tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84334566072429137872024-02-19T05:37:27.896-05:00Analytics EvolutionOne Industry Insider's View on Analytics & Optimization TechnologiesJohn Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-18376477462549067462009-11-12T15:54:00.001-05:002009-11-12T16:01:10.869-05:00On Leaving Forrester and Becoming A Change AgentMy decision to leave Forrester Research didn’t come easy. It was actually quite excruciating because I really love my job. There are few careers where one has an opportunity to gain an insiders view on the operations, strategies, and future plans of both vendors and clients alike. Yet, having played the role of analyst for nearly a decade, I decided that it’s time to take a risk and embark on a new and exciting professional endeavor. While I cannot reveal where I’m going just yet, I’ve committed to transitioning my responsibilities and completing writing and client work at Forrester over the next two weeks. <br /><br />In the meantime, I’d like to reflect back on a few of my experiences at Forrester. Working at Forrester has been one of the most rewarding and intellectually stimulating challenges in my career. I feel fortunate to have been a part of helping to build out the <a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/customer_intelligence/2009/11/a-fond-farewell-to-john-lovett.html">Customer Intelligence team</a> and have confidence that my former teammates: <a href="http://www.forrester.com/rb/analyst/suresh_vittal">Suresh Vittal</a>, <a href="http://www.forrester.com/rb/analyst/dave_frankland">Dave Frankland</a> and <a href="http://www.forrester.com/rb/analyst/julie_katz">Julie Katz</a> will continue to provide invaluable insight for Forrester clients and the market at large. The progress this team has accomplished in raising awareness for Customer Intelligence is invaluable. From Dave’s research that predicts <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,55051,00.html">the next CMO will come from Customer Intelligence</a> to <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,44396,00.html">Suresh’s mission critical analysis</a> of understanding the confluence of business intelligence, predictive analytics, online analytics and marketing analytics. This is groundbreaking research that is shaping the marketing and strategy of enterprises across the globe. <br /><br />Yet, more importantly working at Forrester was a genuine privilege. I’ve not been a part of another organization where creative, bright and extremely motivated people collaborate and share ideas in such a productive way. The caliber of employees at Forrester is top notch and I’m glad that I was able to contribute to the collective mindshare. The good news is that Forrester is looking to fill my position with one talented analyst who shares my passion for all things analytics and optimization. Here’s a <a href="http://forrester.myvurv.com/main/careerportal/Job_Profile.cfm?szOrderID=388&szReturnToSearch=1&szWordsToHighlight=Web%2520Analytics">link to the job requisition</a> and let me know if I can put in a good word for you. <br /><br />For me, it's off to new challenges in the awesome field of Analytics and Optimization. My goal is to become a change agent for Web analytics and I plan to take an even more active role in Web analytics thought leadership, advocacy and evangelism. Jim Sterne said to me recently that becoming a change agent requires risk. Risks so big that you’re willing to lose your job over. I took his sage wisdom to heart and decided to break out and try my hand at truly creating change within the Web analytics and optimization industry. So stay tuned for how I plan to execute on that front and check back on this blog for BIG news to follow....<br /><br />For now and while I finish out my time here at Forrester, I will carry with me valuable experiences that only a world class research organization like Forrester could provide. Thanks to Forrester all my talented colleagues for a truly remarkable experience.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /> John Lovett<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-17744668434836672712009-11-02T07:28:00.003-05:002009-11-02T07:40:57.417-05:00eMetrics Fall Wrap-UpSummarizing the Fall <a href="http://www.emetrics.org/washingtondc/2009/agenda_overview.php">eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit</a> in DC last week is actually quite easy. Check the stream of Twitter traffic at <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23emetrics">#emetrics</a> to see what attendees thought in real time. Kudos go out to industry insiders like <a href="http://twitter.com/June_Li">@June_Li</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/ed_wu">@ed_wu</a> for keeping up with their views of eMetrics as it happened. I certainly appreciated their shared view presentations supplemented with valuable insights and commentary. But in addition to our dedicated industry insiders, a significant media presence emerged at eMetrics, made felt by Jessica Tsai tweeting under the <a href="http://twitter.com/DestinationCRM">@DestinationCRM</a> handle. Jessica’s coverage subsumed the tweet stream with journalistic style reporting of every notable quote and entertaining quip offered by on-stage presenters. So with the live reporting and play-by-play offered by social media devices – I’ll offer my alternative take on last week’s summit. <br /><br />For me the week started off on a high note, arriving just in time to attend the Web Analytics Association member meeting. The highlight of this meeting was board of directors’ panel consisting of Alex Yoder (Webtrends), Matt Langie (Omniture), Pete Olsen (Microsoft), and Dennis Mortensen (Yahoo! Web Analytics). Jim Sterne facilitated a lively discussion that required the board members to contemplate where we’ve been as an industry, what our challenges are and where we need to go to ensure our survival. Tweetworthy quotes were abundant during the discussion, but I’d say that Matt Langie put it best when he stated that the best way to predict the future is to invent it. And that is precisely what the WAA is working towards. <br /><br />The official eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit opened the following day with anticipation for Google’s big announcement. While the morning keynotes were valuable, I’ll admit that they were a blur of information – some old – some new – yet a bit of preaching to the choir. The buzz of Google’s announcement was exacerbated by the Twitter stream which continued to get louder as Avinash prepared for the stage in a social media crescendo. Addressing the audience with his arm in a sling and surgery pending the following morning, he debuted the<a href="http://analytics.blogspot.com/2009/10/google-analytics-now-more-powerful.html"> newly minted Google Analytics features</a> with charisma and style. The enhancements included: additional engagement goals (expanding from 4 to 20), advanced table filtering, a true unique visitor metric, custom variables, segment sharing and alerting functionality. I hail the most exciting feature as the introduction of “Intelligent Analytics”, a solution that applies an algorithm to data sets with the goal of identifying anomalies. When such aberrations are discovered, alerts are delivered to Google Analytics users. While still nascent, this function presents incredible opportunity for shifting Web analytics to a proactive activity. <br /><br />The second half of the day offered a plethora of valuable sessions and ultimately led to some lively discussions in the lobby bar that evening. Day two of the conference opened briskly at 8 am with an interesting session by Tim Ash of SiteTuners. He was followed by NBC Universal and then Omniture, who announced their enhanced social media measurement capabilities. I spent the majority of the morning preparing for my keynote panel on “Marketing Metrics Maturity”, where I would debate with Gartner’s Bill Gassman, maturity model thesis author <a href="http://blog.immeria.net/search/label/Maturity%20Model">Stephane Hamel</a>, and CEO Laura Patterson. As the only panel member without a published model or company of my own, I held my ground by taking a contrarian view towards maturity models. I believe that marketing maturity models are like religion. For those that need it, they are great. Many have thorough documentation and worthy systems which organizations can follow. I however, have no use for them. In fact, I declared myself a Web analytics maturity model atheist. I’m of the belief that all organizations are inherently different and applying a generic model for purposes of evaluation is not a worthwhile endeavor. While I cannot say that my fellow panel members agreed with me, we did come to terms on the larger issues of managing people, culture and technology.<br /><br />Later that evening, Web Analytics Wednesday brought eMetrics attendees together for libations and learning. Eric Peterson led a discussion of leading Web analytics practitioners that was both entertaining and informative. Day three of eMetrics delivered more insightful information and left most attendees feeling energized to hit the streets and create change within their organizations. <br /><br />As I mentioned earlier, the details of the presentations and buzz at the event were all captured tremendously through the help of social media. Yet, the one thing that couldn’t be bottled up or summarized in 140 characters was the hallway conversations, post-session chats and late night debauchery. These off-the-record activities deliver the real value of eMetrics and similar conferences. So, while you may be able to get the play-by-play sitting by your laptop and chasing hashtags - the real deal is live and in person. I’m thankful to Jim Sterne and his team for delivering yet another successful eMetrics. <br /><br />I’ll close by quoting a tweet of my own... “Hey #emetrics DC was a blast. Walking away with new ideas, new friends and new lobby bar stories.”<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-50020948166515261342009-10-19T13:13:00.001-04:002009-10-19T13:20:30.896-04:00Truth, Lies and Delusion in Web AnalyticsMatt Cutler said it best recently at the Web Analytics X Change conference; “We are on a noble quest for truth”. He was referring to the fact that Web analytics - an industry that Matt helped to create - is about understanding. Yet, as with any epic story our protagonist (the industry), is challenged to find the way to the mysterious and intangible place that is Web analytics enlightenment. Matt went on to say; “Truth doesn’t happen easy…Truth doesn’t come for free.” And he was right on all accounts. These truths we seek in Web analytics are elusive because of innumerable factors such as lack of support, a dearth of qualified practitioners, low data confidence, and failure to derive actionable insights. This brewing storm of impediments has stymied the Web analytics industry since its inception. However, collectively we are determined to find the truth - a workaround – a reinvention – an evolution - or perhaps a <a href="http://blog.webanalyticsdemystified.com/weblog/2009/10/are-you-ready-for-the-coming-revolution.html">wholesale revolution</a> is afoot. <br /><br />The lies we tell in Web analytics are white ones. Our numbers, metrics and KPIs are communicated with the best intentions, yet <a href="https://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=114561">our data oscillates within a range of deviation</a>. Most practitioners have <a href="http://blog.jimnovo.com/2007/10/25/randomly-incomplete/">forsaken precision for accuracy</a> and resigned to the fact that our measures provide directional guidance – not empirical facts. Our current measurement practices dance around the issues of accuracy by offering insights at a generalized level, offering shards of intelligence, which undoubtedly are better than none. However, communication tactics require silver tongued practitioners to educate with accuracy while avoiding the details of precision. Educated marketing guesswork has devolved from the visions of an infinitely measureable Web. Still we persevere because our noble quest nags our collective conscience in knowing that we can deliver more.<br /><br />Delusion is the shroud practitioners use to keep themselves on the path towards truth. Despite that the majority of Web analytics practitioners <a href="http://analytics.blogspot.com/2009/10/appraising-your-investment-in.html">claim well-defined strategies</a>, most offer fledgling plans that lack truly progressive vision. Further, despite the perception of unequivocal support, most practitioners tirelessly combat widespread internal cynicism. Yet, those dedicated to the cause endure by squinting to see the positives. I too am one of these eternal optimists that choose to push on. Yet, I forecast change for Web analytics. Our industry is undergoing metamorphosis and those that resist change will be left behind. I choose to act as an agent for change and to expose new initiatives with merit; to question the statements of the collective whole; and to insist that the status quo is not capable of delivering us to analytical excellence.<br /><br />This rant comes as I sit in wait to arrive at eMetrics in DC where, Web analytics practitioners, vendors and optimists like myself will gather to ruminate on our future. While I envision miles to go before we sleep, I’m confident that change will lead to better optimization overall. What do you see?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-90997161676528774262009-08-27T09:10:00.003-04:002009-08-27T09:31:09.450-04:00eMetrics Goes SocialIf you haven’t heard of the <a href="http://emetrics.org/">eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit</a> by now, you’re missing out. Founded by Jim Sterne, Web Analytics guru and widely recognized Godfather of Web analytics. This is the original #measure conference. With topics that delve into the real issues of Marketing in today’s world, eMetrics places its finger squarely on the pulse of digital marketing endeavors across the globe. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PMwFgN8MxPk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PMwFgN8MxPk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Most recently, the eMetrics establishment launched a <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2224952">user group on LinkedIn</a> to keep the conversation flowing in the months when there’s not a Summit event near you. Additionally, they introduced a <a href="http://emetrics.org/washingtondc/2009/blogpartner.php">Blog Partners program</a> to further spread the good word about eMetrics. I’ve been a regular blogger about my experiences at eMetrics <a href="http://www.analyticsevolution.com/search/label/eMetrics?max-results=100">for years</a>, but now have the opportunity to synthesize my ramblings with other like-minded bloggers. And of course, eMetrics has its own hashtag to follow the buzz on Twitter whether you’re attending or sitting at your desk wishing you were there. Follow <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=emetrics">#eMetrics</a>. <br /><br />I’m proud to say that <a href="http://emetrics.org/washingtondc/2009/keynotes.php#pan1">I’ll be participating</a> in the upcoming Summit in Washington D.C. on October 20-23. Jim Sterne informed me and my fellow keynote panelists that he was breaking his own protocol by inviting analysts (myself and Bill Gassman of Gartner) and consultants (<a href="http://blog.immeria.net/">Stephane Hamel</a> and <a href="http://www.visionedgemarketing.com/">Laura Patterson</a>) to speak this year. The majority of the D.C. sessions will feature marketing practitioners who will share their stories of success and recount the ways in which marketing optimization has benefited their organizations. <br /><br />If you’re planning to attend; please seek me out to say hello. If you’re on the fence; here’s a discount code for 15% off a 3-day pass to eMetrics D.C. [JOHNLOVETT09]. Or if you just want one analyst's insight on this event; feel free to drop me a line.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-12707396149185153452009-07-30T18:18:00.003-04:002009-07-30T18:24:46.418-04:00Webtrends Acquires WidemileThings are happening up in the Northwest these days as Portland, OR based Webtrends (recognized as a leader in the recent <a href="http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/wave%26trade;_web_analytics,_q3_2009/q/id/53639/t/2">Forrester Wave: Wave Analytics, Q3 09</a>) announced today its acquisition of Seattle based testing firm <a href="http://www.widemile.com/">Widemile</a>. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed, but the technologies are a perfect match.<br /><br />Widemile began its operations as a multivariate testing company in November 2005 and has been expanding on its capabilities; it’s proprietary Design of Experiments (DoE) algorithm; and client base ever since. The company delivers both self-service and managed service offerings that leverage its on demand testing and targeting platform. Widemile also maintains close ties with digital agencies that leverage the testing and targeting services on behalf of their clients. Primary competitors to Widemile include Omniture’s Test & Target (formerly Offermatica), Intervoven Optimost, SiteSpect and Google Website Optimizer among others. Watch for Forrester’s upcoming vendor landscape on testing companies for a complete list. <br /><br />This acquisition adds momentum to the trend that Web analytics firms are augmenting their offerings by adding adjacent and complementary services. Testing is a logical progression for company’s that are maximizing their online opportunities with Web analytics data. Widemile’s technology falls under the realm of site optimization, which offers companies inherent benefits when delivered through a Web analytics platform. I see this as a very strong move for Webtrends who is steadily emerging from a position of transition to one of strength. Webtrends currently maintains a substantial client base that is ripe for testing and site optimization services. <br /><br />Webtrends has had a busy summer thus far with a divisive <a href="http://blog.webtrends.com/2009/07/14/initial-campaign-results-from-our-max-ad/">social media campaign</a> that sparked local outcry; a new product release due out next week; and now an acquisition. Congratulations to <a href="http://alex.webtrends.com/">Alex</a>, <a href="http://jascha.webtrends.com/">Jascha</a>, Casey and the team at Webtrends for executing on their vision for strategic growth. And big congrats go out to Bob Bergquist, Bob Garcia and Dean Kimball of Widemile for growing a compelling offering worthy of integration into a Web analytics platform.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-63946281365156395972009-07-28T16:11:00.002-04:002009-07-28T16:21:01.614-04:00What Makes A Standard?Something rather amazing happened yesterday in the Web Analytics realm that was enabled by social media. A longstanding conversation regarding all things Web analytics has been playing out in Twitter under the hashtag #wa. [If confused by this already, you may want to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w">drop off here</a>.] <br /><br />Recently, Washington state has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon and was creating "noise" on #wa. Thus, a number of Tweets ensued to shift the conversation from #wa to something we Web Analytics wonks could call our own.<br /><br />While @dustinwallace claims credit for <a href="http://blog.webanalyticsdemystified.com/weblog/2009/07/measure-is-the-new-wa-in-twitter.html">conceiving the idea</a>, the market was effectively moved by @ericpeterson. At the speed of a few Tweets, I watched this saga unfold via Tweetdeck yesterday. It went something like this:<br /><br /><ul>1) The idea for change was seeded<br /><br />2) @ericpeterson proposed new terminology (#measure)<br /><br />3) A few Tweets volleyed with alternative suggestions (including my own)<br /><br />4) @ericpeterson responded, acknowledged the resistance and declared his intentions<br /><br />5) A new standard was born (#measure is the new #wa)<br /><br />6) The results are flying around in Tweets all day today</ul><br /><br />Let’s put aside the fact that reading this preamble only a year ago would have sounded utterly ridiculous…and it still may read like jibberish to many…but this change and the speed with which it occurred is remarkable.<br /><br />Thus, it got me thinking about standards, which is a topic I visit often. A standard on Twitter is something that a group can agree on collectively. In Web analytics, we’ll now use the hashtag #measure to discuss Web analytics. Similarly, #MVT is used when discussing multivariable testing, #waa is used for reference to the Web Analytics Association and #analytics is commonly associated with Google Analytics.<br /><br />But how do standards evolve for more consequential matters? The WAA has been <a href="http://www.webanalyticsassociation.org/en/cmt/?5">rallying for standards</a> for years. They’ve gone to great lengths to establish standard definitions for Web Analytics and open their thoughts and process to public scrutiny for the greater good. The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) also <a href="http://www.iab.net/iab_products_and_industry_services/508676/guidelines/campaign_measurement_audit">works towards developing standards</a> for measuring Web site traffic to guide advertisers in their financial planning. There are numerous other examples of standards which exist. In fact, there’s so many to choose from that they lack effectiveness. Further, given that new standards can emerge in the flurry of a few tweets, what really constitutes a standard?<br /><br />I have my ideas, and welcome your input. This topic is one that I’ve invested time and thought into. At the upcoming <a href="http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/xchange/xchange-huddles.asp">X Change conference</a> in San Francisco on September 10th, I’ll be leading a discussion on Standards and welcome all interested parties to attend.<br /><br />When moving at the speed of tweets, standards will become increasingly important. Don’t you want to be a part of the conversation?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-74497253256699360572009-07-23T15:45:00.008-04:002009-07-23T16:44:49.418-04:00Forrester Wave: Just the Facts PleaseIn my line of work, sometimes you strive for shock and awe, while other times, you just write the facts. In the case of the <a href="http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/wave%26trade;_web_analytics,_q3_2009/q/id/53639/t/2">Forrester Wave™: Web Analytics</a> that published today, I did the latter. While it felt somewhat anticlimactic because there was no sizzling scandal and no juicy uproar (at least not yet), I’m confident that the report is an accurate reflection of the state of the Web analytics market today. Somewhat ironically, Web analytics practitioners told us throughout this study that accuracy of information was atop the list of most important vendor selection criteria. As such, data accuracy is critical in all things analytics and I too aim to please in this regard. <br /><br />This research was six months in the making and was an arduous (yet rewarding) process for me and hopefully for the vendors that participated as well. With excruciating detail I assessed eight vendors at the top of this field. I held strategy discussions with their executives; interviewed their clients by phone and via online survey; and validated their capabilities in exploratory demos. The end result revealed an extremely tight field of highly capable solutions. As much as I tried to push the evaluation criteria to the limits of analysis, vendors met the challenge with their standard offerings and ability to customize their tools to perform seemingly endless tasks. The result produced 5 leaders amid a field of 8 with nary a laggard in the bunch. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eXG6EZOx8IPEUXKjN8gZEwx-J5feB4HKB1JHo4WRXh-V9Xxs17XLw7XDcMfJ1ahsnwY-c6l6bjaJcFWHzBfXDZZPsdddetg7vMCq_wvw3Zt2WJiSiJKLy1MQflhf2aAtYkzLmuJbfq-9/s1600-h/Wave+Graphic.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eXG6EZOx8IPEUXKjN8gZEwx-J5feB4HKB1JHo4WRXh-V9Xxs17XLw7XDcMfJ1ahsnwY-c6l6bjaJcFWHzBfXDZZPsdddetg7vMCq_wvw3Zt2WJiSiJKLy1MQflhf2aAtYkzLmuJbfq-9/s400/Wave+Graphic.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361744548846996082" /></a><br />This research will help Customer Intelligence professionals understand the complex Web analytics landscape and determine which vendor is best suited to meet their needs. Key findings revealed: <br /><br /><ul><span style="font-weight:bold;">Web analytics is the decisive tool for measuring online customer intelligence.</span> Our past research illustrates that 73% of organizations surveyed already have Web analytics tools in place. Readers here are probably on this train already – if not, it’s time to start worrying about the commitment to your online channel. I suggest bootstrapping some tags onto your site today using one of the highly capable free tools as a start. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A highly competitive vendor race ends in a photo finish.</span> I used this analogy because a photo finish requires that one look closely at the field of competitors to determine which one wins. While there is no single winner identified in any Forrester Wave, each vendor evaluated has capabilities that differentiate it from its peers.</ul><br /><br />Discerning the details of who provides the strongest social media measurement or which vendor excels at attribution measurement is critical. But these considerations also need to account for which vendor provides the best overall package for any organization. My evaluation of these vendors is meant to serve as a guide for Web analytics users. A little known fact about the Forrester Wave is that the weightings of categories, subcategories and criteria can be modified to suit individual business needs. While the scores remain constant, Forrester clients can adjust the weights applied to each area, which changes the placement of vendors on the graphic. <br /><br />Thus, while I feel this reflects the state of the market, it’s presented in a way that applies to enterprise organizations on the whole and should be tweaked for individual use as a decisioning tool. Please feel free to reach out to me with comments or if you’d like a better understanding of how the competitive field stacks up. I’m happy to help.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-62545976342973647732009-05-19T09:18:00.003-04:002009-05-19T09:42:58.691-04:00Forecasting Change for Web AnalyticsThis week my forecast for Web analytics will publish on Forrester.com and I’m calling for a change in the climate. We expect dollars spent on fee-based Web analytics software will grow at a compound annual rate of 17% over the next five years. That will bring us to just under $1 billion dollars by the year 2014. A respectable growth rate and not too shabby for a market size, but those in the know will ask why we haven’t hit the $1B mark by this time already? In fact, the 2009 to 2014 forecast isn’t all that dissimilar (in numbers only) from the one we published at JupiterResearch about 5 years ago. So what happened? Did the Web analytics industry stall? Did we collectively take our eye off the ball? The answer to these questions is a definitive no – but significant market conditions over the past 4 years altered the course of Web analytics indefinitely. Here’s what happened: <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Promises unfulfilled.</span> At its inception Web analytics came out of the gate on the wings of a lofty promise that reeked of amazing insights and countless online riches. Inflate this promise with some dotcom exuberance and an injection of post bubble Internet veterans. The result was a technology ahead of its time, whereby consumers weren’t ready for it and most marketers couldn’t handle it. Yet, this modern day snake-oil wasn’t a sham – it really worked. The problem was that the complexity and inability to take action on the data largely inhibited success. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Expertise sequestered.</span> It’s been <a href="http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/job_list.asp">widely documented</a> that Web <a href="http://www.analyticsevolution.com/2007/11/analytics-university.html">analytics talent</a> is tough to come by. These days not a week goes by that a client doesn’t pass a job requisition across my desk seeking a talented analytics staffer. But rewind four years and many of the best in Web analytics were working relentlessly to demonstrate the value of Web analytics within their organizations (many still are). Some persevered and perhaps were rewarded for their efforts, but many abandoned client-side frustrations and embarked on journeys as consultants and hired guns. This resulted in a thriving secondary market of highly qualified Web analysts (our <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,43982,00.html">last count</a> revealed 91 independent firms providing Web analytics services with an average experience of 4 years per employee). Yet, many corporations were still unconvinced and left without talented in-house analytics staff to dazzle them with metrics. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Incoming tide. </span>It’s said that a high tide raises all boats, but when a technology company wields the power to <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/this-is-your-pilot-speaking-now-about.html">disrupt a chunk of the entire Internet</a>, expect some lunar-level movement. Yes, I’m speaking of the introduction of Google Analytics to the marketplace. While the initial entry may be have been scoffed at by some, there is no denying the market prowess of GA today. According to numbers kindly shared by <a href="http://webanalyticssolutionprofiler.com/">WASP</a> for February of this year, Google Analytics holds 70% of the market for all installations of Web analytics. Free tools overall maintain 78% and while there is notable duplicity (sites installed with more than one solution, which <a href="http://blog.immeria.net/">Stephane’s</a> data has pinned at 37%) that is a massive portion of the market capitalizing on free software. While it's great that users are adopting Web analytics in this manner, they're not contributing dollars to increase our Forecast. <br /><br />So where does that leave us? Luckily, the Web analytics industry is brimming with visionaries, advocates and enthusiasts who aren’t giving up easily. Thus, change is imminent: <br /><ul><br /><li>The promise and delivery of Web analytics is adjusting to meet expectations. <br /><li>Expertise is increasingly rewarded and new talent is cultivating. <br /><li>The rising tide is forcing vendors to improve their offerings and broaden their services.</ul> <br />Whether you like it or not – Web analytics is destined to become an integrated marketing service. If you’re unconvinced, simply take a look at your vendor… Either they’re supporting a marketing optimization suite, opening access to their data to other applications or giving away the Web analytics for free. <br /><br />Web analytics is no longer a point solution – its part of something bigger. <span style="font-weight:bold;">For vendors</span>, this means that you should plan on diversifying or instilling your data collection solutions into as many marketing applications as possible. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Agencies and consultants should</span> maintain an agnostic approach to Web analytics tools and focus less on which solution and more on applying the right metrics, reporting quality (actionable) information and uniting data from disparate marketing functions (like advertising and site-side information). <span style="font-weight:bold;">Organizations should be asking </span>themselves how their Web analytics solution is supporting their entire marketing efforts. Not just in the data that the tools are producing, but in their ability to generate insight and automate marketing processes. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Practitioners, it’s your time to shine.</span> As I mentioned, the job market is ripe and your skills and talents are more in need now than ever.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-18735847102126188092009-04-10T19:56:00.003-04:002009-04-10T20:21:07.189-04:00Engaging With WebTrendsHere at the webtrends Engage 2009 conference there’s energy in the air. And not because we’re in Vegas and they’re pumping in the oxygen, it’s that the message is clear and the future appears bright. For CEO Alex Yoder and his newly minted management team, it’s all about finding meaning within the numbers. They’ve taken this message to heart with a newly vamped Website, a renewed focus on Web analytics and a personal call to action for each employee. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Scene:</span> Well, we are in Vegas, so that tells you something. But webtrends Engage was a small gathering of about 250 customers and like-minded peers who are serious about Web analytics. The sessions and hallway conversations were stimulating, the management was accessible and the overall vibe was optimistic. Let’s face it, webtrends has been off the map for a while and this was their new coming out party. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Message:</span> Alex Yoder kicked off the events by introducing their quest for finding meaning within the numbers. He talked about his commitment to webtrends’ customers and the four tenets of customer engagement: acquire, grow, recover and keep them. He went on to describe the three pillars that they believe will fundamentally change webtrends and analytics as we know it: Power, Elegance and Open. Within these pillars, webtrends plans to demonstrate Power through investments in scalability and flexibility in data. The flexibility in data will be exemplified through free APIs and new methods for portability. Elegance will manifest in their pending interface redesign that improves the user experience beyond the existing platform. And Open extends through their data, their people and their culture. This promise of Openness is the core message of the “new” webtrends and was delivered with genuine sentiment. <br /><br />I can attest that openness resonated throughout the conference and all the new directions that webtrends revealed. Alex’s message and that delivered by everyone at webtrends was honest to the point of self deprecation, but truly genuine. They admitted outright that they’ve had their problems with management changes, product focus and communication. But they’re committed to admitting their shortfalls and working to earn their customers and focus on their core competency of Web analytics. If you’re wondering why I continue to write webtrends in lowercase, it’s because that’s their new logo. Lowercase letters reflect that they dismissed any pretension they previously held and now they’re focused on business. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Announcements:</span> The most notable announcement underscores their commitment to Open with the release of their free APIs that allow new methods of access to data. They built a Web Services interface (leveraging REST) that allows users to pull XML by accessing a URL. Data can be exported from webtrends to Excel or integrated directly into applications (<a href="https://generator.webtrends.com/Account/Logon?ReturnUrl=/">check it out here</a>). <br /><br />Webtrends Open Exchange is their partnership program that makes the APIs even more meaningful. The concept is to leverage webtrends data within other marketing applications like content management, CRM, email, campaign management, search…and the list goes on. By making the data accessible and allowing it to flow into other applications, the potential for data-driven marketing becomes profound. While smaller in its number of partners than Omniture’s Genesis program, the concept is inherently the same, yet with a dramatically different architecture. Webtrends also <a href="http://developer.webtrends.com/webtrends/community/developer/">announced a new developer network</a> to support Open Exchange and provide a forum for developers and apps gurus to learn, share, rant and network. <br /><br />On the social media front, webtrends announced their <a href="http://www.webtrends.com/AboutWebTrends/NewsRoom/NewsRoomArchive/2009/WebTrendsSocialMeasurementPoweredbyRadian6ProvidesAdvancedToolsForCustomerEngagementAcrossTheWeb.aspx">partnership with Radian6</a> which allows uses to listen, measure and engage on social media fronts across the Web. The Radian6 interface is slick and provides real-time access to social media, from wherever the buzz may flow. It provides the ability to compare buzz to that of competitors or monitor activity by channel. It also has workflow processes for users to allocate response duties to employees for a managed and unified corporate response. <br /><br />The final announcement was the release of 8 industry solutions aimed at serving vertical markets. The design is to eliminate data silos and make data more powerful by catering to specific industries. According to customers, some hope these vertical solutions will provide a welcomed launching point for deeper analysis into their unique issues and challenges.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Numbers:</span> So I started with the numbers and finding meaning within them…each webtrends employee has a unique number on the back of his/her business card which serves as a call to action. The numbers at first glance are, well…just numbers, but each has a significant meaning to webtrends’ employees. Some represent children’s birthdays, wedding dates, lofty aspirations…and my favorite so far…the atomic weight of titanium. That’s the number that Barry Parshall has on his card. He informed me that titanium is a metal similar in composition to webtrends - it is incredibly strong, yet flexible - and you can beat the crap out of it, but it takes a beating and keeps on going - an analogy he warmly extends to webtrends from experience. These numbers on their cards may be innocuous, but they serve as a call to action by showcasing the openness of employees. By design they are meant as a method for employees to share personal stories and for customers to ask about them. These numbers subtly signify that any combination of numbers can have deep meaning. Webtrends even has a new <a href="http://www.webtrends.com/shared/events/webtrendsmanifesto.htm">manifesto</a> that's all about the numbers. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Key Takeaway: </span>So my takeaway from all this is that webtrends has made some very positive changes to its management team and developed a renewed focus aimed directly at their customers. Alex Yoder has revived the fire within his team and brought on bright talent like Jascha Kaykas-Wolff and Casey Carey to tell the story. They all assured me - and more importantly, their clients - that they are serious about Web analytics. They plan to demonstrate this by continued investments in product and innovation as well as a quest for deriving understanding from the numbers. <br /><br />From the peek at the new interface wherein “the data itself becomes the interface” – to their commitment to Open – all signs point to go.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-47907183324359903452009-03-31T20:18:00.002-04:002009-03-31T20:23:04.246-04:00Social Media BlundersBy now, you’ve probably heard of the agency VP who was traveling to visit his client FedEx in Memphis <a href="http://shankman.com/be-careful-what-you-post/">who Tweeted</a> an unsavory note from the airport. His thoughtlessness was unappreciated by FedEx employees and did not go unnoticed. <br /><br />Or what about <a href="http://bhc3.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/how-to-tweet-your-way-out-of-a-job/">the prospective employee at Cisco</a> who pondered aloud via Twitter whether or not to accept the job offer? She wrote; “<span style="font-style:italic;">Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.</span>” A channel partner at Cisco responded “W<span style="font-style:italic;">ho is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the Web.</span>”<br /><br />Perhaps <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/31/michael-phelps-bong-pictu_n_162842.html">Michael Phelps</a> crushing the dreams of admirers around the globe with one careless slurp grabbed your attention?<br /><br />Here’s an <a href="http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/033109_Coach_off_the_job_over_scathing_letter">email sent from a youth soccer coach</a> to the parents of his new players. Certainly this is a frightening introduction to a man who will be mentoring children. <br /><br />Each of these lapses in judgment resulted in bad circumstances. Lost business, wasted opportunities, revoked endorsements, and resignations… Perhaps well deserved, but nonetheless a reflection of the new age we live in. Is this a case of digital Darwinism, weeding out the utterly techno unsavvy? Carelessness taken to new heights? Sheer stupidity?<br /><br />Whichever you believe, the key takeaway here is: Don’t be an idiot. <br /><br />Do you have a social media blunder to share?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-50172395722941276362009-03-12T14:28:00.004-04:002009-03-13T08:26:33.633-04:00Defining Optimization<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3ce1bn8TIJF4HqsvaYRDG1c0GSSjyvVtFebW8f1IYQAa8Hyr_-a1IWjfJNCeDA8FT8AuJaf14Fs4UwlAAUg51lE7J_EaUz_UyDML3uYJtcwfgLZjuGQ1YiDkjSlF241yIMOnffBUF8uE/s1600-h/Confusing_Equations_R.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3ce1bn8TIJF4HqsvaYRDG1c0GSSjyvVtFebW8f1IYQAa8Hyr_-a1IWjfJNCeDA8FT8AuJaf14Fs4UwlAAUg51lE7J_EaUz_UyDML3uYJtcwfgLZjuGQ1YiDkjSlF241yIMOnffBUF8uE/s320/Confusing_Equations_R.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312647135159179282" /></a>Optimization by itself is an immensely ambiguous term, yet it has reached a buzz-worthy crescendo among marketers and IT professionals alike. By the simplest definition, optimization is the process of making something better. To optimize a process is to improve upon it. Thus if something is optimized, then presumably it’s as good as it gets. However, as the term optimization flutters around business applications, the meaning becomes diluted and often times abstract. So much so, that someone recently described a conversation to me regarding optimizing where both parties were in vehement agreement with dramatic headshaking and belabored guffaws…But the dialogue abruptly ceased when they discovered that they were each conceptualizing an entirely different manifestation of optimization. So how could this happen?<br /><br />Consider that optimization has been around for quite some time and despite the common misconception of late that optimization is a technology – rather, it is a process that is aided by technology. Further, the process of optimization can be applied in myriad forms. Take for example, revenue optimization, fulfillment optimization, call center optimization, pricing optimization, search engine optimization, channel optimization, marketing mix optimization…and the list goes on. Pretty much any noun (or combination thereof) imaginable can precede the term optimization and presto, you’ve got a something new to optimize. <br /><br />Yet, the circles I run in, and most likely yours too (since you’re reading this blog) are most often referring to marketing optimization. Some may call it online optimization – or perhaps, business optimization, but these descriptors really don’t help us to narrow the field of optimization possibilities. So I propose more descriptive language to identify the optimization process which a marketer is attempting to improve. <br /><br />Let’s break down the category of Marketing Optimization into components that are easily understood and clearly defined such that individuals can take responsibility for each piece. I’ll offer a few examples of online marketing that I believe can benefit from optimization:<br /><ul><li>Interaction Optimization – the real-time dialogue between a visitor and an online channel (Web, email, chat)<br /><li>Search Engine Optimization – the process of associating keywords to content<br /><li>Site Optimization – improving the navigation, flow or design of a Web site<br /><li>Ad optimization – targeting or tailoring advertising (placement and message) to attract a specific audience<br /><li>Contact optimization – identifying the appropriate frequency and timing of a customer contact strategy <br /><li>Channel Optimization – determining the most appropriate channel to deliver a message, product or service<br /><li>Marketing Mix Optimization – which combination of marketing programs lead to the most profitable outcomes</ul><br />While these distinctions still barely scratch the surface of defining the entire gamut of marketing optimization possibilities, the next time someone throws out the term optimization looking to cash in on the buzz, ask them to describe precisely what they’re talking about optimizing. <br /><br />On the second thought, a buzzword or topic often gets even more hyped when there’s some mystique or uncertainty involved. Just look at how well Web 2.0 did in that regard. So, if you’re betting on optimization as your meal ticket…maybe ambiguity is your plan?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-79588998859896767682009-02-10T10:13:00.004-05:002009-02-22T20:26:47.948-05:00Unraveling Marketing AttributionMarketing Attribution is one of those very tough marketing problems that’s been around for a long time, yet few have truly figured it out. In more traditional marketing speak it’s known as Marketing Mix modeling, but it really comes down to understanding which marketing efforts have an impact on your customers and your bottom line. At Forrester, I defined Multi-Campaign Attribution in the digital world as: <span style="font-style:italic;">The practice of attributing credit to all marketing exposures that led to a Web site and subsequently resulted in a conversion event, rather than attributing all credit to the exposure immediately preceding the conversion.</span><br /><br />But the big secret behind Marketing Attribution is that there is no tool that will get you all the way there. No switch can be flipped where Attribution appears from the vapor. There simply is no panacea for Attribution that will resolve all your troubles. Instead Attribution requires a great deal of work. It’s a method for analyzing data in not just one way but in three ways. It also requires expertise that consists of complex analysis and a relentless drive to continually explain an unconscionable process to non-marketers. Moreover, the outcome of Attribution generally creates animosity within organizations because it can rob credit from seemingly heroic efforts and deliver it to unsung heroes. <br /><br />Yuk! Sounds like something you want to skip and leave for somebody else right? The problem is that Marketing Attribution is critically important. Right now accountability is at an all time high. Organizations are looking for budget areas to trim and programs to drop. Attribution can illuminate what’s working and oust the sleeping dogs among your marketing efforts. It can save programs that don’t appear to contribute but really lead profitable customers to your site. It can also identify where the greatest ROI comes from and which programs need to be accelerated for accomplishing your objectives. Attribution can propel you to superstar status within your company. <br /><br />So how do you get started? There are a ton of great resources out there including a <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,48148,00.html">Forrester report</a> that will soon publish on Marketing Attribution. John Marshall and his crew at Market Motive published <a href="http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/2008/03/standard-metrics-revisited-5-conversion-roi-attribution.html">a great video series</a> on Attribution. Microsoft’s Young-Bean Song at the Atlas Institute is tackling the problem from an ad serving perspective with their “<a href="http://www.atlassolutions.com/uploadedFiles/Atlas/Atlas_Institute/Engagement_Mapping/eMapping-TP.pdf">Engagement Mapping</a>” solution. And ClearSaleing’s Attribution guru, Adam Goldberg, has been hosting <a href="http://www.attributionmanagement.com/">forums</a> to educate and reach consensus on quantifying attribution. <br /><br />But if you want the final word on Attribution, tune into the Webinar sponsored by Coremetrics that will feature me and <a href="http://blog.webanalyticsdemystified.com/weblog/2009/02/free-webinars-on-february-11th-and-12th.html">Eric Peterson</a> called “<a href="https://coremetricswebinars.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=coremetricswebinars&service=6&main_url=https://coremetricswebinars.webex.com/ec0600l/eventcenter/event/eventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D476573680%26siteu">Effectively Managing Your Online Marketing Mix with Advanced Attribution</a>”. Tomorrow at 1:00 ET we, along with John Squire of Coremetrics, will paint the landscape for Attribution. We will identify the issues and set the standard for comprehending Attribution. Best of all, we’ll both offer tactical advice for getting started. While we may not fully agree on our methods, we do concur that Attribution is a necessary process. <br /><br />So, if you are charged with unraveling the riddle of attribution, start with any of these resources, <a href="https://coremetricswebinars.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=coremetricswebinars&service=6&main_url=https://coremetricswebinars.webex.com/ec0600l/eventcenter/event/eventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D476573680%26siteu">sign up for the Webinar</a>, or drop me a line to find out more.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-58432484515110973752009-01-29T21:34:00.003-05:002009-01-29T21:45:43.281-05:00Omniture Gets Cozy with WPPOmniture <a href="http://www.omniture.com/press/635">dropped news</a> today of its newly minted partnership with the WPP Group. WPP is the second largest media conglomerate on the planet and not a bad dance partner for OMTR. <br /><br />The partnership involves three key facets: <br /><ul>1) An investment by WPP into Omniture to the tune of $25M. This gives WPP a 3.5% stake in Omniture. <br /><br />2) A commitment to joint development of new technologies and integration of existing solutions. This will include integration of some WPP assets into the Genesis platform and potentially new offerings.<br /><br />3) An educational component that includes training 500 WPP consultants on OMTR products. </ul><br />Here are a few thoughts on why this is a strong play:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">It’s good for Omniture because: </span><br /><li>WPP brings marquee advertising brands like Gray, Ogilvy, Y&R Advertising and Wunderman which will all have exposure to Omniture’s suite of optimization products. <br /><br /><li>They have the opportunity to train 500 new consultants on their products; thereby elevating the accessibility of OMTR trained experts. <br /><br /><li>Omniture just gained 130 new resellers. <br /><br /><li>Their visibility into advertising analytics just increased exponentially with a slew of new integrations to the Genesis platform. <br /><br /><li>WPP derived <a href="http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=134200">$4 billion</a> worth of revenue from consumer insights. If OMTR gets even a sliver of this business, expect their market cap to rise. <br /><br /><li>It reaffirms their solid placement as a leading vendor in the optimization space, despite their recent <a href="http://www.omniture.com/en/company/customercommunication">hiccups</a> and <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/20/omniture-web-analytics-tech-ebiz-cx_ag_0121omniture.html">bad press</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">It’s good for WPP Group because:</span><br /><li>They can benefit from the increased knowledge of customer insights that OMTR provides. <br /><br /><li>It expands their research capabilities by incorporating the business optimization intelligence that OMTR delivers. <br /><br /><li>It brings a foundation for measurement and accountability to marketing activities conducted by agencies. Clients can monitor success through a hosted 3rd party tool that is configured to demonstrate results. <br /><br /><li>It provides a foray into new business opportunities for WPP companies. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">It’s potentially good for the Marketing industry because:</span><br /><li>We may start to see some common analytics definitions and standards that both advertisers and site operators can agree on. <br /><br /><li>It elevates the practical use and understanding of optimization technologies to a wider audience. This offers the potential for more companies to reach out to their agencies for help performing analysis and making the jump from data to action. <br /><br />Okay, so when you tally it all up, it appears that Omniture should be all smiles about this deal. And they are…<br /><br />I had the chance to speak with Aseem Chandra today (Omniture’s SVP of Product Marketing). When I asked…”<span style="font-style:italic;">Why the $25 mil? From an outsider’s perspective, it seems like you could have established this partnership without any financial terms.</span>” He responded that the investment was proof of commitment to ensure that WPP had some skin in the game. Aseem went on to say that the investment also ensured that both parties would advance the partnership and develop mutually profitable solutions that would in turn aid their clients in achieving success. He was clear that the partnership does not preclude Omniture from forming relationships with other agencies, so the door is still open for more expansive agency relationships. That said, WPP retains the option to <a href="http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/e3i6229a90fa9a407c30056f9801607340c">purchase more shares</a> if undisclosed performance goals are achieved. <br /><br />So, congrats to Omniture and let’s hope this new partnership bears innovation that benefits the entire analytics industry and moves us forward.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-16400117209117758872009-01-23T16:43:00.003-05:002009-01-26T09:35:05.328-05:00Red Hot Social Media MeasurementSocial media measurement is sizzling. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Twitter, the Blogosphere, Facebook, YouTube and other burgeoning forms of social media are exploding. While 2008 may have been the year for “experimentation” with social media, 2009 will be the year of “measurement”. Whether you deem social media as fun & frivolous or ripe with opportunity…I’m here to tell you that it’s real marketing…so capitalize on it. <br /><br />Here are a few thoughts on how:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Get specific.</span> As with most endeavors, trying to measure everything without calibrating your focus can prove unprofitable. Think about social media measurement in terms of three distinct categories: 1) Individuals, 2) Content, and 3) Exposure. Once you establish these independent lenses for measurement, you can get fancy with your analysis. There’s a great tool for measuring <a href="http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/twitter/index.asp?u=kdpaine#results">Twitter influence</a> of individuals that can shed light on social media impact and opportunity for exposure. Content is the lifeblood of your marketing and something you do have control over, so understanding which social tools are referring traffic to content and what types of content resonate (<a href="http://www.toprankblog.com/2008/11/pubcon-earning-big-bucks-with-social-media-traffic/">or go ChaChing!</a>) with different audiences is extremely valuable. Finally, Exposure incorporates all that branding and PR that you work so hard to get out there as well as the buzz generated from it. Understanding your reach, <a href="http://manobyte.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/social-media-analytics-standard-reports">the conversation</a>, overall pick-up and <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/11/23/retweet-the-infectious-power-of-the-word-of-mouth/">redistribution</a> will help you get more tactical about reaching your target audiences via social channels. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Don’t reinvent.</span> By this I mean - as much as possible – use established reporting methods and familiar tools for communicating metrics. This will help you to ingrain social metrics within standardized reporting without requiring your old dog colleagues to access new interfaces and learn new tricks. Just this month <a href="http://www.tealium.com/products/social-media/">Tealium</a> announced its new measurement service for tracking social media. These <a href="http://www.tealium.com/company/team.html">former Visual Sciences entrepreneurs</a> have tapped into the ROI of social media by enabling measurement through popular Web analytics tools. Their solution can report metrics about YouTube referrals, blog mentions and even PR exposure. They make this insight available through plug-ins to popular analytics tools like Google Analytics, Omniture Site Catalyst, Unica NetInsight, WebTrends and Coremetrics so your Web analysts get more information in their existing tools. I’m eagerly looking forward to my demo next week…so stay tuned for more. <br /><br /><del>Another Web analytics vendor</del> Lyris HQ just gave me a preview yesterday of their new social media measurement <a href="http://au.sys-con.com/node/819327">capabilities</a> adding more steak to the sizzle. They’ve added social media tracking to their analytics solution to identify referrals from various social marketing efforts as well as the opportunity to create segments from social media channels to identify opportunities. Expect a <a href="http://www.lyris.com/company/news/General/Marketers-Harness-the-Power-of-Social-Media-with-Lyris-HQ-3245/">press release</a> to drop on Monday. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Really measure.</span> Clearly there’s been a lot written about <a href="http://www.themeasurementstandard.com/issues/12-1-08/socialmediaindex12-1-08.asp">Social Media Measurement</a> already, so I’m not breaking new ground here. However, I am excited about the progression beyond buzz monitoring and <a href="http://addictomatic.com/">aggregate dashboarding</a> of social metrics (not that <a href="http://measurementcamp.wikidot.com/tools-for-measurement">these tools</a> aren’t valuable…they are), but most lack real analytical chops regarding the ROI of social marketing. The recently published <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,46468,00.html">The Forrester Wave™: Community Platforms, Q1 2009</a> (here’s <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2009/01/09/forrester-wave-community-platforms-2009/">Jeremiah’s take</a>) identifies analytics as a critical component to monitoring a successful community. Yet, many of the Strong Performers identified in the report still fall short on their analytical capabilities. Listening is the first part of the solution, but taking action is where I see most companies stumble with analytics.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-70118099206112464192009-01-13T12:19:00.004-05:002009-01-13T12:44:34.225-05:00Moving Analytics Forward, CollectivelyIt’s a shame that <a href="http://www.imediaconnection.com/printpage/printpage.aspx?id=21552">Brandt Dainow</a> couldn’t have been a bit more copasetic regarding his views on the Web Analytics Association’s standard definitions because he does make a few salient points. But his words and my unpublished retort forced me to think about what each of us can do to move the Web analytics industry forward. We are, after all, a relatively nascent industry and we will shape our own destiny, whether we like it or not. <br /><br />Yet, this presents a problem: Web analytics is inherently an introverted exercise. Individuals within their respective organizations can apply insight, rigor and analysis to data in hopes of improving the realm over which they control. We may share ideas or tactics for individuals to take back to their own data sets and poke and prod with hopes of finding efficiencies and improvements. Sure, you can pay a hired gun to implement process, develop strategy or create sexy dashboards, but ultimately they are helping analytics practitioners to improve individual companies. Vendors facilitate advancement by acting in the best interests of their customers and shareholders to develop and deliver innovative products. But again, the application of these solutions is up to the individual organizations. <br /><br />Where we break free from the shackles of analytics solitude is in our network and thriving community of evangelical data savants. Findings from the most recent WAA Member survey show that 41% of members surveyed consider themselves champions for Web analytics. We champions sing the praises of Web analytics. We identify problems and attempt to provide solutions. We talk to each other to commiserate about the shortfalls with technologies and lack of comprehension by the rest of the world. We network and blog [and tweet] in hopes that the persistent din of our ramblings captures an audience. But we accomplish this collectively. <br /><br />So, instead of detracting from Web analytics with grievances and diatribes, here’s how I encourage those vested in Web analytics to move forward:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrG9Oq7lHWomj2axjJJb_hKS9yUT-YuCaBthjSDAXBoyx1ecGsdW6PT35LVbU6CJII03Ka3to3obs0ySAvmHIZu4NUhMwI0GjN9m9CqY5xi3NWHld2Ldt4ivFl3VyDGX45Gv1wr5tOxh2/s1600-h/networking.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrG9Oq7lHWomj2axjJJb_hKS9yUT-YuCaBthjSDAXBoyx1ecGsdW6PT35LVbU6CJII03Ka3to3obs0ySAvmHIZu4NUhMwI0GjN9m9CqY5xi3NWHld2Ldt4ivFl3VyDGX45Gv1wr5tOxh2/s200/networking.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290831741075348786" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Expand your network.</span> If you haven’t noticed it yet, Web analytics people are social and welcoming creatures. In my experience nearly every person that I’ve ever reached out to in our industry is responsive and genuine. And there’s lots of opportunity to meet new people. Attend a W<a href="http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/wednesday/">eb Analytics Wednesday</a> event, sign-up for an <a href="http://www.emetrics.org/">eMetrics conference</a>, trade big ideas at <a href="http://www.semphonic.com/XChange.aspx">XChange</a> or tune into the conversation on the <a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/webanalytics/">Yahoo! User Group</a>. These are just a few of the many resources available today in Web analytics. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJB8zU3Z67F8viuNZaN99n9d33gs69KxULWhrqqyjtM8CD3h7Z2fampJNyQhDCejWQZBRVfmPfaFCr1Btn2y6Ju4M-R-4zx57hDHZcAM2N2lt6mafv4zNTiUIKZBTM5H1skHItFUFBTp8/s1600-h/Community.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 171px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJB8zU3Z67F8viuNZaN99n9d33gs69KxULWhrqqyjtM8CD3h7Z2fampJNyQhDCejWQZBRVfmPfaFCr1Btn2y6Ju4M-R-4zx57hDHZcAM2N2lt6mafv4zNTiUIKZBTM5H1skHItFUFBTp8/s200/Community.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290831941427206674" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Give back to the community.</span> So this is where my thoughts for this post originated. The WAA, despite its shortfalls, is an extraordinary organization. Comprised of nearly 100% volunteers, active participants are pushing the industry forward by tackling monumental tasks such as attempting to establish a common vernacular for Web analytics with their standard definitions. Further, the recently published <a href="http://register.webcastgroup.com/event/?wid=0870108094443">Outlook 2009</a> findings provide some fantastic insight to where we’re headed and what’s in store. This information would not be available without committed individuals giving back to the community. And by no means is the WAA the only method of contribution…host an event, attend one…share a revelation…just spread the good vibe of what you do.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhPeLr1sARHLFwr5Z8N7RZCGAJ8beHlraKiNkKOJKlSDet8WpgtPHQ-l8kStCuy25jz389m12d1tYaTGg9arsVlHVIPVS5BqiaGhqMNXuImQ-_VYUfMVva2vqcnqnfUPLs_vpMQnS0njV/s1600-h/communicatejpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhPeLr1sARHLFwr5Z8N7RZCGAJ8beHlraKiNkKOJKlSDet8WpgtPHQ-l8kStCuy25jz389m12d1tYaTGg9arsVlHVIPVS5BqiaGhqMNXuImQ-_VYUfMVva2vqcnqnfUPLs_vpMQnS0njV/s200/communicatejpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290832125128146258" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">Communicate with conviction.</span> A recurring challenge that I’ve heard over the past few weeks is our need to elevate awareness of Web analytics to senior management. This challenge isn’t new; but the urgency is reaching a crescendo. Thirty-two percent of respondents to the WAA Outlook survey listed this as the second greatest hurdle they will face in 2009. Here is where I think Dainow was onto something…by creating computing standards…will we finally be accepted? Perhaps, but the process of gaining consensus on definitions is a necessary step in the progression. In the interim, communicating Web analytics in tangible terms is paramount. This will mean different things to unique organizations, but I offer replacing complexity with accountability as a starting point. Communicate in terms that resonate with management by avoiding the esoteric. Then relay your successes to your fellow champions. <br /><br />Thus, in the spirit of moving Web analytics forward, I offered these few thoughts. More will follow, yet I am just one individual in our collective environment.<br /><br />Are you a champion for Web analytics? If so, what are you doing about it?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-767906903024650512008-12-26T12:34:00.003-05:002008-12-26T17:57:12.336-05:00How “Real” is Real-Time Web Analytics?The nuances of real-time Web analytics are elusive, underused and often misinterpreted. Yet, real-time Web analytics is a feature that several vendors are seeking to fulfill. The way I see it, real-time has two components; real-time reporting and real-time processing. Real-time reporting makes Web analytics data visible within an interface instantaneously (or within 10 seconds). Real-time processing is the ability to create reports or segments and view data instantaneously (or again, within 10 seconds or less). <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Real-Time Reporting</span><br />The last time I checked (back in May 2008), only Coremetrics, IndexTools, Nedstat and Omniture claimed to have real-time data reporting capabilities. At that time, Unica could report metrics within 15 minutes and Google Analytics shortly thereafter provided same day reporting (although they make no promises). So, overall the major Web analytics players are pretty fast about reporting, yet not impervious to flaws [I welcome comments on real-user data delay horror stories]. Of course, log files can typically be processed in real-time as well, yet don’t necessarily provide the slick interfaces of the previously mentioned vendors. <br /><br />Now don’t get me wrong, I believe that Web analytics data should be reported as quickly as possible. I for one like to gauge metrics the same day I post or make changes to my site, however, it’s my opinion that real-time reporting is a luxury that many want but few properly exercise. To obtain real-time reporting so that a neurotic analyst can watch metrics as they accrue is not a good use of real-time reporting. However, those that use real-time data to populate content on pages or shift messaging to segments…now that’s interesting. But there’s a distinction here, where real-time automation is different than real-time decision-making. Decision-making based on data rarely (if ever), happens in real-time. Some might argue that alerting functionality provides the ability to make real-time decisions, but c’mon…is that really real-time? <br /><ul>Alert -> Think [allot appropriate time for comprehension, protocol and red-tape] -> Take Action. </ul>A time lapse view of this process will likely reveal less than optimal Alert-to-Action reflex.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Real-Time Processing</span><br />The second component of real-time is processing. This facet of real-time serves the instant gratification need in all of us. A typical scenario might unfold like this: <ul>Idea -> Create report to illustrate idea -> Processing… -> Insight! </ul>Again, going back to my research from May 2008, I asked about each vendors’ ability to create segments in real-time with no delay in data representation. Most vendors did offer this functionality, with only Clicktracks and Nedstat reporting that they did make you wait (Omniture can perform real-time segment processing within Discover and Google Analytics didn’t have custom segments at that time, but they can do it now). Once data appears within an interface, analysts can slice and dice to their heart’s content. Processing times will vary based on complexity, the amount of information being processed and hardware and/or bandwidth available. But this really has nothing to do with real-time. Rather, it’s the ability to create a new report, segment or data view and gain access to it without having to wait. <br /><br />Real-time automation of data – using rules-driven processes, event triggering and content delivery that occurs in real-time based on data derived from analytics does elevate the need for real-time data. While the applications that enable this type of real-time activity may be independent of Web analytics, there is an opportunity to improve – dare I say – “optimize” the process with real-time capabilities. <br /><br />So, I’m really wondering if people are using real-time data in other ways that provide tangible value to their organizations? Beyond real-time dashboards that make great corporate lobby eye-candy are businesses making real-time decisions that require real-time Web analytics?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-83140728336523078172008-12-19T14:57:00.003-05:002008-12-19T15:09:58.927-05:00It’s Called “I Buy, You Wear”Here’s some Friday fun and a bit of commercialism thrown in to illustrate just how far some people will go. My brother and I often play a ridiculous game we called “I Buy, You Wear”, when we find ourselves traveling in strange places or sometimes when we’re just bored. The game consists of going into a thrift shop, Wal-Mart or other haberdashery and buying an article of clothing that the other must wear. We usually cap expenses at $20 bucks, but the idea is to make my brother wear some unflattering garment, which is typically worn in the most audacious and self deprecating manner possible. I’ve received really bad Hawaiian shirts, funny hats and even a sequin blouse that still hangs somewhere in the depths of my closet. <br /><br />But t<a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/12/iwearyourshirt.html">he story I read today in the LA Times</a> about the guy wearing a t-shirt a day with capitalistic goals is a new one for me. He’s already racked up $66,795 in pre-sold days just for getting dressed in the morning. <a href="http://www.iwearyourshirt.com/">Jason</a> plans to Twit and Blog his way to stardom in just 365 days. Is this social media at its best? I think not.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-59483395752733103332008-12-04T17:20:00.004-05:002008-12-05T10:40:10.310-05:00An Interview with Jascha Kaykas-Wolff: WebTrends Newly Appointed VP of MarketingI’d like to start off by thanking Jascha for taking the time to speak with me in just week three on his new job at WebTrends. I sent him my interview questions in advance, so he had a bit of time to ponder his answers. But just so you know…Jascha is a <span style="font-style:italic;">very</span> fast talker. I did my best to type as quickly my fingers would allow, but alas, some responses include paraphrasing. Here’s what we discussed:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: What will be your #1 priority upon moving into your new role at WebTrends?<br /><br />JKW:</span> The way I’d frame it is that I’m providing the definitive voice for our customers throughout all our communications, internal and external. Listen: I’m going to spend time with our customers; engage in dialogue, share ideas. In my first three weeks I’ve already been fortunate enough to have met with some of our partners like New York Times, McGraw-Hill and Reuters and I will continue to do so. My goal is to get to know the industry experts such as you and begin a consultative dialogue. I’m going to share my vision with our partners and you – AND – I’m looking for feedback. Most important to me is that I’m going to make changes because of the feedback where it’s appropriate. I want our relationships to drive value both ways. <br /><br />I’ll do this by focusing on a Solution Viewpoint: We have an awesome collection of industry experts (business analyst, consultants, marketers, executives, sales people, partners and developers). As a company focusing on marketing optimization we will explicitly solve for the business problems of our customers with the right mix of our services, our partner services, our products and our partners products. For too long, web analytics vendors have focused on products and features instead of solutions.<br /><br />I also plan to focus on our Customer conference: I’m shaping an event that will create meaningful experiences. Real, tangible value. I’ve been an attendee of customer conferences and usually left feeling unsatisfied with the substance of the content. Being spoken to just didn’t resonate with me as an individual or as a marketer. I’m driving a change in the style and delivery of the event to better meet the needs of customers and industry experts such as you. How? I believe that form meets function and that means driving a many-to-many discussion instead of the typical one-to-many oration. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: Can you provide some insight into your professional background at Microsoft and involvement with Web analytics, but more importantly how will you leverage this experience at WebTrends?<br /><br />JKW:</span> I was one of the first customers of WebTrends at Microsoft. My history with WebTrends in particular dates back around three years ago when I helped create what has now become Microsoft Store, Microsoft PinPoint, Windows Marketplace and digital locker. As we received funding to execute on the concept of marketplace & digital locker, I was challenged with the task of building and running the marketing team. In the context of this team, marketing encompassed: MarCom, Demand Gen, Merchandising, User Experience, Business Development, and Analytics. I chose WebTrends after a head-to-head RFP with the other major players. Once I was up and running as a business began to fully appreciate the power of the services and products. I understand the challenges and opportunities that web analytics customers face as I've been one for most of my career I intend to take my experience, the learning’s in particular, and reinforce them through our messaging. For example:<br /><br />I plan to support this vision using the three pillars:<br /><ul>1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Open access to data drives product innovation:</span> Fundamentally, data about the web channel is only so interesting, it can and should be connected to the enterprise BI strategy and infrastructure. That is a core value proposition for WebTrends but it also can spurn innovation. In marketplace we utilized the WebTrends tags and data collection services to create collaborative filtering software…this type of innovation is happening everywhere. When I was consulting I explored attaching WebTrends visitor data to offline pricing optimization engines in financial services companies.<br /> <br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Information empowers all parts of the business:</span> My team used our analytics information to drive prioritization of development efforts across geographies. Our test teams and development teams in India and California would prioritize features and testing scenarios using the dashboards my team created. <br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Partnership and thought leadership are an Absolute necessity:</span> In retrospect I believe my team at MSFT were fairly sophisticated in the usage of analytics data to drive the business. We setup the organization structure, operational practices, and goals to reinforce the team’s use of data. That all said, we were able to get what we needed and sometimes what we didn’t know we needed because of support from the WebTrends Services team. I believe that a significant component to WebTrends future successes will be because our technology, coupled with a meaningful collaboration between our services team and our customers will drive real customer successes. </ul><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: Can you share any great success stories or breakthroughs you’ve had with Web Analytics and related marketing tools that influenced you to move from user to the vendor side?<br /><br />JKW:</span> Analytics has always played a significant role in my professional career. This opportunity for me personally is really exciting. Very specifically, I’m working for WebTrends because I believe in the passion they have for their customers. That starts from the top down with Alex Yoder as the company leader and extends to everyone here at this company. <br /><br />I think that web analytics is entering an exciting time. In fact, the core benefit Web data will produce in the future probably shouldn’t even be called “Web analytics.” It’s not just about the “Web”. My view is that the introduction of the Web channel’s data will provide the most current and accurate view of customer behavior that any enterprise has ever known. The next step of maturity will be moving from a channel-centric, historical view of performance, to organization-wide use of customer-centric insights. At the end of the day, all this integration is about better predictive capabilities as well as continuous improvement against business problems. It’s a bit of a practical application of Ian Ayer’s Supercruncers. <br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: WebTrends has a large customer base, many of whom are on legacy versions of the product. How will you encourage existing customers to upgrade and continue using WebTrends solutions?<br /><br />JKW: </span>I really like this question. It gets at the heart of what we have to do to continue being successful. The large majority of our enterprise customers are on WebTrends On Demand; they are all on the current version. Software customers are thus the ones that can sometimes fall behind on their versioning. Regardless if they are on software or on-demand some of the things we are, and will be doing, to drive value include:<br /><ul><li>Introducing new service and support programs designed to help customers recognize more value from the solution and our products.<br /><br /><li>Creating and refining education programs to inform customers of new functionality and related service programs.<br /><br /><li>Making the upgrade process itself easier with things like deployment cookbooks and easier installs. I can tell you that easy deployment is something near and dear to my heart. At Microsoft, my team worked with so many partners and had to deal with numerous installations. So I recognize that it is a necessity that partners can empathize with pains that users feel.</ul><br />At the end of the day, we believe it’s our responsibility to reach out to our customers and ensure they are not only getting the most out of our products but help them create solutions to solve their business problems. <br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: How do you envision supporting the “data independence” vision at WebTrends?<br /><br />JKW:</span> My vision is to drive our marketing initiatives to support three key contributors to success in this space: <br /><ul>1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Invest heavily in our ecosystem:</span> Data independence allows for and promotes innovation in the industry. <br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Publishing and promoting our standards:</span> You will see focused attention around the extension of TagBuilder, Our data collection components, and our Warehouse.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Foster community engagement:</span> Including driving 1:1 and many:many discussions with our customers and industry influentials such as you. I expect to make strides in this community engagement through tapping into social media and reshaping customer events to reinforce the importance of community engagement.</ul><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: Web analytics is one of several products offered by WebTrends including: Marketing Warehouse, Visitor Intelligence, Score and Ad Director. Given this product mix, which direction do you see WebTrends heading in the next 12 months?<br /><br />JKW:</span> At its highest level, the product mix we have today is about addressing the broader marketing optimization needs of our customers. We want to help customers get their message out and determine if the right behaviors are tied to business. It’s about leading with solutions and prioritizing services and products that support these solutions. Ad Director can be a part of a solution to help customers by creating a funnel that will bring customers to them and analytics will help them understand and influence changes in behavior. But this means exposing data out to others systems. We will continue to invest in marketing warehouse and rich insights about customer data and push forward on products that support data enrichment. That said, analytics remains a core product and we will continue to improve that as well.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: Considering the Web analytics market at large, how do you think the analytics industry will weather though challenging economic times ahead? <br /><br />JKW:</span> I tend to believe that in business and in our personal lives, we return to our comfort areas when things get tough. When I fall back, it is to being a data monger. I want to understand the successes and failures of my marketing efforts and web analytics gives me that opportunity. I think you said it well in your blog, and I’ll paraphrase: “The accountability that WA brings to marketing is irrefutable”. I think it’s prudent to prepare for challenging times ahead but I also believe that players in our space whom add real measurable customer value will continue to be healthy.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: WebTrends has been relatively quiet over the past year, what is the one thing you’d like to communicate to analytics practitioners, consultants, competitors and onlookers about WebTrends?<br /><br />JKW: </span>So, if you’re going to make me stick to one statement, it’s this: WebTrends is first and foremost a marketing optimization firm. But, that in and of itself isn’t the end. We empathize with the business problems of our customers. Our management has a deep understanding of the issues our customers face and the experience and flexibility to solve real business problems. This will help us make our customers and partners successful. We will do everything in our power to make customers successful in their marketing optimization initiatives. <br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JL: Thanks Jascha for taking the time to speak with me today and best of luck in your new role. <br /><br />JKW:</span> My pleasure. Thank you.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-67449155186820805252008-12-01T15:37:00.002-05:002008-12-01T15:52:18.259-05:00Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Importance of BenchmarksThe 2008 retail frenzy is upon us and site operators are busy maintaining online shopping carts while executives are anxiously watching their bottom lines. An early report issued by <a href="http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2604">ComScore</a> this morning indicates that Black Friday 2008 drew in $534 million in online spending. This is a meager 1% bump from last year’s sales. While these numbers are low, it could be worse since myriad factors – including the dismal economy – are looming down on would-be shoppers. But don’t ink those calculations just yet. Today, dubbed “Cyber Monday” by the National Retail Federation is historically a more accurate predictor for online spending. The JupiterResearch <a href="http://www.jup.com/bin/item.pl/research:concept/107/id=100667/">US Online Holiday Retail Forecast</a> pins 2008 online retail growth at 12% despite the woeful economic challenges. Still, this is the smallest increase in online shopping since the inception of the Internet, which is poised to blow away off-line holiday sales, forecast at only 2% growth. As an impartial outsider, these figures lead me to ponder the importance of benchmarking within retail and Web site operations at large. <br /><br />As Americans, we love to compare. Benchmarks within the online world offer us the opportunity to gauge success against industry norms, fierce competitors, and even ourselves. Companies like Gomez, Inc benchmark Web site performance and availability to inform us how well sites stand up against traffic spikes and heavy loads. In typical fashion, <a href="http://www.gomez.com/news_events/releaseview.php?prid=126">this year proved</a> that even the largest brands are susceptible to performance degradation. Today beginning at 10am ET the Victoria Secret shopping cart was producing errors and Williams-Sonoma experienced slowdowns at their shopping cart page – a critical transaction juncture. Over the weekend, Overstock experienced an uncharacteristic slowdown from 5 to 6 second average to over 17 seconds for synthetic transactions. Sears.com suffered the biggest outage, with nearly 40% of transaction attempts squashed on Black Friday. While these numbers are interesting, they are possible through benchmarking. By evaluating performance and availability during non-critical times, the numbers during the holiday crunch can be evaluated in light of what’s normal. <br /><br />Coremetrics applies this rigor to Web analytics benchmarking. Traditionally Web analytics is an introspective endeavor, with metrics used to compare internal hourly/daily/monthly/seasonally/yearly performance against one’s own measures. Enter the <a href="http://www.coremetrics.com/solutions/industry-report.php">Coremetrics Benchmark Industry Reports</a> that now provide historic comparisons of retail performance across a number of key Web metrics. Data parsed out for the <a href="http://www.coremetrics.com/solutions/industry-report-black-friday-08.php">Black Friday surge</a> indicated that 2008 online shoppers; spent less time on sites, converted fewer new visitors and decreased in average order values, when compared to data from Black Friday 2007. A few verticals within retail including department stores and gifts showed promise, but not enough to buoy the entire retail category. While the data may be bleak, the benchmark provides a granular look at metrics that matter for retailers. These data, when evaluated internally, should be used to help site owners determine where to prioritize action on their own sites. An external comparison should be used to illustrate how individual numbers compare against the whole. This tactic may save few merchandisers from the fire, but at least provides context to metrics that matter. <br /><br />Benchmarking is fairly unique among Web analytics vendors and currently offered by only Coremetrics and Google Analytics. Do you use Web analytics benchmarks? If so, I'd love to hear your use cases and how benchmarks provide valuable insight to your organizations.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-20049855237135787162008-11-18T09:58:00.005-05:002008-11-18T13:25:11.425-05:00Web Analytics Afloat, Despite the Falling Economic TideRead the papers, check the blogosphere or talk to your peers; the economy is great fodder for discussion these days. There’s a great thread at <a href="http://blog.webanalyticsdemystified.com/weblog/2008/11/web-analytics-is-recession-proof.html">Web Analytics Demystified</a> that rebukes the notion that Web Analytics technology is recession proof. Most commenter’s agree and there is compelling evidence to indicate that times are getting tougher all around, but I’ll share a few anecdotes about why I believe that Eric is wrong and that Web analytics (and Web technologies in general) are more insulated than he leads us to believe. <br /><br />For starters, I’ve been viewing the current economic crisis through a comparative lens of what happened when the bubble burst in 2001. One fundamental difference is that in ’01 we entered a technology recession that stunted the growth of a nascent channel that was still in the throws of proving its worth. So many investments were sunk into the digital channel that was predominantly managed by twenty-somethings (spinning in their Aeron Chairs), that a crash - or at least a grounding - in reality was imminent. In 2008 we have entered into an entire economic recession that affects technology as well as all other industries around us. Forrester President and CEO, George Colony <a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/colony/2008/10/my-take-on-the.html">comments here</a> as well as makes a few <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/forrester-chief-on-what-not-to-cut-in-a-downturn/">didactic points</a> highlighting the pervasiveness of technology, the burgeoning use of cellular devices and finally <a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/colony/2008/02/social-sigma.html">“Social Sigma”</a>.<br /><br />While I won’t argue with layoffs and increased scrutiny for all technology spending, I do believe that the accountability that Web analytics brings to Marketing is irrefutable. This holds true no matter how well ingrained analytics is within an organization. My clients that currently use analytics are stating that they’re getting more responsibilities and attention from the upper ranks of their organizations. While new dollars may not be flowing into these analytics teams, they are relatively in tact and viewed as important sources of information regarding performance of online initiatives. Further, funds that were earmarked for analytics projects, such as upgrading from HBX to SiteCatalyst and acquiring DataWarehouse are still moving forward for the companies that I talk to. This may have something to do with <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/omniture-reports-third-quarter-2008/story.aspx?guid={5C6ADD2E-EA31-4A5C-A750-3CC1D3D639DA}&dist=hppr">Omniture’s successful third quarter</a> and <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/104410-saas-successfactors-citrix-omniture-and-rightnow">optimistic outlook</a> for the future. For companies that aren’t yet sold on Web analytics, it’s my hunch that as things get tougher in the economy, the free tools on the marketplace will become attractive. Increased use in capable tools such as Yahoo! Web Analytics and Google Analytics will help many organizations weather the economic storm and may even provide additional business for analytics consultants. <br /><br />So, here are a few thoughts on why Web analytics is insulated from economic cutbacks and supporting quotes from clients. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Accountability is paramount.</span> Undoubtedly the economy will affect all businesses and the tide of irrational spending on unproven technologies, experimental marketing initiatives and exuberance surrounding non-revenue generating endeavors will lower all boats for some time. However, IT departments, Marketers and Web analysts will be asked to do more with less. To accomplish this feat, reliance on technology will become more prominent. Thus, as we move to a “prove it” mentality, the metrics derived from Web analytics (and testing technologies) will serve as bullets to strengthen arguments and prove why spending/campaigns/initiatives were successful. I do expect that overhead will be trimmed and new hiring is unlikely to occur, but organizations that have Analytics practitioners and investments in Web analytics technologies will increasingly look to these resources for answers. <br /><blockquote>“<span style="font-style:italic;">Two weeks ago 10 percent of my company was let go. But the analytics team is still in tact and we’ll be getting more responsibility.</span>” Web Analytics Manager<br /></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">We’re short on [Web analytics] staff and our open requisition was just frozen, so it’s a team of two. We are however moving ahead with a product upgrade and key initiatives such as mobile measurement.</span>” VP Online Marketing</blockquote><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">eBusiness is becoming all Business.</span> Again going back to 2001, for many organizations, the Web was a garage venture that didn’t merit a seat at the big table. “Those Web Guys” were creating content for a few early adopters that were bold enough to shop online and brazen enough to use the Internet as their main source of information. Fast forward to today and the Web is an undisputable tool for every organization doing business. It is the face of the brand to customers and the first impression companies make on the majority of their visitors. The Web is no longer a choice for businesses; instead it is an imperative. Lack of a Web presence is an instant loss of credibility. And for many brands the conversation taking place off-site is equally important (and potentially more effective) than the one that they’re orchestrating. Measurement technologies provide a method to identify where the conversation takes place and to use that knowledge to impact change. Stalwart brands like the New York Times are using the Web as a bellwether for <a href="http://semphonic.blogs.com/semangel/2008/10/emetrics-redux-a-few-thoughts-from-the-conference.html">offline decisions</a> and impacting both top and bottom line revenue as a result. <br /><blockquote>“<span style="font-style:italic;">Our CEO just said in a board meeting that eCommerce is helping drive the turnaround in the overall business…</span>” Vice president, eCommerce, large multichannel retailer <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,47546,00.html">(Forrester Report)</a></blockquote><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Failure on the Web is not an option.</span> It’s not. Failure at this point in time would be catastrophic. However you look at the economic situation, consumers will be seeking more information given tough times and the Web is the primary vehicle for this effort. Failure to have an informative, engaging Web site is grounds for dismissal. Consumers, prospectors and site visitors alike will flee to other Web sites and yours will be left in the dust. The Web is the lowest and most cost effective channel available and businesses should be fortifying their efforts in this area. My evidence shows that while companies are slowing on wholesale Web site redesigns, there is increased activity in optimizing online efforts and eeking out incremental improvements to existing capabilities. In fact, companies that I talk to are actually fortifying their infrastructures to place their Web sites on more secure footing to brace for an economic slump. If companies take away Web analytics from this critical channel, they’re essentially taking away the control tower from the airport. It simply won’t happen. Regardless of whether companies embrace Web analytics, they know enough to realize that it’s a key tool for understanding what’s happening with their brands, their customers and their technology investments. <br /><blockquote>“<span style="font-style:italic;">Companies are spending money to save money</span>” VP EMEA</blockquote><br />I do agree with planning for tough economic times by focusing on profits, producing insightful information, and evaluating your personal situation. However, it’s my opinion that Web analytics will weather the economic storm more favorably than many other discretionary tools. Wait – with 88 percent of companies over $50M in annual revenue using analytics – I’d venture to say that Web analytics is beyond discretionary and has reached necessary status. I also believe that Web analytics will grow in 2009, most aggressively in the areas of testing and targeting (where we’ve got a lot of room to grow). Yet, I’ll admit that my information and insight is derived from a small sample of customers and organizations. To that end, we are currently fielding executive surveys that ask these questions of Web site decision makers, so that we have the data collected outside the echo chamber which supports the claims I’m making here. Stay tuned for hard numbers and I’ll keep writing. I’m certain that this topic has some longevity to it. But by all means let me know what you think.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-48600724371785304862008-10-26T10:07:00.001-04:002008-10-26T10:09:21.437-04:00eMetrics was BuzzingI’m jetting home from the 2008 <a href="http://www.emetrics.org/2008/washingtondc/">eMetrics Marketing Optimization Conference</a> held in DC and can’t help but feel jazzed about the enthusiasm, energy and optimism on display over the past week. Jim Sterne, the emcee of the event, kicked things off by sharing a bit of where we’ve been and where it’s possible to go with analytics, optimization and all things digital. He successfully infused some highly contagious energy into the conference, which set the tenor for things to come. <br /><br />We heard from Eric Peterson about Tom Davenport’s successes with Competing on Analytics, or as Eric interjected, competing on <u>W</u>eb analytics. Analytics with a capital “A” (old school analytics as in BI and other disciplines) has demonstrated that businesses using data are indeed highly effective. Those that interject capital “W” for <u>W</u>eb analytics into their organizations are truly competing for success by embracing the digital revolution. Real world examples were delivered in the Keynotes from James Robinson of the New York Times, whose director of marketing insisted that Web analytics become ingrained within the DNA of their organization. James shared some great examples of how the Web data resolved some of their traditional print challenges by anticipating precisely how many papers to print on any given news day. From their online traffic metrics, they could discern demand and thereby print enough papers to satisfy demand, while minimizing waste and not overprinting. Joe Megibow from Hotels.com delivered one of the most entertaining presentations and truly demonstrated their ability to compete with <u>W</u>eb analytics. Their VOC technology is tightly integrated with analytics enabling them to identify problems and resolve issues with their online interface. He also shed light on the benefits of loyalty and described Hotels.com’s success with rewards and what it takes to really get consumers engaged. <br /><br />Vendors at eMetrics also delivered some compelling and newsworthy presentations. Matt Langie from Omniture encouraged the audience to “let your cell phones ring” and emphasized the impact that mobile will have on the marketplace. Their image tags are capturing mobile data as quickly as it accrues and providing insight to organizations delivering on the rapidly burgeoning devices. Alex Yoder, WebTrends newly appointed CEO shared his vision of an “open” analytics solution that provides the ability to share data across the enterprise and leverage business intelligence tools for greater insight. Yet, the most notable announcement was delivered by Avinash, Google Analytics bonafide evangelist. In true Avinash style, he enthusiastically informed the room of Google’s newest upgrade. I quipped a full write up of the GA upgrade in my post <a href="http://www.analyticsevolution.com/2008/10/google-analytics-and-chocolate-factory.html">Google Analytics and the Chocolate Factory</a>. <br /><br />Amid all the presentations and announcements, I found the true vibe of this event resonating in the hallways, lunch tables and of course, the infamous eMetrics lobby bar. Nearly everyone I spoke with shared stories of optimism and enthusiasm for Web analytics and the possibilities therein. In my presentation, I asked the audience if anyone else was having a good time and the answer was a resounding yes. I’m encouraged by the momentum surrounding Web analytics and adjacent technologies and believe that we’re genuinely on the precipice of greatness. Certainly the big thinkers, practitioners and attendees of eMetrics agreed. I applaud Jim Sterne and his capable team for delivering on yet another educational and inspirational eMetrics conference.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-50713129842727023462008-10-23T23:43:00.002-04:002008-10-24T00:03:49.382-04:00Google Analytics and the Chocolate FactoryA friend of mine commented that he envisioned the GooglePlex resembling Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, with gum drop trees and candy coated sidewalks. I was there a few weeks ago to preview yesterday’s announcement of the Google Analytics upgrade and my friend wasn’t too far off. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHJXbtxXAkKPANbBQZo_D3X9d6vtplcCGkSxGcpN8dwp0IHA-I73Vs3SBSdUnpdsdSAu3hL2WxxSrDxSfMnJaVfREWTGSa4pnsE06mR4pItDRSIlrWKIGxlpo-J1bvtZnth_TUZ-kWveT/s1600-h/Charlie_wonka_wilder.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHJXbtxXAkKPANbBQZo_D3X9d6vtplcCGkSxGcpN8dwp0IHA-I73Vs3SBSdUnpdsdSAu3hL2WxxSrDxSfMnJaVfREWTGSa4pnsE06mR4pItDRSIlrWKIGxlpo-J1bvtZnth_TUZ-kWveT/s400/Charlie_wonka_wilder.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260562386306221090" /></a>The full sized dinosaur, beach volleyball game, groovy red couches and delicious food as far as the eye can see looked pretty cool to me. And, the new GA tool may just have the staying power of an everlasting gobstopper.<br /><br />Jeff Gillis provides the <a href="http://analytics.blogspot.com/2008/10/more-enterprise-class-features-added-to.html">official blog post</a> about the upgrade and Justin Cutroni of EpikOne added his <a href="http://www.epikone.com/blog/2008/10/22/google-analytics-version-30/">live from the eMetrics hotel room</a> video of the impressive new features. Yet, <a href="http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/2008/10/google-analytics-releases-advanced-segmentation.html">Avinash’s delivery</a> of the upgrades was truly enthusiastic. <br /><br />Here’s my take on the upgrade:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">New Interface</span> – a new and fresh look is always a good thing, but the tabbed browsing of reports is both contemporary and useful. They also added the ability to monitor multiple accounts within a combined dashboard that provides comparable metrics right up front. This view will be great for organizations managing multiple web sites or those that want to extract a snapshot of multi-site data to push out tailored reports to executives, directors or others within their organizations. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">AdSense Integration (private beta)</span> – revenue, impressions, click throughs and more. AdSense info will be accessible within the GA interface under a dedicated AdSense link in the nav structure. Publishers will be invited to try out the new method for digging data on a roll-out basis as they ramp up to scale and it eventually becomes available to the masses. This should present <a href="http://adsense.blogspot.com/2008/10/make-date-with-data-in-google-analytics.html">opportunities</a> for publishers to advertise more effectively. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Custom Reporting</span> – now here is where things start getting fun… The upgrade provides the ability to drag metrics such as visits, conversions and revenue and drop them into the custom report creator. Then users can select dimensions like keywords, content or campaigns to evaluate against the metrics. The tool is color coded such that blue represents metrics that form columns and green boxes are dimensions depicted in rows. Each custom report can be saved, shared or edited. Imagine creating multiple reports for stakeholders based on their needs and having them accessible as tabs across the custom reporting interface. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advanced Segmentation</span> – segmentation is the lifeblood of Web analytics and now Google just provided a transfusion. Choose from a list of predefined segments, with multi-select capability or drag and drop into your own advanced segments and slice and dice to your hearts content. Segments can be used to glean insight on real-time info or saved and applied to historic data as far back as necessary. Further, they can be created using “and” “or” statements to refine or expand data sets. All segments can be tested in preview mode to determine if the sample is acceptable, then saved for use against any data or in conjunction with other segments. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Data Visualization</span> – originally dubbed the Trendalyzer (by the Swedish statistical analysis tool <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/world-in-motion.html">GOOG picked up in ’07</a>), Motion Charts provide data visualization across 5 (count ‘em, five) dimensions. X axis, Y axis, color, size, and time. Time is probably the coolest dimension as you get to see where keywords, revenue, or other metrics perform over time. By linking to charts, saved reports can be played back repeatedly or saved and shared via URLs that can be applied to any GA account on their own data. For GAACs this is a powerful feature that can be used to generate reports that scale across multiple clients. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Open API (private beta)</span> – perhaps the pinnacle of free, the highly anticipated, much appreciated Google API now exists. While this feature is dependent on your imagination and that of thousands of global developers, the API makes Google Analytics truly extensible. Expect to see Google Analytics data in more permeations than you ever imagined. I foresee an infiltration of GA data into progressive organizations of all sizes; providing indispensable value for users that never have, and perhaps will never need to, log into the interface. <br /><br />If you’ve got an existing GA account, request the upgrade asap so you too can acquire a golden ticket and gain access to the chocolate factory.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-79502467235571676002008-10-14T16:58:00.003-04:002008-10-14T17:12:55.817-04:00Omniture Acquires Mercado for a SongAlmost exactly one month after Omniture released its re-branded Site Search solution (formerly Atomz) to the market, they announced last night the acquisition of long-time site search entity Mercado. This acquisition, following on the heels of the previous announcement tells me that this was a somewhat opportunistic move and based primarily on the deal price of Mercado. <br /><br />Frankly, it’s disappointing to me that Mercado only drew $6.5M for “certain assets” which apparently contain “additional technology and expertise” and “certain…intellectual property and business assets” depending on how you interpret the <a href="http://www.omniture.com/press/568">press release</a>. As a long time follower and fan of Mercado’s search technology, it’s too bad that the deal price was so low that it could have been a Friday afternoon tin-cup exercise across departments at Omniture. None the less, Omniture just added a best-in-class search solution to its Marketing Optimization platform, moving it that much closer to amassing its <span style="font-style:italic;">Coup de grace</span> for the <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,43678,00.html">Online Marketing Suite</a> category.<br /><br />Mercado has built up a substantial business catering to the eCommerce market since its launch over a decade ago with a competitive search solution. Customers currently utilize the solution in both hosted and licensed versions and marquee clients include Macy’s, Sears and REI. Last spring, Mercado underwent a rebranding exercise and debuted a new logo that symbolized the customer journey through the 3 lifecycle phases (acquire, convert and retain). Their goal was to promote dynamic commerce through search using rich attributes and social data. I have a ton of respect for the Marketing team at Mercado and truly believe that they were onto something with their vision of improving the online shopping experience. They felt that the traditional eCommerce paradigm created tunnel vision for consumers and that sites must find a way to deliver the peripheral vision obtained in the offline world into online commerce. <br /><br />Yet, yesterday’s acquisition brings several questions to mind, including:<br /><br /> • How many of Mercado’s (approximately 200) customers are also Omniture clients?<br /> • Will the addition of a site search solution really affect new prospective customers for Omniture?<br /> • Is this acquisition aimed squarely at retailers in an attempt to gain more market share within that vertical?<br /><br />Neither Omniture nor Mercado were immediately available for comment, so I suppose my questions will have to wait. What do you think of this news…?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-56079955629241610232008-10-09T16:58:00.007-04:002008-10-09T17:37:32.189-04:00Web Analytics Movers & Shakers: Yahoo!, CoremetricsA few flurries of activity within the Web analytics community surfaced this week including the launch of <a href="http://www.coremetrics.com/company/2008/pr08_10_07_coremetrics2009.php">Coremetrics 2009</a>, a hearty product upgrade, and <a href="http://visualrevenue.com/blog/2008/10/indextools-is-now-yahoo-web-analytics.html">Yahoo! Web Analytics</a>’ official coming out party. <br /><br />I’ll begin with the Coremetrics upgrades which are focused around the theme of “Know Your Visitors”. A longstanding tenet for Coremetrics, they believe that Web analytics clients are interested in people and the ability to identify and understand as many unique individuals as possible. This knowledge can be used to target offerings at both the individual and segment level creating a better experience from both an online and offline perspective. Coremetrics makes this possible through their LIVE (Lifetime Individual Visitor Experience) Profile database which essentially creates an analyst’s playground of customer insight. <br /> <br />The Coremetrics 2009 release (publicly available for clients as of 10/6), features: enhanced benchmarking, new charting capabilities and drill-down functionality (within their visualization platform), and mobile analytics. Coremetrics and Google Analytics are the only two offerings currently providing benchmarking capabilities, so if you’re looking for competitive intel, you know where to find it. Both tools provide key comparative data allowing you to understand metrics such as visits, bounce rates, page view and time on site in the context of your site against a competitive set. At this time, Coremetrics offers more benchmarking reports and ones that are specialized for verticals (e.g., retail, publishing). Coremetrics' new Relational Zoom tool allows clients of their Explore product to identify relationships within categories and apply them to segments for heavy duty analysis. And finally, the mobile analytics solution sheds some much desired insight into how visitors on the move are connecting and what they do via mobile devices vs. sedentary laptops and desktop machines. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAm-chM0ifnV2P8PiwzIyMAoDrTkW1OXqI4XEpoePZxsauobmkSN69AdmAw2JYfFGeUDjR9DmYOYx4PqB4UOEFGgRzVz6xUDLhvakChJPldqctXVSqKFq2pWNMIDc0dA5DCDdLojx9HrXV/s1600-h/Core_Explore.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAm-chM0ifnV2P8PiwzIyMAoDrTkW1OXqI4XEpoePZxsauobmkSN69AdmAw2JYfFGeUDjR9DmYOYx4PqB4UOEFGgRzVz6xUDLhvakChJPldqctXVSqKFq2pWNMIDc0dA5DCDdLojx9HrXV/s400/Core_Explore.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255262326138540210" /></a> <br /><br /><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><br /><br />Yahoo!’s news revealed that final integration steps are complete after just 5 months from the acquisition of IndexTools. Users of the updated tool will be able to access the interface through a single sign-on via standard Yahoo! accounts (existing IndexTools clients will use a backdoor login to the legacy interface). The official launch does not provide open access to Web analytics for the masses (<a href="http://blog.webanalyticsdemystified.com/weblog/2008/04/how-yahoo-buying-indextools-changes-web-analytics.html">which was originally speculated by some in-the-know</a>), but according to Dennis Mortensen, the new product genuinely isn’t designed to compete head to head with products already on the market. With so many underutilized analytics solutions out there today, Yahoo! is taking a strategic approach by allowing an initial wave of 15,000 Yahoo! Store owners access to the tool. For these lucky store owners (<span style="font-weight:bold;">and yes, there is already a waiting list as requests were rolling in every second of the day yesterday!</span>), this is a huge win providing key insight into their pages and carts to understand what’s happening with customer visits leading up to the holiday shopping season. These 15 thousand Yahoo! Store owners can now enable analytics with the flip of a switch that automatically tags pages at runtime. Nice! <br /><br />Further, the standard installation will deliver with preformatted reports (much like Coremetrics’ approach), designed to key in on important eCommerce variables, with the goal of providing instant insight. Advanced users will still be able to customize reports within the Yahoo! interface, create dashboards and tag to suit their more complex needs. Roll-outs will continue throughout Q4 and extend into next year ultimately providing access to tens of thousands of additional Yahoo! customers over time. Support will be offered through existing Yahoo!’s Store resources with additional backup coming from their partner network for professional services. <a href="http://visualrevenue.com/blog/2008/10/indextools-is-now-yahoo-web-analytics.html">Dennis wrote up an enthusiastic post</a> with tons of great screenshots, so check it out if you want to see more.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuG93MwxxKb_6g2o7MaHN0kWCWPdPuMYJMXfAHD-jKQOf68H9RRJDxyhIGUleTDos8xQQhRxeStny441aTkIE6DSp48x_oHWQ_4aGo94FyZj0jW3QY5sehqsMhp0M0zROy7_Bz6kvfwmh/s1600-h/Yahoo_WA_conversion-summary.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuG93MwxxKb_6g2o7MaHN0kWCWPdPuMYJMXfAHD-jKQOf68H9RRJDxyhIGUleTDos8xQQhRxeStny441aTkIE6DSp48x_oHWQ_4aGo94FyZj0jW3QY5sehqsMhp0M0zROy7_Bz6kvfwmh/s400/Yahoo_WA_conversion-summary.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255262481735308802" /></a><br /><br /><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><br /><br />In summary, October is shaping up to be a big month for Web analytics activity and we haven’t even hit <a href="http://www.emetrics.org/2008/washingtondc/">eMetrics</a> yet. I anticipate more big news from vendors at this event, so if you’re on the fence about heading to DC for the industry’s marquee event, then get over it! I’ll be there, so please track me down if you want to talk analytics, testing, targeting or anything else for that matter. <br /><br />Cheers,<br />John<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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<!-- AddThis Feed Button END --></div>John Lovetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954262939608647312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8433456607242913787.post-67711933163332940802008-10-01T01:43:00.018-04:002008-10-02T02:01:32.524-04:00Escaping Web Analytics HellAt the <a href="http://www.shop.org/home">Shop.org</a> annual summit in Vegas, I presented <span style="font-style:italic;">Escaping Web Analytics Hell: A Strategy for Attaining Paradise by Avoiding Eternal Damnation</span>. Based on a strong response from the crowd and numerous follow-up questions, I decided to share some of my insights from this presentation here on my blog. I originally delivered a version of “Web Analytics Hell” at <a href="http://www.emetrics.org/2008/sanfrancisco/">eMetrics</a> in San Francisco, but modified the Shop.org one to include commentary from Brain Elliott from Albris and John Lazarchic from Petco. I’m told that the full replay of the presentation will be available for download on the Shop.org site soon. <br /><br />The concept draws on my literary background, which I exercised by extending an analogy for Web analytics that parallels Dante’s Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy is a trilogy written in the 14th century describing the horror and punishment delivered in hell (Inferno), enduring penance in Purgatory (Purgatorio), and the ascension into Paradise (Paradiso) for the truly virtuous. Playing the part of Virgil (Dante’s guide through the underworld and purgatory), I began by describing for my audience how the depths of Inferno align with common challenges for Web analytics practitioners and their organizations. Consequently, climbing from the depths of Hell requires strong Web analytics practices and only truly evolved analytics tactics will lead you to Paradiso. The following is what I relayed to the audience:<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Dante’s Nine Stages of Inferno and the Corresponding Analytics Resolve</span><br /><br />Stage 1) Limbo: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ymTuJBCym8M8vPY3-Ze3OZkI0yPpzJRp87Yv3FeSC26A2evNmRTKXtRYYAjDT_SFfyNr5lDOeDMuWdY2SC5LqZkLfRNHrgRMxO0J7ph97LPdnpwFAz54e2p7OBW2yAX5aKwdzwJ4TdZ6/s1600-h/limbo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ymTuJBCym8M8vPY3-Ze3OZkI0yPpzJRp87Yv3FeSC26A2evNmRTKXtRYYAjDT_SFfyNr5lDOeDMuWdY2SC5LqZkLfRNHrgRMxO0J7ph97LPdnpwFAz54e2p7OBW2yAX5aKwdzwJ4TdZ6/s320/limbo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252058212639254434" /></a><br />Web analytics limbo exists when sites have unclear goals, poorly defined measurement practices or no analytics evangelist/champion within the organization. Nothing truly gets accomplished and Web analytics data often suffers from neglect. <br /><br />Sites that escape Limbo are those that establish process within their organizations as it relates to Web analytics. This involves several components including: <br />• Strategic resources to define business objectives and establish data collection needs<br />• Analytical team to train end users, build reports – dashboards and KPI’s – and most importantly, automate reporting <br />• Tactical support to react to analytics reports, implement changes and build a process of continuous improvement through measuring the effects of change <br /><br />Stage 2) Lust: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqbXd8NpdAEANlz6PjlOKP9MHYyL6PyeczTsKPFgBtrTRMGl9w38hDb8LDS56bRgm04YlJTLafEzjMHco6DtAnKet4xJgKB8QenMUVcmeZrGRHtX2-A5NP9tGwieewb4S13EpPts10gdy/s1600-h/lust.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqbXd8NpdAEANlz6PjlOKP9MHYyL6PyeczTsKPFgBtrTRMGl9w38hDb8LDS56bRgm04YlJTLafEzjMHco6DtAnKet4xJgKB8QenMUVcmeZrGRHtX2-A5NP9tGwieewb4S13EpPts10gdy/s320/lust.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252072600778746978" /></a><br />Web analytics lust occurs when practitioners begin to question whether an alternative tool would perform better for their organization. If only we had [insert Web analytics vendor name here] we could achieve so much more. This fallacy perpetuates when Web analytics is viewed as the resolution to a problem rather than a diagnostic tool. Analytics tools are a starting point and not a means to an end. <br /><br />Sites that overcome Lust cultivate expertise internally and seek resources to improve their analytical capabilities. Often times, these resources come from external sources in the form of vendors, authorized consultants or marketing strategists. While in-house expertise may be difficult to acquire, the analytics consulting industry is burgeoning and contains plentiful help in technical and strategic support. Yet, the overarching objective must be to nurture in-house talent to attain a sustainable program of analytics. <br /><br />Stage 3) Gluttony: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wLrN1eMYRae9x1l0mmVn0qp5subYFaU9tHIs1i5rmX80eEvhfAKg1ebZVebD9sqLEDNUOfOltAQCUxToVvSLaIWWrP4fFwAxtOO-KT_mGde_q2CIh1BBBphHfcKOv7uQyKoSOIzdbmWy/s1600-h/gluttony.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wLrN1eMYRae9x1l0mmVn0qp5subYFaU9tHIs1i5rmX80eEvhfAKg1ebZVebD9sqLEDNUOfOltAQCUxToVvSLaIWWrP4fFwAxtOO-KT_mGde_q2CIh1BBBphHfcKOv7uQyKoSOIzdbmWy/s320/gluttony.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252075759045466914" /></a><br />Online marketers currently exist in a rampant state of Data Gluttony. This is exemplified by the fact that 39 percent of site operators measure multiple aspects of online visitor behavior, but do not use this data in any way. Data gluttony is a travesty of resources enabled by readily available analytics solutions and a dearth of actionable insight. Organizations must resist the urge to consume all data without cause or purpose. <br /><br />Defeating Gluttony requires managing data intake and aligning business objectives with measurement goals. Sound logical? Ironically, many sites simply collect data without acknowledgement of how that information will be used or leveraged to improve business initiatives. Not that each measure must have immediate impact, rather sites should understand their data needs and how they might effectively collect and analyze data so that it contributes to overarching goals. <br /><br />Stage 4) Avarice: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtPUe7BKJ7u9j0yo8Iu0tUcr6ogCqC6QpdrlzOaGri6f251K4GiCvPp4BHLaoNUmlsXourzXN_DkR2AlzV9PTI0oIAOuTKz62AmWC1-LU8GyKRIduNuzA3Jx2L3ybbCD9s-W9QeVcDwVV/s1600-h/greed.PNG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtPUe7BKJ7u9j0yo8Iu0tUcr6ogCqC6QpdrlzOaGri6f251K4GiCvPp4BHLaoNUmlsXourzXN_DkR2AlzV9PTI0oIAOuTKz62AmWC1-LU8GyKRIduNuzA3Jx2L3ybbCD9s-W9QeVcDwVV/s320/greed.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252059001815608258" /></a><br />Also known as Greed, Avarice (in analytics terms), is the failure to disseminate information for fear of misinterpretation or misrepresentation of the data. Often times analytics data is not shared across organizations and insight and intelligence remain siloed in disparate parts of the organization. The inability or unwillingness to disseminate data profoundly limits a holistic view of behavior and performance. The antithesis of Avarice is distributing too much data, such that reports are meaningless and recipients fail to identify or take note of important information.<br /><br />Site operators that quell Avarice learn to delegate data responsibilities throughout their organizations. This includes distribution of information in an efficient and responsible manner (i.e., multiple report formats distributed to different stakeholders). Further, reporting that is inclusive of analysis is exponentially more valuable than raw metrics. The opportunity to include analyst insight within reports empowers those closest to the data to identify meaningful opportunities and forewarn dangers. Further, annotations within reporting minimize misinterpretation of data and align recipients. <br /><br /><br />Stage 5) Wrath: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuA3bJoDLqFklWEKM5PMVGZmJ52WuQuD6TguL8BZ01rsV3rh-TX1-OJCaDjj5Q69rkCWR6Ep83Hlz4JR2pivh38iPcV0oyYQw8Lbz8xE5BF3hWc1-vx4YJGdpi8FSBNvWFa0ohR3LJkrB/s1600-h/wrath.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuA3bJoDLqFklWEKM5PMVGZmJ52WuQuD6TguL8BZ01rsV3rh-TX1-OJCaDjj5Q69rkCWR6Ep83Hlz4JR2pivh38iPcV0oyYQw8Lbz8xE5BF3hWc1-vx4YJGdpi8FSBNvWFa0ohR3LJkrB/s320/wrath.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252074991761986450" /></a><br />When translated to analytics-speak, Wrath equates to an inability to take action from data. This can result from a lack of unified efforts, when goals or KPI’s go unchecked or when data is simply ignored or devalued within an organization. The wrathful are a dangerous bunch because despite their efforts no results evolve. Sites with wrathful analytics practitioners should heed this warning; fear the loss of your valuable analysts for they will soon flee for organizations that value their work. <br /><br />Empowered analytics practitioners are happy practitioners and empowerment is achieved within data driven organizations. Although using data to drive change is no easy task and one that requires commitment from the top echelons of an organization. A strong foundation for data comprehension and analysis therein lies. Only then can analytics data be used to drive rules-based processes, automate content delivery and dynamically effect change. Sites that overcome wrath are using data from multiple campaigns and opportunities to fuel optimization in other parts of their organizations. Learnings from the online channel, email or search efforts can be harnessed for new initiatives. <br /><br /><br />Stage 6) Heresy: <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUj5ZYldXeJAXWbaj4eaBXggEqyeCf2ngDE4IETDLzeeBSK_LwuArBuwZfq2mLKh5-GdyG-AaG5MRrlXwHCh5j6VabsG12eR-w1yXUGwouiCXopn1IckozLmYH-vz15UWPc3oVd04wQCPi/s1600-h/Hippo1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUj5ZYldXeJAXWbaj4eaBXggEqyeCf2ngDE4IETDLzeeBSK_LwuArBuwZfq2mLKh5-GdyG-AaG5MRrlXwHCh5j6VabsG12eR-w1yXUGwouiCXopn1IckozLmYH-vz15UWPc3oVd04wQCPi/s320/Hippo1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252059690754152962" /></a><br />Within web analytics heresy killed the <a href="http://www.analyticsevolution.com/2007/12/extinction-of-hippo.html">HiPPO</a> by challenging the status quo. Effective marketers are open to change and do not remain content once they think they know their customers. In reality customer behavior, attitudes and opinions shift rapidly and relying on static marketing tactics is a flawed strategy. Challenging preconceived notions of who target customers are, where they come from and how they behave on sites and within campaigns is infinitely traceable using Web analytics. Sites that don’t challenge conventional wisdom risk customer abandonment.<br /><br />Respectful Heresy can be accomplished through A/B and multivariate testing. Using technologies fueled by analytics data, site operators can effectively test ideas, concepts and designs using widely available testing technologies. These processes are a logical extension to Web analytics data collection and segue to more sophisticated analytical practices. While too few sites are currently utilizing testing, this is the next frontier for achieving incremental optimization with clearly demonstrable results. Sites that aren’t performing tests to identify optimization opportunities should question why they don’t have a program in place. <br /> <br /><br />Stage 7) Violence:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76kycW40bMVpiMntwm-ls7Eb6YdsQsK4P7j7OKqD6YwDHpjlrABUAwmzB-h9lcOxPepICtbQidTlWnHCyd-OWz8wcUslqwqRc8Wdmf_qvRZS8WHCwmBS8Ca2TPEfxai7KExpoZ2rvTpUo/s1600-h/Violence.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76kycW40bMVpiMntwm-ls7Eb6YdsQsK4P7j7OKqD6YwDHpjlrABUAwmzB-h9lcOxPepICtbQidTlWnHCyd-OWz8wcUslqwqRc8Wdmf_qvRZS8WHCwmBS8Ca2TPEfxai7KExpoZ2rvTpUo/s320/Violence.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252060081192621394" /></a><br />Analytics data should unite organizations rather than cause conflict between them. However, often times data resides in silos making it challenging to access or share data between business units. According to 27 percent of executives surveyed, one of their greatest challenges for their organizations is that data use and analysis is conducted independently within different business units. Disjointed analysis of this nature has the potential to influence flawed assumptions and misguided strategies, which could escalate to violent situations.<br /><br />The solution to mitigating violence caused by siloed analysis of analytics data is to democratize access to Web analytics tools and provide various levels of access to individuals within your organization. By enabling all interested parties access to data, information has a much greater opportunity to provide a foundation for the data driven organization. Yet, not all stakeholders will show interest or have the inclination to access primary tools via an interface and therefore data must be socialized throughout the organization in reports customized for individual stakeholders. <br /><br /><br />Stages 8 & 9) Fraud:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqNAao2u6c-sJoFIk6c2ZLusAp9e2UJYoQU3RODZPBoqZeyFypQmKG_UwDZihMPoWmFc1LcV2V4zM3390V59mN4GAZWGeo2qxbCS8-Xb0lRbd_tPBWNfv8HXDXKpAcDE7e5chle1o01Ew/s1600-h/Fraud.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJqNAao2u6c-sJoFIk6c2ZLusAp9e2UJYoQU3RODZPBoqZeyFypQmKG_UwDZihMPoWmFc1LcV2V4zM3390V59mN4GAZWGeo2qxbCS8-Xb0lRbd_tPBWNfv8HXDXKpAcDE7e5chle1o01Ew/s320/Fraud.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252076268179846274" /></a><br />The eighth and ninth stages of the Inferno represent the worst offenders in the category of Fraud. These carnal sinners include: Panderers, Seducers and Traitors. The corresponding offenses for analytics practitioners can be aligned to those introducing doubt regarding data accuracy concerns, those seduced by multiple tools resulting in double tagging of pages and finally, no single version of truth or loyalty to metrics which diminishes the ability to make data driven decisions.<br /><br />Fraud can be overcome by instilling a process for measurement and communication of information as it relates specifically to business goals. This requires a commitment from multiple levels within an organization and often times trickles down from the top in large companies. Yet, the reality is that over one quarter of executives reported that Web analytics are not ingrained within their corporate cultures and even more distressing is that these individuals feel that analytics is something that they could do without. A travesty!<br /><br />If you made it through my extended analogy either you’re a curious literature buff in a quandary over my stretched analogy, an analytics aficionado looking to glean a gem or idea, or simply a glutton for punishment. In any case, I’d love to hear your thoughts on ways to get into analytics hell, or better yet, methods to get out. <br /><br />Stay tuned for my next post…Attaining Web Analytics Paradise (Methods for Attaining Paradise by Avoiding Eternal Damnation).<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- AddThis Feed Button BEGIN -->
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