Advertising & Marketing · Sidetracker + Claude
Sidetracker MCP with Claude: Smarter Marketing Spend and Campaign Insight
The short answer
Claude connects to Sidetracker through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) or the direct API, using an API key. Once connected, Claude can read expense, funnel and customer journey data, then answer questions about spend, campaign performance and sales insights in plain English. Access is limited to what the organisation allows, and people approve any action that changes data.
What is Sidetracker?
Sidetracker is a marketing analytics platform. It tracks marketing expenses, sales funnels and customer journeys, helping teams see where money goes and how campaigns perform from first contact to final sale. Marketing managers, growth teams, finance leads and agency account managers typically use it to optimise spend and present clear campaign reports to leadership.
How Claude connects to Sidetracker through MCP
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that lets Claude securely use other software. Think of it as a universal adapter between Claude and a tool. It lets Claude read information and, where permitted, take actions, with permissions the organisation controls.
Once Sidetracker is connected, Claude can typically read expense records, campaign performance, funnel stages and customer journey data. A marketing lead might ask which channels gave the best return last quarter, and Claude can gather the figures and explain the answer in ordinary language.
Access is set by the organisation. We connect using the sign-in method Sidetracker supports, an API key, and apply least-privilege access so Claude sees only what it needs. Consequential actions are approved by a person, and audit logs record what was accessed and when.
What you can automate
Monthly spend review
Finance and marketing leads ask Claude to summarise spend by channel, campaign and region each month. Claude pulls the expense data from Sidetracker, highlights unusual increases and drafts a short commentary. The team checks the figures before sharing them with leadership, saving hours of manual spreadsheet work.
Campaign performance monitoring
A campaign manager asks how active campaigns are tracking against targets. Claude reviews performance data and flags campaigns falling behind, with the likely reasons shown in the data. This helps teams respond early, shifting budget or adjusting creative before a weak campaign wastes more money.
Sales funnel reporting
Growth teams often need to know where prospects drop out of the funnel. Claude can generate a stage-by-stage funnel report from Sidetracker data and explain where conversion is weakest. Sales and marketing can then agree on fixes, such as better lead qualification or faster follow-up.
Customer journey insight
Product and retention teams want to understand the path customers take before buying. Claude can review journey data and summarise common routes, touchpoints and timings. The insights help shape messaging and decide which touchpoints deserve more investment.
Agency client reporting
Agency account managers prepare regular reports for several clients. Claude can draft a consistent summary of spend and results for each client account, leaving the account manager to add context and recommendations. This shortens reporting cycles and keeps client updates timely.
An end-to-end workflow: Weekly campaign budget reallocation
TriggerEvery Monday at 9am, the system prepares the weekly marketing review.
Claude reads expense and campaign performance data from Sidetracker for the past seven days.
Claude compares actual spend against planned budgets and flags campaigns that are over or under target.
Claude drafts a funnel summary for the top campaigns, showing where prospects are converting or dropping out.
The draft is posted to a shared Microsoft 365 document and a summary is sent to the CRM account record for each affected client.
The marketing lead reviews the recommendations and approves any budget changes before they are applied.
Approved changes and the reasons for them are recorded in the audit log.
OutcomeTypically, marketing leads spend less time compiling figures and more time deciding where budget should go. Budget changes are faster, better documented and still approved by a person.
How we set it up
Book a free automation audit
We review your marketing and sales workflows, your Sidetracker use and the systems around it, such as Microsoft 365 and your CRM. We identify the workflows worth automating first.
Connect Claude to Sidetracker
We connect Claude using the Sidetracker MCP server or the direct API, authenticated with an API key. Access is set to least privilege, so Claude sees only the data it needs.
Design the end-to-end workflow
We design how Claude moves information between Sidetracker and your other systems, and decide which actions need human approval before they run.
Test on real past cases
We test the workflow against real past campaigns and reports to confirm the outputs are accurate and useful. We refine prompts and permissions based on what we find.
Launch, monitor and train
We launch with monitoring and audit logs in place, then train your team to ask good questions and review Claude's outputs with confidence.
Who benefits
- Marketing managers
- Faster answers about spend and campaign performance, without building reports by hand.
- Finance leads
- Clearer, better-documented spend reviews that connect marketing costs to results.
- Growth and sales teams
- Quicker insight into where prospects drop out of the funnel and what to fix first.
- Agency account managers
- Consistent client reports prepared in less time, with more room for strategy.
Security and control
- Least-privilege access, so Claude only reads the Sidetracker data it is permitted to see.
- Human approval for any action that changes budgets or records.
- Audit logs that show what Claude accessed, when, and what was approved.
- API keys stored securely and rotated on a schedule set by your IT team.
- Testing against real past cases before launch, with ongoing monitoring afterwards.
For teams in the US, UK, India and the Middle East
Organisations in the United States and the United Kingdom can use Sidetracker with Claude under their existing data protection obligations, and we design access to match them. In India, workflows are built to meet the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, we align data handling with local data protection laws. Hosting region is chosen to meet your requirements, including options in India, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Learn more about Claude and MCP
Anthropic's AI model and assistant.
Secure links between Claude and business tools.
How engineers build and change software with Claude.
Hosted agents that run multi-step work.
The open standard Claude uses to connect to tools.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Sidetracker MCP server do?
The Sidetracker MCP server gives Claude a secure way to work with Sidetracker data. Through it, Claude can read expense, campaign and funnel information, and answer questions about it in plain English. The exact capabilities depend on what Sidetracker provides and what your organisation permits. We confirm these during the free automation audit.
Is connecting Sidetracker to Claude secure?
Yes, when it is set up carefully. We use the API key sign-in method, least-privilege access and audit logs. Claude only sees the data it needs, and people approve any action that changes information. API keys are stored securely and rotated on a schedule your IT team sets.
What can Claude actually do with Sidetracker?
Typically, Claude can summarise spend, monitor campaign performance, generate funnel reports and surface sales insights from your Sidetracker data. It can also draft reports for your team to review. Any action that changes data is subject to approval, so you stay in control of what happens.
How long does setup take?
Timing depends on how many systems are involved and how complex your workflows are. A straightforward connection with one or two workflows is often quicker than a multi-system build. We give a clear timeline after the free automation audit, once we understand your requirements.
Which Sidetracker plan or permissions do I need?
Generally, you need API access and an API key that the organisation is permitted to create and manage. The exact requirements depend on your Sidetracker setup, so we confirm them with your administrator during the audit.