SaaS Marketing Dashboards: Templates and Tips

Q: What’s the difference between a marketing performance dashboard and an executive dashboard for CMOs?

A marketing performance dashboard zeroes in on the day-to-day metrics and KPIs that help marketing teams monitor how campaigns are performing, track lead generation, and manage other operational tasks. Common data points include website traffic , conversion rates , customer acquisition costs , and performance by channel . In contrast, an executive dashboard for CMOs offers a broader, strategic perspective. It highlights key metrics tied to overarching business objectives, such as revenue growth , customer lifetime value (CLV) , pipeline performance , and ROI . This type of dashboard equips CMOs with the insights needed to make strategic decisions and communicate effectively with stakeholders.

Table of contents:

A SaaS marketing dashboard simplifies the process of tracking key metrics by consolidating data from platforms like Google Ads, HubSpot, and LinkedIn into a single view. These dashboards help SaaS companies monitor critical metrics such as Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and churn rates, enabling better decision-making and resource allocation.

Key Takeaways:

Why Dashboards Matter: SaaS businesses rely on subscription-based revenue, making metrics like Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR) essential for growth tracking.
Benefits: Dashboards improve visibility, identify high-performing campaigns, and connect marketing spend to revenue outcomes.
Metrics to Track: Focus on revenue (e.g., CLV, NRR), efficiency (e.g., CAC, ROAS), and pipeline metrics (e.g., lead conversion rates).
Templates: Use pre-built dashboards for marketing performance, executive insights, lead generation, and email marketing. Tools like Coefficient and Porter Metrics offer integration and customization options.
Best Practices: Prioritize key metrics, design role-specific dashboards, and automate updates for accuracy and efficiency.

Dashboards aren’t just tools; they’re a way to streamline marketing efforts and tie them directly to business goals. By connecting data sources, focusing on relevant metrics, and designing user-friendly layouts, SaaS companies can enhance their marketing strategies and improve ROI.

Build your minimum viable marketing dashboard (Real Examples and framework)

Core Metrics to Track in SaaS Marketing Dashboards

Metrics aren’t just numbers - they’re the backbone of decision-making. For SaaS companies, a marketing dashboard’s real value lies in tracking the right metrics. Focus on three key categories: revenue metrics for understanding business impact, efficiency metrics to monitor cost-effectiveness, and pipeline/engagement metrics to gauge funnel performance. Each category sheds light on how marketing drives growth.

Revenue Metrics

Marketing-attributed revenue connects marketing efforts directly to revenue outcomes. For instance, if your company’s monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is $100,000 and $40,000 of that is tied to marketing, you know marketing contributes 40% to your revenue stream. This insight helps quantify marketing’s role in driving predictable income.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is about the total profit a customer generates over their relationship with your business. This metric is crucial for justifying marketing budgets. When CLV is significantly higher than Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), it signals a scalable and profitable business.

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) tracks revenue changes within your existing customer base, factoring in expansions, downgrades, and churn. An NRR above 100% means your customer base is growing organically, easing the pressure to constantly bring in new customers.

"The impact of PipelineRoad on Reworld's lead generation success has been truly exceptional. We witnessed remarkable results, with over $12 million in pipeline created and more than 600 highly qualified MQLs generated within a short span of time. Their strategic insights and actionable data have been instrumental in driving our revenue growth."

Gagan Sood, CTO of Reworld

Efficiency Metrics

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) shows how much it costs to gain a new customer. You calculate it by dividing total marketing and sales expenses by the number of new customers acquired in a specific timeframe. For SaaS companies, CAC typically ranges between $100 and $500, depending on the target audience and sales cycle. The best-performing companies aim for a CAC payback period under 12 months.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. It’s a straightforward way to identify which campaigns and channels are delivering the best returns.

Here’s an example: In January 2024, a SaaS company used marketing dashboards to analyze channel performance. By reallocating their budget to high-performing channels, they cut their CAC by 18% in just six months. This shows how tracking efficiency metrics can directly improve profitability.

Marketing spend as a percentage of revenue keeps track of how much of your revenue is reinvested into marketing. This ratio ensures spending aligns with growth goals and scales appropriately as the business expands.

With revenue and efficiency metrics covered, it’s time to look at pipeline and engagement metrics to complete the picture.

Pipeline and Engagement Metrics

Lead-to-opportunity conversion rate reveals the percentage of leads that qualify for sales follow-up. It’s a key indicator of lead quality and whether your targeting and messaging resonate with the right audience.

Opportunity-to-close rate measures how many qualified opportunities turn into actual deals. Together with lead conversion rates, this metric highlights where prospects drop off in the funnel.

Click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates monitor how well your marketing content engages audiences. High CTRs with low conversion rates might mean your messaging isn’t landing, while low CTRs could suggest poor targeting.

HubSpot research found that companies using marketing dashboards see a 20% boost in campaign ROI. In Q2 2023, HubSpot reported a 25% improvement in lead-to-opportunity conversion rates among clients who adopted real-time funnel analysis and automated alerts.

"A lot of people saw our LinkedIn ads prior to our event, and said 'oh yeah I remember seeing your LinkedIn ad. I wanted to meet you here.' It's the first time I've experienced something like this with marketing support, and wow, it's a different life."

Philipp Draheim, BPO GTM Manager

Channel performance metrics measure ROI, conversion rates, and cost-per-lead across platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and email campaigns. Cross-channel attribution is especially useful for B2B SaaS companies, where longer sales cycles involve multiple touchpoints.

To make dashboards actionable, focus on 8–12 core metrics that align with your goals. Tailor views based on user roles: executives benefit from high-level revenue and efficiency insights, while marketing managers need detailed campaign and channel data. This balance ensures everyone has the information they need to drive success.

Dashboard Templates and Tools

Now that you’ve got a handle on the core metrics, it’s time to dive into dashboard templates that turn raw data into meaningful insights. These templates help organize scattered information into actionable views and can be tailored to suit your business needs. By using these as a starting point, you can create dashboards aligned with specific roles and goals.

Marketing Performance Dashboard

A marketing performance dashboard brings together campaign data from platforms like Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and The Trade Desk into one cohesive view. This type of dashboard focuses on evaluating campaign effectiveness and optimizing budgets by tracking metrics like click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, return on ad spend (ROAS), cost-per-lead, and overall channel performance.

Cross-channel comparisons make it easy to spot which platforms are delivering the best results. For instance, you might find that LinkedIn Ads generate higher-quality leads at a higher cost-per-lead, whereas Google Ads drive more volume at lower costs. Such insights can guide smarter budget allocation decisions.

Key features to include are trends in engagement and acquisition, campaign segmentation (e.g., by audience or location), and real-time spend tracking. The dashboard should also help pinpoint underperforming campaigns that need adjustments or highlight high-performing ones primed for scaling.

Platforms like Coefficient and Porter Metrics offer pre-built templates with seamless integration capabilities. These tools support real-time data updates, ensuring your dashboard stays current as campaigns run. Plus, their customizable widgets let you focus on the metrics that matter most to your team.

Executive Dashboard for CMOs

An executive dashboard for CMOs provides a comprehensive view of business performance by combining marketing, sales, and customer success data. It’s designed to tackle challenges like demonstrating ROI, optimizing budgets, and aligning marketing efforts with revenue goals.

This dashboard pulls data from tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, and advertising platforms to present key metrics such as monthly recurring revenue (MRR), annual recurring revenue (ARR), churn rates, and marketing-attributed pipeline. For example, Coefficient’s HubSpot MRR Dashboard offers real-time insights into these critical metrics.

A strong focus on revenue attribution is essential. By linking marketing activities directly to revenue outcomes, the dashboard shows how campaigns contribute to pipeline growth and closed deals. It should also track efficiency metrics like customer acquisition cost (CAC) versus customer lifetime value (CLV), marketing spend as a percentage of revenue, and net revenue retention. These insights empower CMOs to make informed decisions about resource allocation and growth strategies.

Customizable views are a must-have. They allow executives to access high-level summaries for board meetings while giving marketing directors the detailed data they need for day-to-day decisions.

Lead Generation and Email Marketing Dashboards

Lead generation dashboards focus on tracking lead sources, conversion rates, and campaign performance. These templates map out the journey from initial contact to qualified opportunity. Critical metrics include lead source attribution, cost-per-lead by channel, lead-to-opportunity conversion rates, and lead quality scores. This data helps identify which channels bring in the most valuable prospects.

CRM integration is key for these dashboards. Connecting with systems like HubSpot, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign ensures automatic lead scoring and streamlines lead-nurturing workflows.

On the email marketing side, dashboards monitor performance across platforms like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, and HubSpot. These templates track open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and subscriber engagement in real time. By segmenting data by campaign type, audience, and send frequency, you can uncover which email strategies resonate most with your audience.

Automation features in these templates can alert you when conversion rates dip below a set threshold or when a campaign outperforms expectations. This allows for quick adjustments to keep campaigns on track.

Dashboard Type	Primary Focus	Key Integrations	Best For
Marketing Performance	Campaign ROI and channel optimization	Multi-channel advertising platforms	Marketing managers tracking campaigns
Executive CMO	Revenue attribution and business impact	CRM and sales platforms	C-level executives making strategic decisions
Lead Generation	Lead quality and conversion tracking	Lead generation and analytics tools	B2B marketers and sales teams
Email Marketing	Email campaign performance and engagement	Email marketing platforms	Email marketing specialists

When choosing a dashboard template, think about your team’s technical skills and how often reports are needed. Templates with automated reporting and scheduled updates save time and ensure everyone has access to the latest data. The best dashboard solutions should not only provide quick results but also adapt as your marketing strategies evolve, keeping you aligned with your growth objectives.

Next, we’ll explore how to integrate data sources and apply design principles to create effective dashboards.

How to Build SaaS Marketing Dashboards

Once you’ve identified the key SaaS metrics to track, the next step is to build a dashboard that brings all your data together in a clear, actionable format. This process involves integrating data sources, selecting the right metrics, and designing a layout that helps your team make informed decisions quickly.

Connecting Data Sources

Every effective marketing dashboard starts with reliable and complete data. For SaaS marketing teams, this often means pulling information from multiple platforms to get a full picture of performance.

Begin by integrating your core analytics and CRM tools. Google Analytics 4 is essential for capturing website traffic and user behavior, while CRM platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce provide insights into email marketing and customer interactions. These tools often form the backbone of SaaS dashboards, as they track the customer journey from the first visit to conversion.

Use native connectors to link these platforms. For example, with Google Analytics 4, you can authenticate through your dashboard, select the necessary data streams, and sync metrics like sessions and conversions. Similarly, for HubSpot, you can integrate lead generation metrics, conversion rates, and email campaign performance, such as open and click-through rates.

Next, connect your advertising platforms. Google Ads, Meta Ads, and LinkedIn Ads are critical for B2B SaaS companies, providing insights into campaign spending, conversions, and audience engagement. If you’re running programmatic campaigns, tools like The Trade Desk can supply additional display advertising data. Many dashboard platforms come with pre-built connectors for these tools, which simplifies the setup process.

Don’t forget to integrate email marketing platforms such as Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or ActiveCampaign. These tools allow you to monitor email engagement and assess how your campaigns contribute to lead generation and nurturing efforts.

To ensure accuracy, set up automatic data refresh intervals and cross-check the data against native platform reports. Documenting your data mapping is also critical - it helps your team understand where each metric comes from and resolves discrepancies more efficiently.

Once your data sources are connected and verified, the next step is to focus on selecting metrics that align with your business goals.

Choosing the Right Metrics

The metrics you include in your dashboard should reflect your business objectives and marketing strategies. They should provide insights that guide decision-making and demonstrate how marketing contributes to revenue growth.

Start with revenue-focused metrics like marketing-attributed revenue, customer lifetime value (CLV), net revenue retention (NRR), monthly recurring revenue (MRR), and annual recurring revenue (ARR). These metrics provide a direct link between marketing efforts and financial outcomes.

To optimize your budget, track efficiency metrics such as customer acquisition cost (CAC), return on ad spend (ROAS), and marketing spend as a percentage of revenue. These numbers help you evaluate how effectively your resources are being used.

For monitoring lead quality and sales funnel performance, focus on pipeline and conversion metrics like marketing-attributed pipeline, lead-to-opportunity conversion rates, and opportunity-to-close rates. Tracking lead source attribution can also clarify which channels are driving the best results.

When it comes to individual campaign performance, metrics like click-through rates (CTR), channel-specific conversion rates, cost-per-lead, and engagement trends are invaluable. Segmenting this data by geography, audience, or campaign type allows for a deeper analysis of what’s working and what isn’t.

"Based on the audit findings, we develop a comprehensive strategic plan tailored to your business goals and market opportunities, ensuring a clear path forward for your digital presence."

PipelineRoad

Before finalizing your metrics, take a step back and assess your overall marketing strategy. This ensures your dashboard is aligned with your company’s broader goals and provides the most actionable insights.

Dashboard Design Best Practices

The way you design your dashboard can make or break its effectiveness. A well-designed dashboard highlights critical insights and supports quick decision-making, while a poorly organized one can overwhelm users with unnecessary details.

Prioritize key metrics at the top of your dashboard. Revenue figures and campaign performance indicators should be front and center, giving executives and managers a quick overview without having to dig through secondary data.

Add flexible date range filters to allow users to view data by day, week, month, quarter, or year. This flexibility is especially useful for SaaS companies with varying sales cycles - some may benefit from tracking quarterly trends, while others need daily or weekly updates.

Choose visualizations that make trends easy to spot. Line charts are great for showing changes over time, like MRR growth or lead volume trends. Bar charts work well for comparing performance across campaigns or channels, while gauges or scorecards can quickly show how key metrics stack up against targets.

Tailor dashboards to different roles. For example:

A CMO dashboard might focus on revenue impact and ROI with a concise set of 6–8 key metrics.
Marketing managers may need more detailed views of channel performance, campaign ROI, and budget tracking.
Campaign specialists often require granular data, such as daily metrics for impressions, clicks, and conversions, segmented by audience.

Use consistent color coding to signal performance status. For example, green for metrics on target, yellow for areas needing attention, and red for underperformance. This visual cue helps users quickly identify areas that require action.

Avoid overwhelming your dashboard with too many metrics. Focus on 8–12 key indicators that directly support decision-making. If a metric doesn’t influence decisions, it probably doesn’t belong on your primary dashboard.

Structure your dashboard logically to match how your team makes decisions. Start with high-level summaries, then drill down into channel-specific data, and finally present detailed campaign metrics. This flow ensures users can both get a quick overview and dive deeper when needed.

Finally, test your dashboard with actual users before rolling it out. Involving team members like marketing managers, campaign specialists, and executives in the testing phase ensures the design meets everyone’s needs and encourages widespread adoption.

Tips for Better Dashboard Performance

Once you've built your dashboard, keeping it optimized and up-to-date is crucial for long-term success. To truly benefit from your marketing data, focus on how your team uses these tools and ensure they stay relevant as your business grows and changes.

Customizing Dashboards for Different Users

Tailoring dashboards based on user roles is a smart way to ensure they deliver actionable insights. Different stakeholders need different types of data to make informed decisions.

For CMOs, dashboards should highlight strategic metrics that directly impact business goals. Include metrics like marketing-attributed revenue, customer lifetime value (CLV), net revenue retention (NRR), customer acquisition cost (CAC), return on ad spend (ROAS), and marketing spend as a percentage of revenue. These high-level numbers help executives allocate resources effectively and justify marketing efforts without diving into campaign-specific details.

Marketing managers, on the other hand, need tactical insights. Their dashboards should include click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, cost per click (CPC), and channel-specific performance data. This level of detail helps them fine-tune campaigns and identify quick opportunities for improvement.

Your company’s stage of growth also plays a big role in determining which metrics matter most. Early-stage SaaS companies should focus on customer acquisition metrics like CAC, lead generation volume, conversion rates, and channel performance to identify the most effective acquisition strategies. Growth-stage businesses need a balance between acquisition and retention, tracking metrics such as churn rate, NRR, and expansion revenue alongside CAC and ROAS. For mature SaaS companies, efficiency metrics like net churn rate, CLV, and revenue attribution across channels take center stage.

Another useful customization layer is geographic and audience segmentation. If your campaigns span multiple regions or target different customer groups, dashboards should include filters to analyze performance by market or audience. This makes it easier to see where your efforts are paying off and where you might need to adjust.

To avoid overwhelming users, consider creating summary dashboards for quick daily updates and detailed dashboards for deeper dives. Once dashboards are tailored to specific roles and needs, streamline their use further with automation and alerts.

Using Automation and Alerts

Automation can save your team time and ensure data is always up-to-date. Set up automated data updates to reduce manual reporting. For most SaaS companies, daily updates work well, but high-velocity sales environments may require hourly refreshes to support rapid decision-making.

Real-time alerts are another powerful tool. Set threshold-based alerts for key metrics, like when ROAS drops below a target level, churn rate spikes, or lead volume falls short of forecasts. Tailor these alerts to specific roles - for instance, CMOs can receive strategic alerts tied to revenue impact, while marketing managers get tactical alerts about campaign performance.

Scheduled reports are also helpful, automatically delivering insights to stakeholders at set intervals.

Integrating tools like Google Ads, Meta Ads, HubSpot, and email platforms ensures your dashboard pulls data from all relevant sources. This eliminates silos and provides a full view of customer journeys, from first contact to conversion.

Be cautious of overloading your team with notifications. Focus alerts on critical metrics rather than "nice-to-know" data to keep the team focused on what truly matters.

Updating and Improving Dashboards

Dashboards aren’t a “set it and forget it” tool. Regular updates ensure they stay aligned with your business needs.

Quarterly reviews are a great way to check if your dashboards still reflect your current priorities and market conditions. Use these reviews to weed out vanity metrics that may no longer provide actionable insights.

Monthly check-ins, including user feedback and data quality audits, help maintain accuracy and relevance. These audits verify that data sources are functioning correctly and that metric definitions remain clear and consistent.

"This strategy isn't one and done. As we grow and evolve, we'll come back and do this again. I know it'll be just as valuable next time." - Jasmine Bhatti, Founder of NaviNurses

To keep dashboards running smoothly as data volumes grow, focus on performance optimization. Monitor load times and archive historical data that’s no longer in active use. If dashboards become slow or unresponsive, users may stop relying on them altogether.

Finally, offer brief training sessions whenever new features are added to ensure your team knows how to make the most of them.

Conclusion

SaaS marketing dashboards play a key role in driving growth and improving ROI. By keeping a close eye on critical performance metrics in real time, these tools turn raw data into meaningful insights that lead to smarter business decisions.

The real value of dashboards lies in their ability to adapt to specific needs and integrate seamlessly with your data. Whether you're a CMO focused on revenue tied to marketing efforts or a marketing manager fine-tuning conversion rates, a well-designed dashboard delivers the right information to the right person. Companies using these tools report 30% faster decision-making and a 20% boost in marketing ROI, thanks to better visibility and actionable insights.

The numbers back it up. Case studies show that customized dashboards can cut churn by 15% and significantly enhance pipeline generation. For example, some businesses have created over $12 million in pipeline value and generated more than 600 highly qualified MQLs. These results highlight the importance of continually improving dashboard tools to meet evolving business needs.

"Their strategic insights and actionable data have been instrumental in driving our revenue growth." - Gagan Sood, CTO of Reworld

Dashboards aren't static tools - they're dynamic and need regular attention. By updating, automating, and optimizing them over time, you can ensure they stay aligned with your business goals.

"This strategy isn't one and done. As we grow and evolve, we'll come back and do this again. I know it'll be just as valuable next time." - Jasmine Bhatti, Founder of NaviNurses

FAQs

What’s the best way for SaaS companies to combine data from multiple sources into a single marketing dashboard?

To bring together multiple data sources into a marketing dashboard, SaaS companies should begin by pinpointing the key performance metrics they want to monitor. Metrics like customer acquisition cost (CAC), churn rate, and monthly recurring revenue (MRR) are often at the top of the list. Once these are defined, it's crucial to leverage tools or platforms that can pull data from various sources - think CRM systems, analytics tools, and ad networks.

Make sure the dashboard delivers real-time insights by automating data updates and standardizing the formatting across datasets. This approach not only simplifies trend analysis but also supports quicker, more informed decision-making. For a more structured way to develop dashboards tailored to SaaS needs, companies like PipelineRoad offer services that focus on building data-driven strategies specifically for AI and SaaS businesses.

What’s the difference between a marketing performance dashboard and an executive dashboard for CMOs?

A marketing performance dashboard zeroes in on the day-to-day metrics and KPIs that help marketing teams monitor how campaigns are performing, track lead generation, and manage other operational tasks. Common data points include website traffic, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and performance by channel.

In contrast, an executive dashboard for CMOs offers a broader, strategic perspective. It highlights key metrics tied to overarching business objectives, such as revenue growth, customer lifetime value (CLV), pipeline performance, and ROI. This type of dashboard equips CMOs with the insights needed to make strategic decisions and communicate effectively with stakeholders.

How do automation and real-time alerts enhance SaaS marketing dashboards?

Automation and real-time alerts can take SaaS marketing dashboards to the next level by keeping key metrics current and actionable. Automation cuts down on the time wasted on manual data entry and analysis, freeing up your team to focus on making strategic decisions that matter. Meanwhile, real-time alerts ensure you're instantly informed of critical changes - like a sudden dip in conversion rates or an unexpected surge in churn. This means you can tackle potential problems before they escalate.

When you combine automation with alerts, your dashboards become more agile and insightful. They provide a sharper view of performance trends, helping you act faster and make smarter, data-driven decisions.