher-value tasks.

Automated reporting software provides many benefits to agencies. These include high-quality consistency in your reports, scalability, and ease of communication with clients.