If your monthly report is a wall of green arrows and your revenue hasn't moved, the report isn't measuring your business. It's protecting the agency.
The vanity trap
Reach, impressions, and engagement are easy to grow and easy to celebrate. They are also the metrics least connected to money. An agency that leads with them is telling you what's convenient, not what's true.
What a real report shows
Cost per result. How that number moved. What was tested, what won, what was killed. And — the rare one — what didn't work and what's changing because of it.
- Cost per result — the headline number.
- Trend, not snapshot — is it improving?
- What was tested — proof of thinking.
- What failed — honesty is a feature.
A report full of good news and no decisions isn't a report. It's a comfort blanket.
Want reports that tell the truth? Let's talk.
What should a marketing report show?
Cost per result and how it moved. What was tested, what won, what was killed — and what didn't work. A report full of green arrows and no decisions isn't a report; it's a comfort blanket.
Why do reports focus on reach?
Because reach is easy to grow and easy to celebrate, and it's the metric least connected to money. An agency that never reports a failure isn't testing anything.