Ascend Strategy & Design's Blog

How to Develop an Effective Reporting Structure in HubSpot

Written by Gretchen Elliott | October 28, 2024

Using HubSpot’s reporting tools to measure your KPIs is a must-have to prove the success of your implementation. Remember, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Just as a house needs a strong foundation to support everything above it, your HubSpot implementation needs the right KPIs to support and measure the success of your business. The good news is, HubSpot makes it easy to explore. You could inadvertently set up a number of reports without much forethought. So before diving in with reporting in HubSpot, it’s essential to identify and define the key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business goals.

Define the Right KPIs for Your Business Goals 

These metrics will serve as the framework for evaluating the effectiveness of your marketing, sales, and service efforts. (In fact, you probably already have these KPIs, you’re just not sure how to “see” them in HubSpot.)

Start by understanding the core objectives of your business, such as increasing lead generation, improving customer retention, or boosting sales conversions. Once you have clarity on these goals, you can translate them into specific, measurable KPIs, like the number of qualified leads generated per month, the average deal size, or customer satisfaction score. 

How do I create an effective reporting structure for my team?

At Ascend, we think that when creating a reporting structure for your organization it’s important to remember that less is more. For each role in your organization we suggest that you maintain between 5 and no more than 10 key metrics and performance indicators that help employees and leadership monitor performance. Otherwise, what’s that saying – you’ll get lost in the weeds?

For example, a measurable KPI may require your sales team to reach out to 10 new prospects via Zoominfo every day of the week. On the other hand, you may require that your service team maintain a 24-hour outreach KPI for new tickets created by customers on your website form.

When clients work with Ascend to implement HubSpot, we use the following reporting examples to give stakeholders ideas on how to structure reporting for their employees and leadership team. They should be curated to fit the specific needs of an organization. After clients submit their outline, Ascend works with the stakeholders to finalize their list.

Reporting Examples

1. Sales Rep Dashboard

Automatically filtered to "Me" to show sales users where leads are in the qualifying process.

  • Leads by Lead Qualification Stage
  • Deals by Deal Stage
  • New Deals Created This Week
  • Conversion Metrics (Deals Won vs. Lost)
  • Activity Tracker (Calls, Emails, Meetings)
  • Upcoming Tasks and Meetings
  • Average Deal Size by Rep
  • Top 10 Open Deals by Value

2. Sales Leadership Dashboard

Filtered to show the entire team for performance review and overall sales health.

  • Team Performance (Leads by Stage and Rep)
  • Deals by Stage and Rep
  • KPIs and Performance Metrics
  • Trailing Revenue by Team or Geographic Location
  • Deal Forecast (Projected Revenue)
  • Sales Activity Metrics by Rep (Calls, Emails, Meetings)
  • Pipeline Coverage (Opportunities vs. Target)
  • Sales Funnel Conversion Rates

3. Executive Dashboard

Key metrics for executive-level reporting, focusing on overall business health and strategic goals.

  • Leads, Opportunities, and Customers by Source
  • New Business vs. Existing Business Closed Won
  • Closed Won Opportunities by Sales Rep
  • Closed Lost Opportunities by Reason
  • Revenue Forecast vs. Target
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) by Segment
  • Cost of Customer Acquisition (CAC)
  • Profitability by Deal Type or Segment

4. Marketing Dashboard

Insights for the marketing team to optimize lead generation and campaign performance.

  • Website Traffic (Sessions, Bounce Rate, Time on Site)
  • Leads, Opportunities, and Customers by Source
  • Ad Spend and Performance (Cost per Lead, ROI)
  • Submissions by Type or Location
  • Email Campaign Performance (Open Rates, Click-Through Rates)
  • Social Media Engagement (Likes, Shares, Comments)
  • Landing Page Conversion Rates
  • Lead Scoring Metrics

5. Service Dashboard

For the customer service team to monitor case management and customer satisfaction.

  • Open Tickets by Priority
  • Tickets Closed by Rep
  • Average Response Time
  • Average Resolution Time
  • Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS)
  • First Contact Resolution Rate
  • Top 10 Customers by Ticket Volume

6. Productivity Dashboard

Focuses on individual and team productivity metrics to optimize performance.

  • Tasks Completed by Rep
  • Calls Made and Emails Sent
  • Average Task Completion Time
  • Overdue Tasks by Rep
  • Meetings Scheduled vs. Attended
  • Efficiency Metrics (Deals Closed per Task)
  • Time Spent per Deal or Task
  • Daily Activity Summary

7. Quality Control Dashboard

Ensures data integrity and process adherence, helping maintain a clean and efficient CRM.

  • Deals that have not moved for 30+ days
  • Contacts Missing Essential Information (Phone, Email, etc.)
  • Deals with No Close Date
  • Contacts Not Associated with a Company Record
  • Duplicate Contacts or Companies
  • Deals with Incomplete Stages
  • Records with Invalid Data (Emails, Phone Numbers)
  • Stale Opportunities (No Activity in X Days)

Customize HubSpot Reports to Track KPIs 

With your defined list, you can get to building reports. HubSpot offers a robust reporting tool that allows you to create customized dashboards tailored to your specific KPIs. You can set up dashboards that provide real-time insights into your key metrics, enabling your team to monitor performance at a glance. Custom reports can be built to track a wide range of data points, from marketing campaign performance to sales pipeline health. This customization is critical because it allows you to focus on the data that matters most to your business, filtering out the noise and highlighting the trends and patterns that can drive strategic decision-making.

Continuous Monitoring and Optimization 

Once your HubSpot implementation is complete and your KPIs are set, the work doesn’t stop there. Continuous monitoring and optimization are crucial to ensuring that your KPIs remain relevant and that your HubSpot setup continues to serve your business effectively. Regularly review your reports to identify areas where performance may be lagging, and use HubSpot’s insights to tweak your strategies accordingly. For example, if you notice a drop in lead conversion rates, you might need to adjust your marketing efforts or refine your sales process. By maintaining a proactive approach to monitoring and optimization, you can ensure that your HubSpot implementation remains a powerful tool in driving business growth.