If you're tired of “data-driven” pep talks and just want your team’s numbers to make sense, this guide is for you. We’ll walk through setting up KPIs (key performance indicators) that actually matter, tracking them without spreadsheets from hell, and using Luna’s reporting tools to cut the noise. This is for people who want real answers, not dashboards that look good but say nothing.
Step 1: Get Clear on Why You Want KPIs
Let’s be honest: most KPI projects fail because nobody remembers why they started. KPIs aren’t magic. They’re just numbers that should answer real questions, like:
- Are we making progress, or just keeping busy?
- Where are we actually stuck?
- What’s working in the real world?
Pro tip: If you can’t explain in one sentence why you want to track something, skip it for now.
What Actually Matters
Don’t pick KPIs just because they’re trendy. Start with the basics:
- What does success look like? (Not a vision statement — real, obvious results.)
- Which numbers tell you if you’re moving in the right direction?
- Who will use these numbers to make decisions? (If it’s just for a slide deck, skip it.)
You can always add more KPIs later, but starting with too many will bury you in data you’ll never use.
Step 2: Pick KPIs You Can Actually Measure
There’s nothing worse than a KPI you can’t track. Before you set anything up in Luna, make sure you have access to the data. If you’ll need to beg IT or chase someone’s spreadsheet every week, rethink it.
Good KPIs Are:
- Simple: “Customer support tickets closed weekly” beats “User satisfaction blend index (proprietary).”
- Owned: Someone’s responsible for each number.
- Timely: Can you get this data when you need it? (Monthly numbers are fine for some things, but don’t wait until Q4 to find out you missed a goal.)
- Actionable: If the number changes, can you do something about it?
Watch out for:
- Vanity metrics (like website visits when you care about sales)
- KPIs that overlap or contradict each other
- Metrics you can’t verify or trust
Step 3: Set Up KPIs in Luna
Once you know what you want to measure, setting things up in Luna is pretty painless. Luna’s reporting tools are flexible, but don’t let that tempt you into overcomplicating things.
1. Create a New KPI Dashboard
- Go to “Dashboards” and hit “Create New.”
- Name your dashboard something obvious (“Q2 Marketing KPIs,” not “Strategic Metrics 2024”).
- Add a quick description — future you will thank yourself.
2. Add Your KPIs
For each KPI:
- Click “Add Metric.”
- Choose your data source. Luna integrates with most common ones (think Google Analytics, Salesforce, Stripe, etc.).
- Set up the formula or filter. For example, “Number of closed support tickets, this month.”
- Pick a visualization. Bar, line, or just a big number — whatever makes it clear at a glance.
- Set a target or threshold if it helps (e.g., “Goal: 95% on-time delivery”).
Pro tip: Don’t bother making everything look pretty right away. It’s better to get the numbers working and clean up the visuals later.
3. Organize and Share
- Drag and drop to reorder KPIs. Most important stuff goes at the top.
- Add short, plain-English explanations (“This is the number that tells us if we’re keeping up with support requests.”)
- Share with your team. Luna lets you set permissions, so only the right people can edit.
Step 4: Make KPI Reviews a Habit
KPIs are useless if nobody looks at them. The real value comes from regular check-ins:
- Weekly or biweekly: Quick review to spot weird jumps or dips.
- Monthly: Deeper dive. What’s trending up or down? Did you hit any goals?
- Quarterly: Rethink KPIs that aren’t telling you anything useful.
Set a recurring meeting or reminder. If people stop showing up, your KPIs probably don’t matter — or they're too complicated.
What works:
- Keeping reviews short (15-20 minutes) and focused
- Assigning someone to call out trends — not just read numbers
- Using Luna’s export feature to send a quick PDF or share a live link
What doesn’t:
- Reading every number out loud
- Arguing over “what the data means” without action
- Letting dashboards get cluttered with old or irrelevant KPIs
Step 5: Adjust and Drop KPIs (Don’t Get Sentimental)
KPIs aren’t sacred. If you set one that’s not useful, drop it. If your team’s priorities change, update your dashboards in Luna. The only thing worse than not having KPIs is having ones everyone ignores.
How to Know When to Change Things Up
- The KPI never changes — or always hits the target easily.
- Nobody can remember what it means.
- It’s not helping you make decisions.
- The data is too painful to collect.
Luna makes it easy to edit or remove metrics. Don’t be afraid to prune. Most teams need fewer KPIs, not more.
Honest Takes: What Luna Does Well (and What to Ignore)
What Works
- Easy setup: Connecting data sources and building dashboards is quick. No coding required.
- Clean sharing: You can send live links or scheduled reports, which means less copy-paste.
- Custom alerts: Set thresholds and get notified when something’s off — handy if you need to catch issues early.
What Could Be Better
- Data lag: If you’re using some third-party integrations, there might be a delay. Don’t expect real-time numbers for everything.
- Overkill for simple needs: If you only have one or two KPIs, Luna might be more than you need. A shared Google Sheet can be enough.
- Visuals: The basic charts do the job, but if you want fancy data storytelling, you’ll hit the limits.
What to Ignore
- “Gamification” widgets and badges — they look fun but rarely change behavior.
- Overly complex formulas — stick to what your team actually understands.
- Dashboards with 20+ metrics. No one will read them.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
You don’t need perfect KPIs or the fanciest dashboard to make progress. Start small, track what matters, and meet regularly to review. If something’s not working, change it. Luna’s reporting tools are solid, but they’re just that — tools. The real work is picking numbers that matter and having honest conversations about them.
Don’t get stuck tweaking dashboards forever. Set up your first few KPIs, get the team talking, and improve as you go. That’s how real progress happens.