Objective

Create a functional marketing dashboard that provides at-a-glance insights into campaign performance.

Tools You Can Use

Beginner-Friendly:

• Google Sheets or Excel (with charts)
• Google Data Studio / Looker Studio (free)
• Databox (free tier)

Advanced:

• Tableau (free trial)
• Power BI (free version)
• Notion (with embeds)

Note: If you don't have real data, create a small sample dataset with 10-20 rows representing campaign performance over time.

Instructions

1. Choose Your Campaign Context

Select a campaign scenario to build your dashboard around:

• Paid ads campaign tracking spend, clicks, conversions
• Content marketing tracking blog traffic, leads, engagement
• Email campaign tracking sends, opens, clicks, conversions
• Product trial tracking signups, activation, conversion to paid

Define 5-7 key metrics you want to track.

2. Create or Import Data

Option A: Use sample data (create a simple spreadsheet with dates and metric values)

Option B: Export real data from your marketing tools if available

Your dataset should include:

• Date/time dimension
• 5-7 metrics per time period
• At least 4 weeks of data for trend analysis

3. Design 3+ Visualizations

Create at least three different visualizations:

Visualization 1: Trend Line Chart

• Show performance over time for 1-2 key metrics
• Example: "Daily website visitors and MQLs generated (last 30 days)"

Visualization 2: Comparison Bar Chart

• Compare performance across categories
• Example: "Conversion rate by channel" or "Leads by campaign"

Visualization 3: Summary Metrics / Scorecards

• Display big numbers with context
• Example: "500 MQLs this month (↑25% vs. last month)"

Optional 4th: Funnel or Conversion Chart

• Show drop-off at each stage
• Example: Visitors → Leads → MQLs → SQLs → Opportunities

4. Apply Best Practices

✅ Clear titles for each visualization

✅ Color coding - use green for positive, red for negative, neutral colors for standard metrics

✅ Context - include comparisons (vs. last month, vs. target)

✅ Simplicity - avoid clutter, use white space

✅ Actionable insights - add brief annotations noting what's working or needs attention

5. Tell a Story

Add a brief summary section at the top of your dashboard:

• Status: Are we on track to hit goals?
• Highlights: What's working well?
• Concerns: What needs attention?
• Action items: What should we do next?

This turns raw data into an actionable story.

6. Share and Get Feedback

Take a screenshot of your dashboard or share a live link. Present it to a colleague or study group and ask:

• Can you understand the key metrics within 10 seconds?
• Is it clear what action should be taken?
• What would you change to make it clearer?

Example Dashboard Layout

Top Section (Summary):

• Big number: "$450k Pipeline Created" (vs. $500k target = 90%)
• Status note: "Slightly behind pace, need to increase MQL volume by 15%"

Middle Left (Trend):

• Line chart: Daily MQLs over last 30 days

Middle Right (Comparison):

• Bar chart: MQLs by channel (Organic, Paid, Email, Webinar)

Bottom (Conversion Funnel):

• Funnel: 10,000 visitors → 500 leads → 100 MQLs → 50 SQLs → 20 opps

Outcome

You'll have a working dashboard that visualizes marketing performance in a clear, actionable way. This exercise builds skills in data visualization, tool proficiency, and storytelling with data.