A report can show more clicks and cheaper enquiries while the sales team struggles to find suitable customers. To understand performance, connect the marketing activity to what happens after the enquiry. Start with consistent definitions and a small set of measures your team can actually maintain.

This framework suits a service business that receives enquiries and prepares proposals. Adapt the stages for your own buying process instead of copying a dashboard designed for a different business model.

Define each stage in plain language

An enquiry is a person asking about your offer. A qualified lead is an enquiry that meets agreed criteria. A proposal is a specific offer sent to a potential customer. A won customer is someone who completes your agreed commercial step, such as signing and paying the required deposit.

Write down qualification criteria before you compare channels. These might include the service required, location, timing and whether the person is involved in the decision. Use criteria relevant to the service, and avoid collecting personal information you do not need.

Build a small, useful tracking sheet

Give each enquiry a reference and record the date, source, requested service, current stage, responsible team member and next action. Keep private contact details in an appropriately controlled system rather than circulating them in a broad reporting document.

Use an “unknown” source when you cannot confidently attribute an enquiry. Guessing makes a tidy chart but weakens decisions. If a customer heard about you through several routes, preserve that context instead of claiming that one click explains the entire sale.

Use a worked example carefully

Consider this hypothetical month. Campaign A costs 100 units and produces 20 enquiries, of which four are qualified. Campaign B costs 120 units and produces 12 enquiries, of which six are qualified.

Campaign A costs five units per enquiry and 25 per qualified lead. Campaign B costs ten units per enquiry and 20 per qualified lead. A looks cheaper if you only count forms. B looks more efficient at producing qualified leads. Neither comparison tells you customer profitability without the later sales and cost information.

Calculate only what your data supports

  • Qualification rate: qualified leads divided by enquiries, multiplied by 100.
  • Cost per qualified lead: the defined campaign cost divided by qualified leads.
  • Proposal acceptance rate: accepted proposals divided by proposals issued, using a consistent cohort or period.
  • Customer acquisition cost: the acquisition costs you include divided by new customers, with the cost scope stated.

If the denominator is zero, report the measure as unavailable rather than forcing a value. State whether costs include only media or also production, software and agency fees. Use comparable definitions when reviewing different periods.

Respect the time between enquiry and sale

A lead created this month may become a customer next month. Comparing this month’s advertising cost only with this month’s sales can therefore be misleading. Where possible, follow a group of enquiries from the same starting period through the sales process.

Show the reporting window and note whether some opportunities are still open. Avoid treating an unfinished sales cycle as proof that a campaign has failed.

End the report with a decision

For each significant finding, record an action, an owner and a review date. If enquiries are plentiful but poorly matched, refine the offer and targeting. If qualified people do not receive timely replies, improve the response process. If proposals stall, investigate the objections before buying more traffic.

A useful report should make the next decision clearer. It does not need dozens of charts; it needs reliable definitions, visible limitations and a connection to the work your team will do next.

Explore Merigage’s digital strategy and growth marketing services or discuss a reporting approach for your business.