I've been on a lot of reporting calls. And I can tell within the first five minutes whether the report was built for the person presenting it or for the people in the room.
When it's built for the presenter, here's what tends to happen: the marketer walks through the numbers slide by slide, someone nods politely, and then someone else asks the question that exposes the whole thing: "So... is this working?" or "So... what does this mean?"
Silence. A bit of scrambling. A promise to "follow up later with more context."
When it's built for the stakeholder, that question never comes up. Because the report was built to answer their questions.
Most marketers are reporting on their marketing performance. Almost none are reporting for their stakeholders. There's a difference.
Most marketers are reporting on their marketing performance. Almost none are reporting for their stakeholders. There's a difference.
The gap isn't a data problem. It's a framing problem. Stakeholders, whether that's a client, a CMO, or a business owner, don't think in sessions and CTRs. They think in outcomes, risk, and budget. And until your report speaks that language, it will always feel like homework to them.
Here's how to close that gap.
Start with their questions, not your data
Before you open your dashboards or a platform and pull a single metric, ask yourself: what does this person need to walk away knowing?
In my experience, stakeholders are almost always asking some version of three things:
1) Is it working?
Not "what were the impressions" — are we moving toward the goal? This means your report needs a goal baked in. Without a target, every number is just a number floating in space.
2) Where should we focus our energy and budget?
Stakeholders are making decisions. Your report should make those decisions easier, not harder. If someone has to dig through six charts to figure out what to do next, the report failed.
3) Can I trust these numbers?
This one often goes unspoken, but it's always there. We want our leaders to feel confident and to trust us.
If a stakeholder has ever been burned by bad data (and most have), they're prone to wonder whether to believe what they're seeing. Clean, verified data with consistent definitions builds trust over time.
If your report clearly answers all three, your stakeholders will feel informed and confident. If it doesn't, you'll spend the next week answering follow-up emails.
Aim to make stakeholders feel reassured and positive about the strategies in place and what's ahead. We want them to leave feeling confident and hopeful about the future.
Audit what's actually in your reports right now
Pull up your most recent report and go through it metric by metric. For each one, ask: Does this help answer one of those three questions? If the honest answer is no—if it's in there because someone asked for it two years ago, or because it was easy to include, or because it "looks good" — take it out.
Vanity metrics aren't just useless. They actively dilute the message you're trying to convey. Every extra chart your stakeholder has to read is another moment when their attention drifts away from what actually matters.
A good rule of thumb: if a metric can't be connected to a business decision, it doesn't belong in a stakeholder report. Save it for your internal working documents and strategy improvements.
Lead with the summary, not the data
One of the simplest changes you can make: put a written two-to-four-sentence summary at the top of every report or every slide. What happened this period, what it means, and what you recommend doing next.
Most marketers stick this at the end, if they include it at all. But stakeholders often don't have time to read the whole report. They want the highlights up front. Then let the charts support those who want to go deeper.
Verify your data before it goes anywhere
None of this works if the data itself isn't trustworthy. There's nothing more embarrassing than realizing you're reporting on faulty numbers.
There's nothing more embarrassing than realizing your reporting on faulty numbers.
I've seen beautifully designed reports built on misconfigured GA4 setups, duplicate tags, and unfiltered internal traffic. The report looks great. The decisions made from it don't.
Before you redesign your reporting format, make sure you're confident in what's underneath it. If you haven't audited your tracking setup recently, that's where I'd start.
Final Takeaway
The best reporting calls I've ever been on ended with a client saying, "I finally know exactly where to focus and spend." Not "great report", not "thanks for the update."
That's what we're targeting. Not just prettier dashboards and visualizations. Clearer ones.
Lauren Glancy
Founder, ClearGlance · Marketing Data Strategist