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Performance data storyteller

Transforms raw campaign metrics into a client-ready narrative report with a headline story, contextualized results, a clear 'so what' for every metric, and prioritized next steps. Use when preparing a client performance…

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Purpose

Convert a table of campaign metrics into a narrative report a client actually reads and acts on — leading with a single headline story, contextualizing every number against benchmarks and goals, and ending each section with a plain-language "so what" plus a prioritized set of next steps. Solves the reporting problem where dashboards get sent but decisions don't get made.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Turn campaign metrics or a dashboard export into a client-facing report
  • Write the narrative or executive summary for a monthly or quarterly performance review
  • Explain what the numbers mean and what the client should do next
  • Prepare a results presentation or QBR deck narrative
  • Reframe flat or disappointing results without spinning or hiding them
  • Build a reusable reporting template applied each cycle

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Metrics data: The raw numbers — spend, impressions, clicks, CTR, conversions, CPA, ROAS, revenue, or whatever is tracked (paste table or list)
  • Reporting period: The date range and the comparison period (prior month, prior quarter, same period last year)
  • Goals or targets: What was promised or agreed — target CPA, ROAS, lead volume, budget cap
  • Client context: Who reads this — CMO, founder, marketing manager — and their sophistication level
  • Business objective: The real goal behind the campaign (grow pipeline, launch a product, hit revenue)
  • Known events: Anything that moved the numbers — seasonality, a promo, a budget change, a tracking issue
  • Tone preference: Confident partner / cautious analyst / plainspoken (default: confident partner)

If goals or a comparison period are missing, note the assumption and use category benchmarks where relevant.

Instructions

Step 1: Find the One Headline Story

Read all metrics and identify the single most important thing that happened this period. This becomes the report's opening line. Test candidates against: What would the client care about most? What changed the business, not just the dashboard?

  • If results are strong: lead with the win and the number that proves it
  • If results are mixed: lead with the net outcome, then the tension
  • If results are down: lead with the honest headline and the reason — never bury it

Write the headline as a single declarative sentence a busy executive could read and understand alone.

Step 2: Establish Context for Every Key Metric

A number means nothing without a reference point. For each metric that matters, anchor it to at least one:

  • vs. goal: Did it hit the agreed target?
  • vs. prior period: Direction and magnitude of change (use % and absolute)
  • vs. benchmark: Category norm where a goal wasn't set
  • vs. the business objective: Does this metric actually connect to what the client wants?

Flag vanity metrics (impressions, reach) and subordinate them to outcome metrics (conversions, revenue, CPA, ROAS). Never present a raw number without its "compared to what."

Step 3: Write the "So What" for Each Section

For every metric or cluster of metrics, follow the number with one to two plain sentences answering: Why does this matter to the client's business? Use this structure:

  • What happened (the number in context)
  • Why it happened (the driver, if known — creative, audience, budget, seasonality)
  • What it means (the business implication)

Ban jargon the client's audience wouldn't use. Translate "CPA dropped 22%" into "each new customer now costs $18 less to acquire, which frees roughly $4,000/month for reinvestment."

Step 4: Separate Signal from Noise

Distinguish real trends from normal variance:

  • Two-plus consecutive periods moving the same direction = trend worth naming
  • Single-period swings within ~15% = variance; note but don't over-interpret
  • Call out any metric affected by a known event from the inputs so the client doesn't misread it

Step 5: Build Prioritized Next Steps

Produce 3–5 recommended actions, ranked by expected business impact. Each recommendation must include:

  • The action (specific, not "optimize the campaign")
  • The rationale (which finding above it responds to)
  • The expected outcome (what metric it moves and roughly by how much)
  • The owner (agency-side or client-side)

Order them by impact, not by ease. Make the top recommendation unmistakable.

Step 6: Close with a Forward Look

One short paragraph: what to expect next period, what you'll be watching, and what decision (if any) you need from the client. Never end a report on a backward-looking note.

Output Format

  • Structure: Headline story → performance summary → metric-by-metric narrative with "so what" → signal vs. noise callout → prioritized next steps → forward look
  • Length: 600–900 words
  • Format: Prose narrative with bolded metric labels; next steps as a ranked numbered list
  • Sections: The Headline / How We Performed / What the Numbers Mean / What to Watch / Recommended Next Steps / Looking Ahead
  • Tone: Confident partner — direct, honest about misses, quantified, free of hedging and jargon

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] The report opens with exactly one headline sentence a non-analyst could understand alone
  • [ ] Every key metric is anchored to at least one reference point (goal, prior period, or benchmark)
  • [ ] Each metric section ends with a "so what" stated in business terms, not dashboard terms
  • [ ] Next steps are ranked by impact and total 3–5, each with action, rationale, and expected outcome
  • [ ] Any metric affected by a known event is flagged so the client won't misread it
  • [ ] No vanity metric is presented as a headline outcome

Notes

  • If results are down, resist the urge to spin — clients trust an honest report far more than a rosy one, and an honest miss with a clear plan protects the relationship
  • The most common failure is reporting activity (impressions, clicks) instead of outcomes (revenue, cost per customer); always tie metrics back to the business objective
  • Reuse across cycles by keeping the six-section structure fixed and swapping the data — consistency period-over-period makes trends easier for clients to see

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills