Most agency reports are long and say very little. Pages of impressions, reach and click-through rates, then a summary that says performance was strong. You finish reading it and still do not know whether the ads paid for themselves.
Here is what a monthly report should actually tell you.
The five numbers that matter
- Leads, by source. How many people raised their hand, and where they came from.
- How fast they were answered. A lead answered in seconds books far more often than one answered tomorrow. If your agency cannot see this, nobody is watching it.
- Booked clients. Not estimated, not modelled. Actual people who booked.
- Cost per booked client. Total spend divided by booked clients. This is the number that tells you whether ads work for you.
- What changes next month. A report without a plan is a history lesson.
Clicks, impressions and click-through rate still have a place. They help diagnose problems. But they belong at the back of the report, not the front.
Questions worth asking your agency
- What did a new client cost us last month, and how does that compare with the month before?
- How many leads went unanswered, or were answered after an hour?
- Which ad or offer brought in the clients who actually booked?
- What did you change this month, and why?
- Do we own the ad accounts and the data?
If the answers are vague, the reporting is not built around your results.
Why most agencies stop at the lead
Many agencies only control the ads. Once a lead arrives, it goes to your inbox or your front desk, and the agency loses sight of it. That is why reports stop at cost per lead: it is the last number they can see.
The problem is that the biggest leaks usually happen after the lead. Slow replies, no follow-up and no-shows can undo a perfectly good campaign.
How we report
We run the ads, answer and follow up every lead with Keeplooped, and monitor every account daily in Monocle360. That means our reports follow each lead from the first click to the booking:
- leads by source
- how fast each was answered
- who booked, and what each booking cost
- what we are changing next
You get a report on the 1st of every month and a strategy call every two weeks.
The short version
Judge your agency on booked clients and what each one cost, not on clicks. Ask how fast leads are answered. And make sure every report ends with a plan.
Want to see what this looks like for your business? Book a free consultation.