The Do’s and Dont’s of HubSpot Reporting

Without reporting on your data, knowing if your team’s efforts are genuinely working is impossible. You can make your data work for you with HubSpot’s various reporting options.

HubSpot comes with several default reports to analyze your lead and customer data so you can make informed business decisions. They’re all valuable, but sometimes custom reporting within HubSpot reporting may offer more value and help propel your business forward.

Let’s dig in.

HubSpot Reporting Basics

Reporting is not merely the act of generating charts and graphs. It's a strategic process involving data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation. It serves as the backbone of informed decision-making, enabling businesses to measure the effectiveness of their strategies, identify areas for improvement, and allocate resources more efficiently. And when it comes to HubSpot, there's way more to it than just that!

Benefits of HubSpot Reporting

HubSpot's reporting tools offer a multitude of advantages that go above and beyond. Here are some of the key benefits:

Unified Data Source

HubSpot is a single source of truth for all your business data. By integrating your CRM, marketing, sales, and service data, HubSpot eliminates the need to juggle multiple platforms, thereby reducing the risk of data inconsistencies.

Real-Time Analytics

HubSpot's reporting tools provide real-time analytics, allowing you to make timely decisions. Whether it's tracking a marketing campaign's performance or monitoring sales activities, real-time data ensures that you are always up to date.

Customization and Flexibility

The platform offers a high degree of customization. You can create custom reports that pull data from various sources, including third-party integrations. This flexibility allows you to tailor your reports to specific business needs, making your analytics more relevant and actionable.

User-Friendly Interface 

One of HubSpot's standout features is its user-friendly interface. The platform's intuitive design makes creating and interpreting reports easy, even if you're not a data analyst. This democratizes data within your organization, empowering team members at all levels to engage with analytics.

Automated Reporting 

HubSpot allows for automated report generation and distribution. You can schedule reports to be sent out to relevant team members at specific intervals, ensuring everyone is on the same page without requiring manual effort.

Data-Driven Decision-Making 

By offering a comprehensive suite of reporting tools that provide deep insights into customer behavior, sales trends, and marketing effectiveness, HubSpot enables data-driven decision-making. This is crucial for optimizing strategies and achieving better ROI.

Scalability 

As your business grows, your reporting needs will evolve. HubSpot's reporting tools are designed to scale with you, offering advanced features like attribution reports and Ops Hub Datasets for larger organizations with more complex reporting needs.

Collaboration and Sharing 

HubSpot makes sharing reports and dashboards with team members easy. Whether it's through email, Slack, or even embedded on a webpage, practical sharing features ensure that your data insights are accessible to all relevant stakeholders.

Types of Custom Reports

There are five types of flexible, custom reports you can use to analyze objects and activities within your portal. Please note: The custom report builder is available in all hubs at the Pro and Enterprise levels, with certain reports available only to specific solutions.

• Single object reports: This type of custom report lets you report on one dataset, such as contacts, companies, deals, tickets, custom objects, activities, line items, and feedback submissions.
• Across datasets: This report allows you to report on the same data as above while allowing you to see the relationship between properties across two different datasets. 
• Funnel reports: These reports show conversion rates and progress between stages of a customer’s lifecycle or a deal’s pipeline. 
• Standard reports: These pre-configured reports provide quick insights into a wide array of essential metrics. Standard reports cover the basics, from website traffic and user engagement to sales activities and customer service metrics. They are handy for those new to HubSpot or data analytics in general.

Attribution Reports 

Attribution reports take analytics to the next level by helping you understand the customer journey. These reports show how different touchpoints contribute to conversions, providing insights into which marketing channels are most effective for customer acquisition and retention. Examples of marketing attribution reporting include first interaction, last interaction, linear, u-shaped, w-shaped, and multi-attribution.

For those who require a more nuanced view, custom reports are the way to go. These reports allow you to dig deeper into specific areas of interest by pulling data from multiple sources. 

But be wise when building one — consider the core object you want to analyze and set it as your primary source. With custom reports, you can also integrate data from custom objects and third-party integrations, offering a comprehensive view of your business operations.

Examples of Specific Custom Reports

The more you use custom reports, the more metrics and data you’ll be able to examine that reflect your company’s unique processes. For example, you can add particular metrics in your existing reports like lead-to-close time, customer acquisition cost, average number of activities by sales rep, and more to build more customized reports. 

Here are a few examples of custom reports using different properties.

Multi-Touch Attribution Report

A multi-touch revenue attribution report can show what parts of your sales and marketing campaigns ultimately acquire customers and create revenue. Properties could include deals, deal close date, companies, campaigns, interactions, and content types.

How To Create a First-Touch/Last Touch Marketing Attribution Report

• In HubSpot, go to “Reports” in the navigation, then select “Reports” in the dropdown
• Click “Create a custom report”
• Choose “Attribution”
• Select “Contacts”
• Build your report by filtering your contacts, picking an attribution object (i.e., URL, source, referrer), then an attribution model (first touch or last touch)
• Hit “Run report” then save and/or click export

How to Create a Multi-Touch Marketing Attribution Report

It’s essential to understand every action someone took that led to conversion to get a comprehensive view of your entire marketing efforts. Create a multi-touch marketing attribution report with these steps:

• In HubSpot, go to “Reports” in the navigation, then select “Reports” in the dropdown
• Click “Create a custom report”
• Choose “Attribution”
• Select “Contacts”
• Build your report by filtering your contacts, picking an attribution object (i.e., URL, source, referrer), then an attribution model (all interactions) 
• Hit “Run report” then save

Contact Generation

Want to know which of your marketing channels are bringing in the most leads? A contact generation report measures the most effective channels for lead generation.

Deal Pipeline Report

If your sales reps need to see who’s converting and when, a deal pipeline report is handy. It also shows who’s close to converting so you can ramp up your efforts. Properties here may include industry, deal size, lifecycle stage, and more.

Related: Reverse Funnel Calculator That Keeps Your Pipeline Full

Tracking Report

The time and effort to create a premium piece of gated content shouldn’t be understated. To make sure you’re spending your time wisely, a tracking report can see how people discover your content and how many people download it.

Tailored Marketing Reports

Custom reporting lets you add more detailed metrics to typical reports, like a marketing report. You can add social media campaigns, first conversions, traffic on websites, sessions, sessions over time, and individual page performance. From there, you can create even more nuanced reports like Original Source Type broken down by Average Pageviews or the performance of just your MQLs.

Customers Closed by First Conversions  

If you’ve noticed that a particular blog post you’ve shared with customers is sealing the deal, it’d be wise to note that. With this report, you can see which blog, case study, eBook, landing page, or other piece of sales enablement converts the most people the quickest.

Closed Won vs. Closed Lost by Amount over Time  

A report like this can give you insight into how seasonality and organizational changes affect your sales. You can determine how best to scale your team, and advise when the busiest and slowest months are during the year.

Customer Acquisition Cost 

Are you spending too much time and money going after new customers when you could focus your energy on renewals? This report can highlight that by showing just how much you spent acquiring each customer.

Average Number of Activities by Sales Rep 

To determine the total number of tasks each member of your sales team uses to convert a lead, place this report in your dashboard. You’ll be able to see where leads may get stuck and adjust your processes accordingly.

Related: What Does an Elite HubSpot Partner Report on For Their Clients? 

Leveraging HubSpot's Advanced Reporting Features

HubSpot's advanced reporting features can provide deeper insights and more nuanced analysis. Not sure how to up your analytics game? Here's how you can leverage these features:

Embed External Data: You can embed reports from Google Data Studio to bring in data from other platforms and create a more comprehensive dashboard.

Utilize Ops Hub Datasets: Ops Hub Datasets can be a game-changer for larger organizations. They allow admins to predefine a lot of information, making it easier for teams to pull accurate data into their reports.

Get Creative with Workflows: If a specific data point you need doesn't exist, consider creating it. For example, you could create a workflow to capture the last conversion point when a contact becomes an MQL or SQL. This will help with email marketing lead nurtures.

Consult the HubSpot Community: When in doubt, the HubSpot community is a valuable resource. From expert tips to specific advice, the community can provide a wealth of information.

Tips and Best Practices for HubSpot Reporting 

Navigating the world of HubSpot reporting can be overwhelming, especially with the many features and customization options available.

However, the key to effective reporting lies in optimization. Make the most out of your reporting with these tips and tricks.

• Plan Before You Dive In: Before creating reports, have a clear plan and set specific goals. Knowing your goal will guide your reporting process, making it more focused and effective. 
• Stick to One Goal: Having one primary goal per dashboard can help you maintain focus. An example of one dashboard with a singular purpose would be monitoring lifecycle stage transitions. 
• Choose the Right Data Source: Selecting the appropriate data source is crucial. Always know the core object you're reporting on and set it as your primary source. For example, if you're reporting on call length with a contact, set calls as your primary source.
• Keep It Simple: While HubSpot offers a wide range of customization options, simplicity is vital. Limit your dashboards to no more than 10 reports to avoid information overload.
• Tell a Story: Your dashboard should tell a coherent story. Arrange your reports logically and use text sections and prebuilt descriptions to provide context and analysis, turning your dashboard into a living, breathing document.
• Add Descriptions and Definitions: Utilize the prebuilt description section to provide context, especially for new team members. Text sections can also define specific terms or metrics, adding clarity to your reports.
• Align Dashboards with Business Operations: It doesn't matter if it's for a sales management meeting or one-on-one rep reviews. Tailor your dashboards to specific business processes or meetings. This ensures that the data presented is directly relevant to the discussion.
• Be Proactive with Dashboard Sharing: Consider sending dashboards in advance of meetings. This allows team members to prepare, fostering more informed and productive discussions.
• Configure Sales and Marketing Goals: When setting up sales and marketing reports, configure them in the system to reflect specific goals. This brings your reports to life, allowing you to track real-time progress against targets.
• Leverage Out-of-the-Box Reports: Don't underestimate the power of HubSpot's standard reports. They are a great starting point and can be highly informative, especially for those new to the platform.
• Think Timeline: When setting goals, consider how they fit into a broader timeline. Timelines help you track progress and make adjustments, whether quarterly sales targets or monthly marketing KPIs. Additionally, it's essential to pick a consistent time frame. This helps in making accurate comparisons and understanding trends over specific periods.
• Use Filters: Not using filters can lead to overwhelming and irrelevant data. Filters help you focus on specific subsets of data, making your reports more actionable. For instance, you can filter customer journey reports to show only a subset of contacts and their steps.

Related: Quiz: Are You Using HubSpot to Its Fullest Potential?

Start Your Reporting Journey

HubSpot's reporting features offer a robust and flexible environment for all your data analytics needs. HubSpot has something for everyone, from standard reports for quick insights to custom reports for in-depth analysis. 

As you embark on your reporting journey, remember that the key to success lies in understanding your objectives, maintaining focus, and continuously optimizing your strategies.

Looking for more? Reach out to us for personalized guidance on HubSpot reporting.