Understanding the audience

At Harry's SuperMart, the metrics that different people in the organization look at will vary depending on their roles and responsibilities.

For Harry, the CEO, the important metrics would be the revenue trends as compared to earlier years, comparisons with the overall market and important competitors, best and worst performing product categories, spend across various functions of the company, and overall customer satisfaction.

However, a regional manager reporting to Harry would look at more detailed data such as the year-to-date revenue coming from his region, the contribution of his region to overall revenue, and inventory levels in the region.

Similarly, a store manager who reports to a regional manager will look at the average sale per customer coming to the store, the breakdown of new and returning customers, daily footfall, the attendance levels of his employees, and his current inventory levels in the store.