Simple . . . and Useless

I saw some recent data from a survey vendor that was a great example of the fact that while simplicity works for some things, it just doesn't work for understanding your site visitors.

The research implies that on retail and e-commerce sites, there is a relationship between success and the answer to a simple question about whether a visitor was able to complete a task.  Sounds simple, right?  Well, let's think about it.  What constitutes completing a task?

Is browsing online for the big screen TV and then leaving the site "completing a task"? Was putting something in a shopping cart and then abandoning the site "completing a task"?  Was purchasing a product online and having it shipped "completing a task"?  How about purchasing a product online and then going to the store to pick it up? The answer to all of these is yes...and no.  It depends. Different people will answer differently.  This is not an accurate, precise and reliable measurement.  This is not a predictive measure.  That would explain why they talk about task completion "tumbling" while sales rose sharply. The correlation between task completion and sales just isn't there.

Simple is good for some things...but not when we talk about understanding your site visitors.

Comments

[One of your bigger clients]

Larry,

I am one of your bigger clients. I\\\'ve used your solution for years now on my main website. I\\\'ve also started using 4Q recently on some other smaller sites in my portfolio.

I\\\'m very pissed off about the implications you\\\'re making here. You seem to be suggesting that I\\\'m somehow simple and unsophisticated in using a free tool to get great insights into my visitors. In fact, some of the stuff we\\\'ve pulled from the 4Q surveys has helped us lift sales on Cyber Monday.

Listen: this isn\\\'t about Foresee versus another research vendor. It\\\'s about giving companies more and more tools to get better in a time when the economy is literally crashing down around us. You should be advocating complimentary approaches, not putting down tools that can help.

I\\\'m hoping this comment gets through. Blogs are about transparency; you\\\'ve put a provocative opinion on the line, and I\\\'m hoping you\\\'ll let me get my two cents in.

In addition, I\\\'m sending this comment to the folks at iPerceptions and hoping they post it as well.

Thanks.

[Larry Freed]

I couldn't agree with you more about transparency of blogs. I only wish I knew who made the comment (comments on blogs should be transparent as well : ).

I wasn't commenting on the merit of 4q or any other free or near free survey/feedback solution -- and there are many. In my opinion (and that is what a blog represents) you get what you pay for.

My point, which I guess wasn't clear enough, is that the interpretation of the data, specifically if visitor's were able to complete a task, is flawed. It implied that completing a task was a proxy for success...and it is not a proxy for success. Our research and data has proven it time and time again. And I believe the examples in the blog post help explain the point.

-Larry Freed

[aion kinah online]

It depends. Different people will answer differently.

[aion kinah online]

I wasn't commenting on the merit of 4q or any other free or near free survey/feedback solution.