Customer Portals: Using Dashboards For Data That Matters
Accurate data is essential to any business
A common phrase in business is “what can’t be measured, can’t be managed”. As simple and profound as this statement is, it’s also very true; without access to accurate data, it’s really hard to understand performance and the status of key areas in a business.
On the contrary, accurate and reliable data presented in the right form is essential for all businesses, and allows for an easy understanding of the metrics as well as enhancing the decision-making process.
WHAT EXACTLY IS A DASHBOARD?
A dashboard is a visual display of various sets of metrics and data points, presented in an easy-to-understand layout. A dashboard is typically a single-screen view that can consist of a selection of elements such as graphs, gauges, charts, tables, maps, and data points.
Dashboards may also provide users with the ability to drill down into the data.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFICIAL FACTORS OF DASHBOARDS?
1. EMPOWER USERS
Providing decision-makers with access to updated, real-time accurate data that is presented in a highly informative and visual way empowers users and gives them the ability to easily understand and interrogate the data.
The ability to analyse a business’s KPIs on dashboards lets decision-makers make impactful business choices faster because the data is readily available to justify changes.
2. IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY
Imagine a scenario where critical data was sitting in various systems and documents. The amount of effort and expertise needed to collate that data and process it into an understandable format would be enormous, not to mention it is highly time-consuming.
The great thing about dashboards is that the underlying technology and coding do all the heavy lifting that is needed to fetch, aggregate, and then present the data in a beautifully summarised set of visual representation tools.
The benefit of getting technology to do the work is highly improved efficiency whereby this powerful data can be accessed at literally a click of a button and in a few seconds. Getting access to this data quickly and easily has a massive improvement in productivity.
3. ENHANCES THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
The underlying data that is used to generate these dashboards are often scattered, fairly raw, and quite complex. The role of the dashboard is to represent this data in a way that is as user-friendly as possible to make it easy and fast to understand.
With these powerful visual tools at your fingertips, the decision-making process is enhanced.
When you can see your key metrics, you can start to intuitively improve your results.
4. REAL-TIME DATA
If the business keeps the data that the dashboard relies on accurate and up-to-date, the business can have a real-time presentation of how they are performing.
You can watch your business succeed with the latest summarised version of the most crucial data to implement changes if and where necessary for better business growth.
5. INCREASED ENGAGEMENT
The data displayed in a dashboard is highly visual, through graphs, gauges, etc. This makes the data much easier to process and understand. These graphs and other visual tools allow users to interact with them by drilling down further and manipulating the data that they represent.
This makes dashboards highly engaging and ensures users keep coming back to interact and consume the data that is represented by the dashboard.
6. ALWAYS ACCESSIBLE
The beauty of technology and, in this case, dashboards is that due to their web connectivity, they are available and operating around the clock. Dashboards are always accessible regardless of the time of day and the data that is displayed in the dashboard is real-time data that is always up-to-date and accurate.
7. EASILY ACCESSIBLE
Another great thing about dashboards is that they are easily accessible, as they are generally web-based, meaning that no special software is needed, and the dashboard can simply be accessed via a web browser.
HOW ARE THEY USED IN CUSTOMER AND BUSINESS PORTALS?
CUSTOMER PORTALS
If you’re not familiar with what a customer portal is, here’s an in-depth explanation. The application and implementation of dashboards within customer portals widely vary depending on the nature of the website or web application that the customer engages with. If the customer interacts with the website on a once-off or very infrequent basis, there may be no need at all to develop a customer portal, as this will add no value to the customers nor will it be used.
However, where we’ve seen dashboards implemented extremely well and to good effect. This is where there is a strong need for customers to log in and use the customer portal to transact and engage on a frequent basis. This interaction and transacting by users generate lots of data and it, therefore, makes sense to develop and provide these engaged users with a dashboard that allows them to visualise and understand the data in an aggregated and comprehensible format. What this does, is it gives customers insights at the touch of a button to understand how their interaction is materialising and what progress they’re making.
A few examples of where we’ve seen this work really well is in educational platforms, where parents and learners are engaging and are able to view progress based on the learner’s interactions.
Other great examples include competition-based websites, where users can view their entries and winnings.
Smart metering and IoT devices that track and measure readings and metrics are often a great candidate for a customer portal with dashboard tools, as this allows users to understand their usage and patterns over time, for example, water usage, electricity consumption, inventory management, etc.
For business owners, customer portals can reduce the need for customer support agents. If their clients have access to data, they don't have to waste time asking for it by getting in touch with a support agent. This makes their lives easier and provides them access to data in an instant which improves a business’ efficiencies and operations.
BUSINESS PORTALS
As we’ve mentioned previously, data is one of the most important assets for any modern-day business. Being able to access and quickly interpret that data is key to understanding the status and health of various business functions.
Imagine a scenario where a SaaS application allows customers to sign up, pay and interact with the services on offer. The company offering this SaaS platform will have a huge need to know about various activities, metrics, and data points all the time to know how the platform and ultimately their business is performing. Enter the Dashboard.
With a custom-developed web-based dashboard, key decision-makers can quickly access tons of valuable information in the form of graphs, gauges, and data tables, such as:
- the number of new signups over the last 30 days, compared to the previous 30 days
- total revenue generated for the year to date
- most active users
- metrics about customers unsubscribing from the service
- which modules are most and least used by customers
With this powerful information displayed in an intuitive format, it allows stakeholders to understand what’s working and what is not and where to take action based on hard data.
The ability to diligently and thoroughly dissect various data sets to find what you’re looking for further empowers users to query and understand the data.
A business portal can help companies keep their information and data in one platform, and the dashboard can make sure that the latest information is always available.
WHAT CAN AND CANNOT BE INCLUDED IN THESE DASHBOARDS?
There are very few limitations as to what can be included in dashboards. It goes without saying that the underlying data needs to be structured in a way that allows for it to be interrogated in various ways and displayed in different formats. Poorly structured data will inhibit the ability of the dashboard to display and visualise the data as required.
Another limitation is that dashboards are typically meant to be displayed on desktop devices such as laptops and PCs, where the dashboard is presented as a single-screen visualisation tool. With that being said, it is not always possible to achieve the same result when users are accessing these dashboards via mobile devices. The screen sizes are much smaller and therefore limit what can be shown.
Dashboards perform best as a single-screen visualisation on a desktop or laptop screen. Dashboards do a brilliant job at converting large amounts of data into visually informative content. Due to how much data dashboards frequently break down and display, it is recommended to view this data on larger screens for a better viewer experience. Imagine having to zoom in on a smartphone to properly view graphs.
Luckily, dashboards can be customised to better suit mobile devices. Web development agencies like Elemental can design a dashboard that is optimised for mobile use by ensuring that only the necessary data can be accessed and represented easily on smaller screens.
WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE THESE DASHBOARDS?
So, you’re looking in awe at a beautiful fully fledged dashboard with all its shining graphs and data visualisation tools, neatly laid out and bursting with loads of insights and you wonder what goes into developing a dashboard? How complex is it? Lucky for you, we’re going to explain all of this in more detail below.
UNDERSTANDING THE DATA
The first action that needs to be taken is to understand what the entire dataset looks like, and what are the key performance metrics and data points that are needed to make critical decisions. Once we understand the data structures, we can determine what sort of data comparisons are needed to evaluate performance over time. What are the key metrics and insights that users need to access in order to make informed decisions. This is excellent in gaining an understanding of which KPIs need to be tracked, and what sector of the business would require more attention.
For each metric and data point that users need to access, we determine what would be the best way to present this data. These representations can vary from graphs to gauges to data tables to maps and the highlighting of key numerical metrics.
DESIGNING THE DASHBOARD
With the finalisation of the data points and the tools to render these data points into visible and digestible formats, the design of the dashboard can commence. The design is actually less of a design but more a process of laying out the different graphs, data tables and gauges. The most important metrics are typically placed as high up as possible on the page, as these need to be accessed quickly and often. Lower down on the dashboard are tools that allow users to drill down deeper into the data, which is mostly done through graphs and charts.
Adding aesthetic visual touches to the page ensures that the subtle branding elements and colour are present, and that the overall look and feel of the dashboard interface is beautiful.
DEVELOPING THE DASHBOARD
The development step involves the setup of the dashboard interface based on the look and feel which has been designed in the prior step.
Development also includes the integration of the various graphing libraries and tools where applicable.
The data that is required to be fed to all these data visualisation tools, needs to be extracted and aggregated from the database. This is done using a bunch of highly complex and optimised SQL(Structured Query Language) queries which gather the data sets and format them appropriately to be fed into the dashboard.
Custom development is required to configure the graphs and data tools so that they are set up to visualise the data in the correct format and for the correct reporting period. Additional development work is required to feed the data from the above SQL queries into the visualisation tools, so that they are populated with the correct data values.
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING YOUR DASHBOARD
1. KEEP IT SIMPLE
While the possibilities of metrics and visualisation tools that can be added to your dashboard are many, it’s best to try to keep your dashboard simple.
This will make dashboards simpler for your users to read and understand the data without feeling overwhelmed or confused. There is always the option to add more to the dashboard at a later stage if your users really need additional data points.
2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT METRICS TO DISPLAY
There are certain vital numbers and metrics that users will definitely need added to the dashboard, in order for them to make critical decisions.
The key to dashboards, especially in measuring the most important KPIs of a business, is to keep them relevant to the data that matters most. Decision-makers have the opportunity to identify what company data and information matters the most to their business and what data needs to be reported on often. This data can then be added to their dashboard.
HOW CAN YOUR CUSTOMERS REAP THE BENEFITS OF USING BOTH CUSTOMER PORTALS AND DASHBOARDS?
You can use a customer portal to carefully select the most valuable metrics that are impactful to your business and have those ready at your fingertips.
3. MAKE THE DASHBOARD INTERACTIVE
Giving dashboard users the ability to filter and drill down into various datasets and metrics, gives them the power to further interrogate the data and find what they’re looking for. This interactivity goes a long way to increase engagement.
4. DON’T CHERRY-PICK DATA ON DASHBOARDS
It is easy to create a data bias on dashboards if you choose to select data that supports a particular argument. This is referred to as confirmation bias and can be harmful to your business because it can affect the decision-making process. A dashboard should be used carefully as a component of a larger analytical approach.
Dashboards can be viewed in several ways like graphs or charts, so how this data is displayed ties into cherry-picking the data. An accurate and unbiased representation of the data that is easily understood by the viewer is necessary.
SO, WHAT'S THE VERDICT?
Dashboards are dynamic, interactive business intelligence tools that make it possible to measure and manage data accurately whilst allowing stakeholders to have an at-a-glance overview of their business performance.
Dashboards are easily accessible, always accessible, and increase stakeholder engagement with key metrics that drive progress in businesses.
In business and customer portals, dashboards can be highly beneficial tools. Business portals can use dashboards as a holistic overview of their key metrics. Some web apps can make use of dashboards when the opportunity arises to present data in an organised and efficient way, like in educational or travel platforms.
There are very few limitations to what can be included in a dashboard. If the data can be measured, it can be tracked and converted into easy-to-read graphs, charts, spreadsheets and many other options of viewing your data. Bear in mind that most dashboards are designed to be viewed on a larger screen such as a desktop screen. Although you may access your dashboard on devices with smaller screens like phones, if the dashboard has not been optimised for that screen size, the viewing experience might be unsatisfactory.
If you are setting up your own dashboard, it is crucial to understand the data that you are putting into the dashboard. Most business leaders will know where their key metrics lie. Dashboards work like a charm when the data it has to convert into digestible and interactive visual representations of data. Take the time to carefully lay out a dashboard in a way that has your most important data prominently displayed.
Elemental has designed and developed several web apps and platforms over the years that feature expertly tailored dashboards based on client requirements. We turn great ideas into digital solutions, and we can assist you in bringing the dashboard of your dreams to life. Contact us today to find out more about our bespoke web and dashboard development.
