What Is Ad Hoc Reporting and Why It's Important

Vlada Malysheva

,

Creative Writer

November 18, 2024

In recent years, marketing reporting tools have evolved as businesses adapt their strategies, needs, and resources. While some tools remain popular (Excel, for example), others are now outdated, and new machine-learning tools have emerged.

Today, traditional methods no longer meet modern demands not because they were ineffective, but because they weren’t built for today’s fast-paced environment.

Ad hoc reporting tools have become essential, enabling marketers to create on-demand, customized reports using business data with ease and flexibility. Let’s explore the current landscape and ways to streamline marketers' work with ad hoc reporting and analysis.

Note: This article was written in 2021 and has been recently updated in January 2025 to keep pace with the changes in digital platforms.

What Is Ad Hoc Reporting?

Ad hoc reporting refers to a business intelligence approach that allows for the swift creation of reports to address specific, immediate business questions.

These ad hoc reports are typically generated for single-use, aimed at answering queries such as the number of resolved support tickets from last week or the daily calls completed by a salesperson.

Often visual, ad hoc report provide quick insights, enabling users to interpret data on the spot. With an effective ad hoc reporting tool, users with application access can independently build reports, bypassing the need for data analysts or IT teams to provide formal analyses.

What Is Ad Hoc Analysis?

Ad hoc analysis is a business intelligence approach, similar to ad hoc reporting, that addresses specific business questions as they arise. Unlike static reports, ad hoc analysis offers the flexibility to probe deeper into data, enabling teams to uncover not only what happened but also why. For instance, ad hoc analysis might reveal why support ticket resolution rates dropped or why certain sales regions outperform others.

This dynamic process allows for real-time adjustments, presenting data graphically for instant insights, and empowering users across the organization to independently generate valuable, context-specific insights through ad hoc analysis.

What Are Ad Hoc Reporting Tools?

Ad hoc reporting tools are specialized software solutions that enable business users to generate customized reports on-the-fly, addressing specific questions or needs as they arise. Unlike traditional static reports, these tools offer flexibility and immediacy, allowing users to explore data in real time.

They integrate seamlessly with multiple data sources, providing a comprehensive view of the same underlying data and enabling users to create reports without extensive technical expertise.

By leveraging ad hoc reporting tools, businesses can enhance their data analysis capabilities, gain valuable insights, and make informed decisions quickly, ultimately improving their competitive edge in a dynamic market environment.‍

Key Features of Ad Hoc Reporting and Analysis Tools

Ad hoc reporting and analysis tools are essential for enabling business leaders to conduct ad hoc analysis swiftly to answer pressing business questions. These tools come with several key features that enhance data accessibility and usability for business teams across the organization:

Access to Multiple Data Sources

Effective ad hoc reporting tools consolidate data from various sources into one platform. This integration of data platforms allows users to run queries without needing to switch between isolated data sources, making ad hoc analysis faster and more efficient.

Data Visualization Capabilities

Visualizing data is crucial, as people generally interpret visual information more easily. The best tool offers charts, graphs, and tables, transforming raw data into digestible data visualization that enhances insights over traditional rows of numbers and text.

Self-Service Reporting

Top-notch tools empower users to generate their own reports without needing extensive support from data analysts. This self-service functionality saves time and resources to explore data, enabling analysts to focus on more strategic, high-value tasks.

User-Friendly and Intuitive Design

Tools that are easy to navigate and set up see higher adoption rates. When ad hoc analysis tools are user-friendly, a broader range of users across the organization can leverage data insights, driving data-informed decisions.

Scalability for All Business Sizes

A scalable ad hoc reporting solution should accommodate both small businesses and large enterprises. Additionally, as companies grow, their reporting tools must be able to expand and adapt to evolving data needs.

As company data grows in importance, organizations increasingly rely on ad hoc reporting and analysis to make data-driven decisions. When effectively utilized, these tools empower both technical and non-technical users with real-time data access to gain insights, ultimately improving efficiency, profitability, and growth potential.

How to Effectively Perform Ad Hoc Analysis in Simple Steps

Conducting ad hoc analysis is a targeted approach to analyzing data on an as-needed basis, helping businesses address specific challenges and uncover meaningful insights. Here are five key steps to perform ad hoc analysis effectively.

1. Clarify the Problem

Start by clearly defining the issue you aim to address. Collaborate with business users and data experts to identify the questions that need answers and why they matter. Understand how the insights will drive actions in systems or workflows, ensuring a focused and purpose-driven analysis process.

2. Collect Relevant Data

Gather all necessary data-both numerical and non-numerical—from internal and external sources. This may include databases, surveys, or third-party information. Use modern data platforms, such as cloud data warehouses, to simplify the integration of various datasets and ensure comprehensive analysis.

3. Perform the Analysis

Dive into the data using techniques such as searching, visualizing, drilling down, and identifying patterns like outliers or correlations. Tailor your approach to the problem at hand. Self-service analytics tools enable business users to interact with the data directly, reducing dependency on data experts and accelerating the process.

4. Extract Actionable Insights

Focus on deriving insights that are both relevant and actionable. Interpret the findings to uncover meaningful patterns and solutions. Ensure the results are clear and practical, enabling informed decision-making for your project or initiative.

5. Present Your Findings

Communicate the insights effectively to stakeholders. Use clear visuals and summaries to present the results in a way that everyone can understand and act upon. A well-organized presentation ensures alignment across teams and facilitates the implementation of improvements in products, services, or operations.

The Drawbacks of the Current State of Marketing Reporting

As harsh as it may sound, we have to admit it: marketing analytics and reporting systems aren’t geared for marketers. If it were up to marketers, we’d have a big button with the words “Give me the report I’m thinking about” on it.

Unfortunately, instead of this fairy tale, marketers have to deal with enormous amounts of company data, figure out how to get a report based on data from multiple data sets and sources, and determine whether that report can be trusted and how to apply the obtained insights when decisions need to be made as soon as possible.

Let’s see what obstacles stand between marketers and their marketing goals, and what can be done to boost marketing performance.

Static Dashboards are Not Enough

As the world becomes more digital, businesses can track every detail, connect with qualified leads, and deliver excellent service. According to Gartner's 2022 CMO Spend and Strategy Survey, digital channels now account for 56% of total marketing budgets, reflecting a strategic shift towards digital engagement.

On the other hand, speed is everything. In this fast-shifting world, it’s crucial for marketers to quickly get answers to their questions based on data that can be trusted. Although there’s a lot of data, the classic analytics tools cannot deliver the expected value to modern businesses, as they were never built to meet current demands.

Ad hoc reporting software offers a significant advantage here, allowing for the creation of tailored reports that address specific business needs more effectively than static dashboards.

Also, one of the main challenges in marketing analytics is successfully applying obtained data insights, as CMOs usually don’t get what they want.

Gap in Current Approach to Analytics

Lots of time and other resources are required to prepare dashboards
Analysts are constantly needed to prepare dashboards (merging and cleaning data from different sources with different structures, formats, etc.)
A one-size-fits-all dashboard approach cannot cover all the needs of end users

As a result, decisions are made over a long period, they become irrelevant, and businesses lose revenue.

There’s a vast quantity of marketing data from various sources that you can use to get many valuable insights. However, analysts are often busy, and most marketers don’t know how to build reports on raw data by themselves.

Let’s see why it’s so crucial for marketers to be able to create various reports using a large number of data sources — and to do it on their own.

Need of Fast and Relevant Reporting for Marketers

As marketers continue to advance their marketing efforts to move sales volume and improve business performance, their need for access to high-quality reports is also evolving. On average, the tenure of CMOs is around 40 months. Consequently, in these months, marketers have to quickly prove their worth, as otherwise they will be fired.

Moreover, marketing team members need to make lots of important decisions every day based on marketing performance. Obviously, they need to get relevant insights on a short deadline so they can affect the final results of ad campaigns, improve conversion rates, etc. This can be hard to do, keeping in mind that it takes from six to eight touchpoints to guarantee a conversion, while marketers have to reach out to potential customers using as many channels as possible.

Ad hoc data analysis is crucial for quick and effective data analysis in marketing, enabling marketers to swiftly generate interactive reports and make informed decisions. The problem is exacerbated as 61% of customers expect a personalized approach backed by data, so companies can provide precise recommendations on the products or services they need.

Reasons Marketers Need Interactive Ad Hoc Reports

Companies already have a lot of data, and the main challenge is to get powerful insights from collected datasets. To do so, you have to twist and spin the same data in all ways possible, and dashboards don’t have this ability (they’re static!).

As a result, companies miss opportunities to improve their performance. By leveraging ad hoc analysis, businesses can quickly access and analyze their data on demand, providing timely insights for better decision-making in dynamic environments.

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Ad Hoc Reports vs. Canned Reports

Ad hoc reports and canned reports are two types of reports used in the business intelligence process, each serving different purposes and offering unique benefits.

Canned Reports

Purpose: Canned reports are used for routine analysis and monitoring. They provide a consistent snapshot of historical data, making them ideal for tracking long-term trends and performance metrics for business operations.
Scope: These reports are pre-defined and generated on a regular schedule, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. They offer a broad overview of key metrics and are often used for standard reporting needs.
Frequency: Canned reports are generated regularly, providing a reliable and consistent view of the data over time.

Ad Hoc Reports

Purpose: Ad hoc reports are used for exploratory analysis and decision-making. They are created on an as-needed basis to answer specific business questions or address unique situations.
Scope: These reports provide real-time insights, allowing users to dive deep into the data and uncover detailed information that may not be visible in canned reports.
Frequency: Ad hoc reports are generated on-demand, offering flexibility and immediacy in response to emerging business needs.

Understanding the differences between ad hoc reports and canned reports helps organizations choose the right tool for their own specific data needs, ensuring they can make informed decisions based on the most relevant data.

Ad Hoc Reports

Purpose: Exploratory analysis and decision-making.
Scope: Real-time insights for specific questions.
Frequency: Generated on-demand.
Flexibility: High flexibility, customized for specific needs.
User Control: Users can create and modify reports independently.
Response Time: Quick response to emerging business needs.
Data Sources: Can integrate multiple data sources dynamically.
Data Visualization: Interactive, customizable visual formats.
Cost: Lower cost due to reduced IT involvement.
Decision-Making Support: Provides immediate insights for real-time decision-making.

Canned Reports

Purpose: Routine analysis and monitoring.
Scope: Pre-defined, broad overview of key metrics.
Frequency: Generated regularly (daily, weekly, monthly).
Flexibility: Limited flexibility, follows a set format.
User Control: Reports are typically created by IT or data analysts.
Response Time: Scheduled, not immediate.
Data Sources: Typically based on predefined data sources.
Data Visualization: Standard, consistent visual formats.
Cost: Potentially higher cost due to IT resources required.
Decision-Making Support: Supports long-term trend analysis and performance tracking.

Benefits of Ad Hoc Reporting

Ad hoc reporting offers numerous benefits to organizations, making it an invaluable tool for modern business intelligence. Here are some of the key advantages:

Improved Efficiency

Ad hoc reports allow users to answer their own questions by analyzing the data they need, when they need it, without having to wait for IT departments or large-scale report generation. This speeds up the decision-making process and reduces bottlenecks.

Increased Accuracy

Ad hoc analysis and reporting empower users to delve deeper into their data, revealing trends and patterns that static reporting methods might overlook. This leads to more accurate and actionable insights.

Enhanced Data Analysis Skills

Using ad hoc and structured reports also helps users become more comfortable navigating and analyzing data. Over time, this improves their decision-making capabilities and empowers them to make more informed choices.

Reduced Costs

Ad hoc analysis and reporting solutions are often much cheaper than traditional report-generation solutions, as they eliminate the need for extensive IT involvement and reduce the time spent on report creation.

Real-Time Performance Monitoring

Ad hoc analysis and reporting enable businesses to monitor performance effectively, offering real-time insights into their standing relative to competitors. This allows for timely adjustments and optimizations.

Challenges of Ad Hoc Reporting and Analysis

Ad hoc reporting and analysis often result in data silos due to the isolated nature of these reports. This segmentation can be useful for specific needs, but highlights the importance of leveraging dynamic software that integrates live metrics for flexibility.

Limit Over-Reliance on Ad Hoc Report

Ad hoc analysis is useful for targeted insights, like assessing a specific channel, business strategy or campaign. However, excessive reliance on ad hoc reporting can create blind spots, limiting a holistic view of data and inhibiting cross-comparisons. While ad hoc reports are valuable for short-term insights, they should complement, not replace, your standard client reporting.

Affects Decision-Making with Clear Visualization

Ad hoc reports are most effective when they provide actionable insights. To streamline decision-making, use data visualization to simplify the ad hoc analysis helps and processes for all stakeholders. Ad hoc analysis can sometimes be too narrow or infrequent for seamless, ongoing decision-making.

Align Data Points Across Stakeholders

Since ad hoc reports are often shared beyond usual stakeholders, consistency in metrics is essential. For instance, aligning sales metrics with the client’s team ensures that ad hoc analysis yields compatible insights, avoiding mismatches in interpretations and conclusions.

Invest in Team Data Literacy

Even with intuitive ad hoc reporting tools, a solid foundation in data literacy is crucial. Ensure your team can interpret and act on ad hoc reports, making the data meaningful for tracking performance. Educate clients on the data so they understand the key benefits of your ad hoc reporting approach and recognize the value your agency data expertise provides.

To avoid many challenges outlined above, use standardized marketing report templates, even when creating ad hoc reports. That way, the core of how the information is presented and how the data is collected and transformed remains consistent.

Industry Use Cases for Ad Hoc Reporting

Ad hoc reporting has numerous use cases across various industries, providing valuable insights and driving business growth. Here are some examples of how ad hoc reporting can be utilized:

Sales: Ad hoc reporting can analyze sales data, identify trends and patterns, and optimize sales strategies. For instance, sales teams can quickly generate reports to understand which products are performing well and which need more attention.
Marketing: Marketers can use ad hoc reporting to analyze customer data, track marketing campaigns, improve customer service, and optimize marketing and pricing strategies. This allows for more targeted and effective campaigns, improving conversion rates and customer engagement.
Finance: Financial analysts can leverage ad hoc reporting to analyze financial data, identify areas for cost reduction, and optimize financial strategies. This helps in making informed financial decisions and improving overall financial health.
Healthcare: Healthcare professionals utilize ad hoc analysis to identify trends in patient health data, such as disease progression, hospital readmissions, and utilization rates. These insights enable healthcare organizations to develop more effective care plans and implement cost-efficient treatment strategies.
Retail: Retailers use ad hoc analysis to adapt to changing customer demands, supply chain shifts, and market trends. By analyzing customer segmentation data, they can provide personalized experiences, design targeted promotions, and optimize pricing strategies for better outcomes.
Manufacturing: For manufacturers, ad hoc analysis is key to monitoring production efficiency, identifying areas for improvement, and managing supply chains. It also helps detect product or process defects, enabling improvements in quality and reductions in costs.
Technology: Technology companies rely on ad hoc analysis to gain insights into user behavior and improve product development cycles. This supports the creation of new features that resonate with customers, addresses churn issues early, and sustains a competitive edge in the market.

By using ad hoc reporting, organizations can also have data teams gain valuable insights.

Key Takeaways

With global changes in the marketing world, marketers must be able to take ad hoc reporting into their own hands. Marketers should be able to build ad hoc marketing reports on their own using raw data that can be trusted, is complete, and is updated so it contains no errors.

Access to the same underlying data ensures that all team members can collaborate effectively and make decisions based on consistent and accurate information.

With the right data-driven solutions and automated workflow, marketers can unlock the potential hidden in their marketing data and improve decision-making.

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