Who This Helps
If you're a Growth Marketer tired of presenting a dozen different metrics and getting no clear direction, this is for you. The Metrics & Dashboards Basics program shows you how to cut through the noise. You'll learn to define a primary North Star metric and build a supporting dashboard that makes weekly decisions calm and obvious.
Mini Case
Maya's team was tracking 20 different numbers. Every weekly sync was a debate about which metric mattered. She used the program's method to pick one clear North Star metric: Weekly Active Users. She then built a simple weekly scoreboard with just 4 supporting metrics. In 3 weeks, her team's focus improved, and she got immediate approval to double the budget for their top-performing channel. No more guesswork.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick Your One Thing. From all the numbers you track, choose a single North Star metric. It should be the clearest indicator of product value. Is it sign-ups? Weekly active users? Revenue? Pick one.
- Find Three Friends. Define 3 supporting metrics that directly influence your North Star. For Weekly Active Users, this could be New Sign-ups (acquisition), Feature Adoption Rate (activation), and Weekly Retention % (retention).
- Set Realistic Targets. Give each supporting metric a 30-day target. Make it ambitious but possible. For example, increase New Sign-ups by 15% or boost Weekly Retention by 5%.
- Sketch Your Scoreboard Layout. Grab a piece of paper. Draw a big box at the top for your North Star. Draw three smaller boxes below it for your supporting metrics and their targets. That's your blueprint. Simple is powerful.
- Build It & Share It Monday. Use your favorite dashboard tool (like Google Data Studio, Mixpanel, or Looker) to create this simple layout. Share the link in your next team chat. Your first win is creating a single source of truth.
Avoid These Traps
- The Kitchen Sink Dashboard. Don't try to show every metric. A cluttered dashboard is a confusing dashboard. If you have more than 5 core numbers, you have too many.
- Moving Goalposts. Don't change your North Star metric every month. Give it at least one full quarter to see the trend and learn from it.
- Vanity Metrics. Avoid metrics that look good but don't connect to real growth, like total pageviews without an action. Always ask, "So what?"
- Silent Data. A dashboard no one looks at is wallpaper. Your job is to make it the center of your weekly conversation.
Your Win by Friday
By this Friday, you won't be presenting a messy spreadsheet. You'll walk into your stakeholder meeting with one clear dashboard. You'll point to your North Star, show the 3 metrics moving it, and present one specific, data-backed recommendation. You'll turn your analysis into approved execution. And you might just get to leave work on time for once.