Most marketing dashboards optimize for the analyst running them, not the executive consuming them. The result is a sprawling page with no clear narrative. The five-tile pattern works because it forces a decision: is the engine working? Yes or no?
The five tiles
Tile 1 — KPI row: Spend, Pipeline (SLG) or New MRR (PLG), CAC, CAC Payback, Active Customers. With current value, period delta, and target.
Tile 2 — Channel mix: a stacked bar of revenue by source over the last 12 months. Tells the board whether you’re too dependent on one channel.
Tile 3 — Funnel: Spend → Leads → MQLs → Demos → Customers (SLG) or Trials → New Customers (PLG). Each stage with cost-per and conversion-rate.
Tile 4 — Trend: blended CAC and CAC payback over the last 12 months. The single most important time series for any subscription business.
Tile 5 — Anomalies: top three channel changes period over period, in plain English. 'LinkedIn spend up 30%, pipeline up 50%' is a tile.
- Tile 1: KPI row with current value, delta, and target
- Tile 2: Channel mix (revenue by source, 12-month stacked bar)
- Tile 3: Funnel with cost-per-stage labels
- Tile 4: Blended CAC + CAC payback trend
- Tile 5: Period-over-period anomaly callouts
How to use it
The dashboard answers the question in five tiles. The deeper reports are linked from each tile for the executive who wants to dig in. Don’t put deeper reports on the dashboard itself — that defeats the purpose.
Update the deltas before every board meeting and write a 1–2 sentence narrative under each tile. The narrative is what the board actually reads; the chart is the proof.
What to watch for.
- Adding more than five tiles
Six is too many. The discipline is what makes the dashboard usable.
- Reporting without targets
A KPI without a target is a number. Add a target and a delta and it becomes a decision.
- Skipping the narrative
The chart is the proof; the narrative is the message. Always write 1–2 sentences per tile.
Recap.
- KPI Row: Spend, Pipeline (SLG) or MRR Added (PLG), CAC, LTV ROAS, Active Customers
- Channel Mix: stacked bar of revenue by source, MoM
- Funnel: Spend → Leads → MQLs → Demos → Customers (SLG) or Trials → Customers (PLG)
- Trend chart: blended CAC and CAC payback over the last 12 months
- Anomaly callouts: top three channel changes period over period