Using Google Sheets as a data source is one of the quickest ways to see value with Matik.

There are several reasons you might use Google Sheets in Matik:

• You live primarily in Google Sheets
• Use it as a workaround when you can’t access your company database
• Use it to format data
• Use it as a calculator 
• Manage logos

Let’s dig in. 

‍No Company Database? No Problem

Maybe you have a lot of valuable data stored in your company’s database, but you don’t have the right permissions to actually connect Matik to it. Or, the data in your database simply isn’t ready or clean enough to use and share with customers.

In either of these scenarios, connecting to Google Sheets instead can be a great workaround.

Simply export the data you want to use from your database (or other data source, like a BI tool) as a CSV, and then upload it to Google Drive and convert it to a Google Sheet.

Make any necessary changes or manipulations to the data structure in your Google Sheet, and then add it to Matik as a data source to start using it to populate your data-driven dynamic content.

It’s almost like a mail merge except for your data-driven content!‍

Format Your Data in Google Sheets

Having your data properly formatted to tell the right story is very important. Google Sheets allows you to format your data to your needs. Here are a few examples on how Google Sheets can help you get your data where it needs to be:

- Format dates: Format dates from Month-Day-Year(6/22/22) to Month name-Day-Year(June 22nd, 2022)

- Format decimals: Designate the number of decimals shown or even round numbers for easier comprehension

- Summarize data: Create a pivot table to easily summarize your data based on the variables you care about (for example, create a pivot table using dates as column values to create a timeline)

- Sort or filter data: Filter out any unwanted data or sort the data based on your needs (for example, remove any satisfaction score above 70% and then sort alphabetically by customer name to show accounts that need attention)

Calculator for Personalized Customer Proposals

This is one of the biggest ways we use Google Sheets as a data source here at Matik. Our customers also leverage it as a calculator for a myriad of use cases.

A top use case we see is customers bringing their pricing proposals, ROI one-pagers, and renewal decks to Matik, and linking them to a pricing calculator that is built out in a Google Sheet.

When someone wants to generate a presentation, they simply fill out the Inputs in Matik with the seat count and other relevant information.

Matik then pulls those inputs into the Google Sheet, runs the data through the pre-built pricing calculator, and drops the finished purchase or renewal price, or ROI calculation into the generated presentation.

You can even add inputs like “Discount” and “Annual versus Multi-Year Contract” to Matik to further customize pricing. 

Using Google Sheets to manage your calculations like pricing ensures that this calculator is your company’s source of truth. Any updates you make to the Google Sheet will automatically update the calculation for all templates tied to the Sheet.

This means that you can keep that calculation consistent across your org, while still allowing for customization within each piece of data-driven content.‍

Bring Customer Logos to Generated Presentations

Storing and pulling in customer logos to a presentation can be a surprisingly manual and tedious process.

Often, there’s no real source of truth for where these logos are living, and it takes valuable rep time to search for them, find the right ones, and add them to the correct places in the presentation.

You can use Google Sheets to automate this in Matik instead!

Simply add the logo files to one column in your Google Sheet, and match that to the account name that that logo is associated with. In Matik, connect the relevant template to the Google Sheet data source, and tie it to the "account_name" Input.

When a presentation is generated, Matik will pull the account name from the Input, go to to the Google Sheet data source, and then add the corresponding logo to the presentation.

Again, any changes you make to this Google Sheet (like replacing a logo with a new one if a customer rebrands) will cascade to any future generated presentation that’s tied to the Sheet.

This means that you can ensure consistency in the way that your organization is representing your customers’ brands in personalized presentations. 

‍Unlocking More with Google Sheets

Google Sheets can really give you a lot of flexibility when it’s connected to your data-driven content through Matik. Give it a try today!