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WEB ANALYTICS
Today, a majority of enterprises are underinvested in analyzing data flowing from digital channels. Even when enterprises have invested enough money for measurement technology, they usually fail to apply commensurate resources and effort to make the tools work for their business. Instead, most organizations focus too much on generating reports and too little on producing true insights and recommendations, opting for what is easy, not for what is valuable. When most people think of analytics, the first thought that often comes to mind is a datadump of numbers, overloads of information that add more to confusion than to elucidation. Ask yourself: Are you measuring your success and improving? Do you know why people leave your website? Do you know your customer satisfaction scores? Are you targeting the right audience? Senior management, sales and marketing, and customer service teams all need answers to these questions all of which can be answered through Web Analytics. So what is Web Analytics? In its simplest form, it can be defined as one of the ways to help hone and transform online experiences to help accomplish organizational goals.
Web Analytics is the science and adeptness that leads to drive change for websites to increase their profitability by cultivating a customers online experience. It is science because it uses statistics, data mining techniques, and a methodological process. It is an art because the analyst has to draw from various pallets of data sources to find the impeccable synthesis that will yield actionable insights.
Avinash Kaushik
This paper describes an imminent change in the digital world, and how Web Analytics plays a vital role in successful contributions to an organization. We comprehend this not because we believe there is anything erroneous with todays Web Analytics functions, but because we believe Web Analytics should play a bigger role in business decision making in the future.
IDEA ENGINEERS
POINT OF view
THE CORE OF CROSSCHANNEL ACTIVITIES
For many organizations, the web is a common element of the marketing mix, and as such, decision makers cannot afford to miss the opportunity to use Web Analytics to close the gaps between crosschannel marketing strategies. Web Analytics is one of the most critical sources of activity because of:
Widespread espousal. The dispersion of Web Analytics is extremely broad and companies have Web Analytics abilities in place to gather the requisite baseline data. While Forresters data indicates that 73% of businesses are using Web Analytics tools or are evaluating them in a pilot program, revenue has been hard to come by. Providers of free tools take up 78% of the market share, and even when businesses are paying for analytics, 37% of them are only doing so in addition to a free offering. Faster turn-around. Activities on the web are executed in quick time spans; campaigns are often completed in days or even hours, at the speed of light when compared with traditional media cycles. The ability to gather real time data and analyze it quickly allows for testing and iterative improvements that few channels can rival. Delivered information to a variety of stakeholders. Web Analytics reports and dashboards can be distributed to the entire marketing team in numerous formats that are appropriate for varying types of audiences, creating a consistent view of activity and a foundational set of data for action. Substantial qualitative and quantitative data. Websites deliver granular customer data on a large scale to support significant samples of specific behavior and outcomes. This data includes a crosssection of known customers as well as anonymous visitors who can be analyzed and used to support specific intelligence objectives such as segmentation, remarketing, and behavioral targeting. Useful links to other channels and activities. Just as a website serves as a hub for customers multichannel activity, Web Analytics provides the ability to measure and attribute business results to other crosschannel marketing programs.
IDEA ENGINEERS
POINT OF view
IDEA ENGINEERS
POINT OF view
Commerce Website
Service Website
Conversion Rates
Visit Value Average Selling Price Sourcewise % drop offs
IDEA ENGINEERS
POINT OF view
A VALUEDRIVEN APPROACH
Today, little correlation exists between Web Analytics spend and business benefit, a problem exacerbated by the technologyheavy approach taken towards site measurement. As business managers are increasingly pressured to optimize the value of their web investments, they will be forced to adopt more flexible tool sets and sounder analytical methodologies. A Web Analytics Demystified survey found that 25% of the companies who are tracking ROI from Web Analytics report a zero or even a negative return on their investment. Whats worse is that a full 75% of web analysts are working for companies where the return on investment from Web Analytics is either not being tracked (54%) or is not widely known (21%). The ValueDriven Approach helps assess the impact of the outcomes of the analysis and findings driven by Web Analytics. If the outcomes are coupled with potential value in respect to benefits, this can compel an action. In order to implement this approach, businesses must have a revenue model in place to compute the potential value of driving change. Below is a proposed approach:
Value-Driven Analytics
Value is a direct function of Cost, Revenue, and Net Promotor Score*, which Web Analytics focuses on to help Increase sales Increase campaign effectiveness Improve user experience Increase self-service and drive down costs Key benefits of this approach include Enforcing action when coupled with monetary value Helping justify the investment on the Web Analytics activities and team Helping assess the contribution of Web Analytics towards an organizations financial bottom line Enhanced reliability in data: 1. Increased trust in Web Analytics, if implemented value is close to recommended value 2. Confidence in the decision taken, if implemented value is close to targeted value (target set by business themselves against their decisions)
IDEA ENGINEERS
POINT OF view
IDEA ENGINEERS
POINT OF view
KEY CHALLENGES
There are some key themes that limit Web Analytics success. 1. Data is a commodity. Web Analytics is just the tool. The potential benefits of Web Analytics include improved marketing effectiveness, elevated customer satisfaction, and new revenue opportunities. The allure of these benefits has not escaped the masses as businesses across the globe increase their reliance on the web and online channels. But many adopters of Web Analytics technologies underuse their tools, fail to recognize ROI, or simply dont apply the data. 2. A deep action abyss renders Web Analytics inert. Four years ago, Forrester research identified three chasms that organizations must cross to mature their use of Web Analytics: the investment chasm, the staffing chasm, and the action chasm. While the investment chasm has been minimized by free Web Analytics tools introduced to the market, the staffing and action chasms have grown. The human resources required for analyzing data and converting information into necessary business actions are still severely lacking. 3. Industry growth is inhibited by increasingly complex challenges. The Web Analytics action chasm is only one part of the story. As marketers gain maturity in their use of Web Analytics tools, the challenges grow increasingly complex. For instance, many marketers tell us that they struggle to uncover the insight within their Web Analytics data and keep pace with new measurement challenges. 4. Its hard to co-relate implemented value with recommended value. This is true especially when a lot of changes are made at the same time or when organizations take longer to implement suggested changes. 5. Privacy issues when using cookies pose a problem. Due to changes in the law concerning cookies, it is now illegal to set most cookies on websites, which suggests almost all Web Analytics cant be used without breaking the law.
CONCLUSION
Web Analytics is all about understanding the current business state and continuously exploring new avenues with tools, creativity, and best practices, including the use of Data and analytics processes to drive future decisions Small repetitive steps Continuous evolution instead of complete website relaunches Constant testing and experimentation Strategic KPIs for accountability Tactical KPIs as guidelines for single or local approaches This cycle is one that shouldnt be implemented once. It needs to be redefined and updated on a regular basis to make sure the right results are reaped from Web Analytics solutions. Growth will emerge from unexpected places as the value proposition of Web Analytics technology wavers for sophisticated users and becomes more welcoming for new entrants. Ultimately, Web Analytics will become part of a broader array of integrated services supporting marketers.
IDEA ENGINEERS
POINT OF view
Existing expertise will not be squandered. The future success of Web Analytics is dependent upon experts who translate raw data into insight. Despite a necessary evolution toward automated action based on data like targeting and testing, expert analysts are required to make correlations and bridge the action chasm with logic. Democratization of data is impending. Organizations that succeed with Web Analytics build datadriven strategies and create a corporate appetite for data. For some, data becomes an addictive drug because it can demonstrate success, predict outcomes, and establish business cases for new endeavors. Optimization technologies are the next paradigm. As maturity with Web Analytics grows, sophisticated marketers will use data and customer intelligence to establish ecology for marketing optimization. With Web Analytics data as the foundation, marketers will formulate automated presentation methods that deliver relevant content and messaging to consumers in a dynamic fashion.
REFERENCES:
1. Forrester Research What Does The Web Analytics Industry Want To Be When It Grows Up? 2. Forrester Research The Forrester Wave: Web Analytics, Q4 2011 3. eConsultancy Report Online Measurement and Strategy Report 2011 4. Web Analytics Demystified / Next Stage Global Measuring the Immeasurable Visitor Engagement
Deepak Jain
Parmjeet Kaur is working as Manager Marketing Strategy & Analysis with experience in Web Analytics, campaign management, data mining, and Adobe Omniture governance. She is an Adobe certified professional with Omniture Implementation as well as Omniture Site Catalyst. She has successfully defined and implemented processes for client engagements in GDD model. She is currently leading the Vodafone UK offshore engagement for their Web Analytics solution.
Parmjeet Kaur
IDEA ENGINEERS