How Strupek built a dashboard to provide more transparency to marketing clients

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The Problem

As a marketing agency owner, Jonathan Strupek was searching for ways to provide a standout experience to clients who hired his agency to run content, SEO, and social media campaigns. Existing platforms, especially out-of-the-box social media scheduling tools, lacked the customization and workflow management he needed.

Because each client had unique requirements, particularly around creative approvals, Jonathan was looking for a solution that could:

• Give both a high-level and granular view of content and results in one easy-to-access place (he didn’t want to have to give clients multiple logins)
• Handle complex workflows, particularly around copy and creative approvals for different clients
• Provide a true preview of what content would look like across social platforms (“something where clients could see this is what it’s going to look like when it posts to LinkedIn, this is what it’s going to look like in a story format or a carousel format.”)

“Clients hire us for our expertise, but they also want to understand what we’re doing and what’s being put out there,” said Jonathan. “The easiest way to do that is to show them.”

Because he was using Airtable to store data, he initially experimented with Airtable Interface Designer to create a client dashboard. While the visual approach was a great start, the tool wasn’t able to get him the true custom experience he was hoping for: he needed more design customization, granular permissions, and the flexibility to add custom code (to show content previews).

The Solution

Softr emerged as the ideal no-code/low-code app builder to address Jonathan’s needs. He used the client portal template and building blocks to get started, then added custom code, advanced permissions, and automations (with a Make integration) to take things to the next level.

The result is Strupek’s Content Experience Dashboard. Softr’s flexibility and user groups mean that the dashboard is easy to personalize: clients log in and interact with services and tasks specifically assigned to them. Here are the 8 key workflows the dashboard enables:

• Content scheduling: Clients see a high-level calendar overview of when content is scheduled on social platforms.
• Content previews: They can also see social posts as they appear on platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram, complete with carousel previews and story formats (enabled using custom code and list/list detail blocks).
• Knowledge management: Strategies live directly within the dashboard for easy client viewing, while blog posts link out to Google Docs.
• Creative approvals: Clients can view and approve content directly from the dashboard, with different visibility and actions depending on their user role.
• Notifications and emails: Clients get notified about content approvals and scheduling, enabled through automation with Make.
• Per-post reporting: Clients can see the performance of individual posts, with data on impressions, engagement, and comments, from directly in the portal (enabled through custom code).
• Monthly or campaign-level reporting: Clients can see the monthly performance of content (or specific campaigns). Jonathan used Airtable’s functionality to roll up all of the data per campaign or per month, so it automatically generates a report for clients in the dashboard.
• “View only” access: Enable stakeholders like CMOs or CEOs to view content and reporting, without taking action or risking accidental changes to content or workflows.

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The Impact

Implementing Softr has been a game-changer for Strupek’s workflows and the client experience. By consolidating multiple tools and processes into one application, the agency has reduced operational costs by 58% and saved 8-10 hours a week that would have been spent managing and setting up various systems, or generating client reports. Instead, it’s time that can now be spent on crafting more strategic initiatives.

“I’m very big on the experience and the client-facing side of things. Because any agency or freelancer can do what we do,” said Jonathan. “It’s the ‘what is that extra thing we can do to stand out and make working with us that much easier?’”

Internally, Jonathan and his team also use the platform for scheduling and strategizing their own content — meaning they no longer have to juggle multiple platforms.

When it comes to building with Softr, Jonathan emphasized there is an upfront time investment, particularly if you’re building more advanced workflows. His tips: 

• Map out what you want your application to look like and the user flows before you start building. If for example, you want to recreate a tool that already exists and then add more functionality, think about what elements you need to make that happen.
• Lean on the Softr community and support team for specific questions. Search for your questions first, because chances are another Softr user has asked them.
  

💡 What’s next? As he continues to refine the Client Experience Dashboard for Strupek, Jonathan also hopes to help other marketing agencies who are looking for a similar tool, making it a potential side project for the future.