FREEDyourMind

Vote in the Web Analytics Association Election!

Our very own Eric Feinberg, Industry Director for Content, Media & Entertainment here at ForeSee Results, has the honor of being nominated for the 2010 Web Analytics AssociationBoard of Directors. If you are a WAA member, voting begins this Monday, March 29, 2010. He is included in a very prominent group of 16 industry leadersprofiled on the WAA website, and you can listen to his interview and read all about his credentials, plans, ideas, philosophy, and commitment.

The pre-election buzz makes me more convinced than ever that this particular election has profound implications for the future of web analytics.

• Getting beyond clickstream:

Many of the nominees, including Eric Feinberg, highlight the importance of broadening our understanding and usage of web analytics to go beyond clickstream. Eric Peterson and I have both talked about different versions of the web analytics ecosystem that includes attitudinal, behavioral, and observational data--we need all three to get a complete and actionable picture of our customers. The fact that so many of the nominees are talking about this idea makes me very excited about the future of the WAA.

• Social Media’s Influence:

How does our understanding of customer behavior and attitudes in the social sphere fit into the web analytics landscape as we understand it? How do we measure it? How does it influence purchases, loyalty, word of mouth, and other customer decisions and actions? These are the challenges that Eric is eager to address if elected. Through standardization we can develop common vocabulary and definitions for measuring and reporting web metrics.

• International Expansion:

The international web analytics community is hungrier than ever and international markets are more accessible than ever with the advent of social media. We can help web analytics standardize worldwide by electing a leadership that thinks big. 

Eric has been in web analytics since 1997 and brings unique experience because he's been a practitioner, and analyst and a vendor. One of the things I really appreciate about Eric and that I think makes him particularly well-suited to this job is that he has a real passion for this stuff. He prides himself on his familiarity with a variety of technologies, best-practices, trends, controversies, and methodologies, and understands that the true hallmark of a forward-thinking web analytics professional (vendor, practitioner, or analyst) is flexible thinking, thirst for learning, and belief that what we all do really can change the world.

We are certainly rooting for our Eric Feinberg to get elected and bring his leadership, experience, creativity, passion, and dynamic thinking to the WAA Board of Directors. We look forward to contributing as a WAA member on the future of Web Analytics.

Get out and vote…The WAA leadership we elect for the next 2 years will set us up for the next 5 or 10. Let’s pick wisely. 

Eric Peterson on the X Change Conference

I recently talked to Web Analytics Demystified's Eric Peterson about the upcoming X Change conference in San Francisco this September.

Larry: I wasn’t able to make it last year, though I will be going this year. Can you tell us a little bit about the X Change conference and its objectives?

Eric: Sure, and we definitely missed you last year Larry!  The X Change is something that John Lovett at Forrester called the "unconference" for the digital measurement set.  Instead of trapping participants in occasionally boring presentations and thinly-disguised vendor pitches (sorry!) our model is built entirely around 12 to 15 person "huddles" designed to promote participation.  These huddles are led by the best-and-brightest practitioners from within the measurement industry --- folks like Greg Dowling from Nokia, Lynn Lamphier from Best Buy, Dylan Lewis from Intuit, and James Robinson from the New York Times.  The huddles work because our leaders and participants actually do the work they're talking about every day.  No vendors or consultants lead huddles, nothing "meta" ... real people doing real work.

Larry: Tell me about last year’s conference. What were the highlights for you? (and lowlights, if you feel like sharing!)

Eric: Well, the biggest letdown was, of course, you not being there.  My highlight honestly was just being at the X Change and helping to make it happen.  This is a really special conference, and as you know, I get to ** a lot ** of conferences.  Our industry is still young, and the group that comes to the X Change is very much responsible for the sector's evolution ... either because they're the CEO of a company providing critical technology (like you), because they're a consultant in the middle of the process (like me), or because they're putting hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars worth of measurement technology to use to improve their business (like most of our participants.)

Larry: Are you planning anything differently this year?

Eric: Well, other than having a big "Thanks for coming, Larry" presentation on Day One ...  The biggest difference is our keynote this year, something we call "Four Founders Perspective" where I will be moderating a conversation with Brett Crosby (Google Analytics), Bob Page (Yahoo Web Analytics), John Pestana (Omniture/ObservePoint) and Matt Cutler (Visible Measures).  These guys are unique in that each founded a measurement company (Urchin, Accrue, Omniture, and NetGenesis, respectively) and are still actively working in the sector.  The keynote will focus on where we've come from, where we are today, and where these four guys think the sector is going.  Since I'm a big fan of all four guys, I'm pretty excited about the keynote.

Larry: Feel like dropping any other names of who is already planning to attend? Who’s your target audience for this conference?

Eric: Well, rumor is that Larry Freed and Kevin Ertell from ForeSee Results are coming ... plus senior staff from WebTrends, Coremetrics, Unica, Omniture, SAS, Teradata, and a handful of other great technology providers, a handful of well-known consultants from the U.S. and Europe, and brilliant practitioners from companies like Apple, Adobe, HBO, TBS, Comcast, Verizon, Nike, Sony, Cisco, BBC, Barclays, Schwab, Kohler, Intuit, Best Buy, Avaya, Macys, and more.  In terms of attendance we're actually pretty selective and limit the conference to 100 participants plus about 20 huddle leaders and staff and so we're confident about selling out again (for the third year in a row!)

Larry: Why should people come to this conference above all others?

Eric: One reason: because they have experiences in measurement that they want to share and because they want to hear right back about the experiences of their peers.  There are a ton of conferences where you can go and be "talked to" but none in my experience where the participant is fully part of the content, other than the X Change.  The beauty of the X Change is that "rock stars" emerge where we least expect them --- there are a ton of brilliant people in our field but until we actually get together that brilliance is tucked away.  The X Change is about getting those folks together, having them network, and seeing what comes of it.  The conference is the best possible investment for companies wanting to retain and nurture their brilliant talent, and I haven't even mentioned our "Think Tank" training day on September 9th which is an awesome way for emerging talent to get hands-on training from some of the brightest consultants in the industry.

Larry: How should people register?

Eric: Your readers can point their browsers to http://www.semphonic.com/XC/XChangeRegister.aspx and get started now.  For more information about the conference folks can either visit http://www.xchangeconference.com, email me directly (eric@webanalyticsdemystified.com) or Twitter me @erictpeterson.

Thanks Larry, and I'm glad you're finally coming to the big event!

Larry: Thanks, Eric, and look forward to seeing you then, if not before.

The Open Campaign

Have you checked out Webtrends' Open Campaign?

"This campaign is about Open Exchange - of information, ideas and numbers. We're going behind the scenes of an actual marketing campaign to show in real time how these elements come together to generate profound customer insight and digital marketing success."

The idea is that it'a a living, breathing, live case study of how to run an online marketing campaign. We're partnering with Webtrends to do online customer satisfaction and usability audits and have put up a lot of content about what we're doing for the campaign.

Here's a snapshot of how we see our role in the campaign.

Here's a bit about our methodology. 

This is a great idea, and hats off to Webtrends for thinking of it. We've been working with Elizabeth over there who has just been great, and who is really excited about the potential for our partnership and integration. We see amazing case studies with clients all the time, but often corporate communications prevents them from telling their story. This will be fun to watch because there are no holds barred--you will see what happens, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

So stay tuned and check in and watch as things develop. See how they're using email marketing, search marketing, ad buys, and other techniques to maximize the effectiveness of this campaign. It's going to be interesting to watch. Let us know if you have any specificf questions--this campaign is an open book.
 

Guess Who's Coming to Ann Arbor?

Last night we kicked off our 2009 ForeSee Results User Summit, eVolve. 

Why the name eVolve?  Well, to be successful we need to evolve our use of web analytics.  Many things around us are evolving, and at a faster rate then we have seen in the past.  The "internet economy" is evolving, from a rising tide that was lifting all "internet" boats to a fiercely competitive environment that has to fight and win to survive.

Consumers have evolved.  Thanks to the internet, there are more choices.  We are no longer restricted by location. 

The switching costs are lower.  We can  be in multiple places at the same time, by simply opening up another browser tab/window.  Our costs to switch are near zero thanks to the internet.

And now consumers have become more knowledgeable.  And with knowledge comes power.  The consumer is now in charge. 

And our web analytics solutions need to evolve.  We need to integrate our data, and become smarter.

To win we must compete and win.  Those that satisfy their customers/prospects will win.

It's Almost Time . . .

I am here at eMetrics in San Jose for what will for sure be another great emetrics conference put on by Jim Sterne and his team.  And while I always look forward to eMetrics, this time will be even better.

Tomorrow morning at eMetrics we will be announcing a new product from ForeSee Results that builds on our exisitng product and the American Customer Satisfaction Index technology. 

A lot of great effort by our team at ForeSee Results has gone into the product, and it will take the web metrics ecosystem to the next level!  Details tomorrow.

What is happening with my conversion rate?

This is the question I received recently at an emetrics conference.  The web analyst was getting questioned by his management why their conversion rate was dropping.  After all, his boss kept reading about the importance of conversion rate.  I hear this question a fair amount.  Recently I heard this from a senior exec at a multi-channel retailer.  Their online sales were soaring, so was their traffic.  And customer satisfaction was also increasing. But conversion rate was dropping.  They wondered why?  Well, let's take a closer look. 

As we looked at the data we found a couple of interesting things going on.  Their traffic was soaring for two reasons.  A good percentage of the growth was the result of a very effective SEM campaign reaching out to new customers.  New visitors were converting at a lower rate then the normal site traffic.  Not a surprise, we expect to see new visitors convert at a lower rate then returning visitors.

Another strong contributing factor of the growth was a significant increase in visitors doing research for purchases in the store.  This segment of the audience will also convert at a lower rate then traffic that is  looking to purchase online.

Now, the reality is that everything this retailer was experiencing was positive, yet it was driving conversion rate down.  Conversion rate can be an important metric, but only when used properly.  I find that most sites are using it incorrectly.  Conversion rate at an aggregate level is a great example of a misleading metric.

Be careful that the metrics you use measure success, not simply measure what you can count!

Perception is Better Then Reality

I had an interesting conversation at an industry event a short while ago that is worth sharing.  To protect the innocent, let's use the name Sam.  Sam was questioning the value of voice of customer analytics.  His premise was "why do I care what they say, I care what they do.  Satisfaction, attitude and perception are soft and fluffy.  Give me hard data that I can rely on, clicks, hits, page views, conversion rates and sales."

My answer -- perception is reality, better yet, perception is better then reality.

Well, what do you think?  Which is correct?

Let's dive a little deeper.  I can understand where Sam is coming from.  Real numbers are good.  I know when I am looking at our financials I want real numbers, not opinions and perceptions.  I know when I am looking at the shrinking stock market, I want real numbers, not excuses and opinions.  So why do I want perceptions, intent, attitudes and opinions when talking about something as important as the success of my website. 

There is more to the visitor then today.  There is tomorrow - what the visitor will do in the future - will they return, recommend my site to others, will they be loyal?  There has been a lot of work done in years past on the lifetime value of a customer.  That is an important concept. 

What the visitor will do in the future is directly dependent on their perception of the experience today.

The visitor may have bought today.  But will they buy tomorrow?  If they were satisfied they will. If they were not satisfied they won't buy from you in the future - they will go elsewhere.  The visitor's perception of the experience (their satisfaction) will determine what they do in the future.  Their perception of the experience is far more important then the actual and factual experience.

KPI's Are Old School: Let's Focus on KSI's

A lot of smart, good, well-respected people talk about key performance indicators (KPI's), including Eric Peterson's excellent Big Book of KPI's. So I don't want to knock KPI's. And for a long time, KPI's have often been an excellent measure, but of performance, not necessarily success.

Maybe this is an issue of semantics, but I don't think so. I want to make a case that KPI's should be supplemented with KSI's (key SUCCESS indicators).

When you're measuring performance, you're looking at what has already happened. Things like how long it takes a page to load, how many visitors, bounce rates, search results . . . all those things reflect what has already happened.

The problem is, we measure what we know how to measure: performance. Measuring success is a much harder thing to get your mind wrapped around. Sure, you can measure sales as an indicator of success, but even that reflects what has already happened. Conversion rate is another good example that tends more towards being an indicator of success than just performance, but again is backward looking. And for that matter, conversion rate can often be a very misleading metric.  If you've ever heard me speak, you've probably heard me ask: how can you steer a car in the right direction if you're always looking in the rear-view mirror?

The bottom line is that behavioral data is backward looking. Important data, yes. Valuable data, yes. Insightful data, yes. But it doesn't help you as much as it could. The other issue is that behavioral data doesn't really measure the success of the experience and therefore the long-term value to the organization.

Satisfaction data, when measured correctly, is forward looking. Academic studies show that certain satisfaction methodologies can actually predict the future. They can tell you what your customers are likely to do tomorrow.

Some examples of KSI's: satisfaction, purchase intent, likelihood to recommend, likelihood to use the website as a primary channel, etc. In other words, KSI's = future behaviors.

The Web Analytics Association

I could remind you to vote today, but I figure you're getting hounded from enough fronts as it is.

Instead, I'll just say that we're thrilled to be joining the Web Analytics Association. And if you aren't a member, you should join too!

More Good News For Website Analytics

More evidence from Jim Sterne's eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit that the down economy isn't negatively impacting members' online marketing budgets or interest and attention to web analytics.

65% of respondents said the state of the economy has no negative impact on their overall online marketing budgets. And while just over a third said it was negatively impacting budgets, only 15% plan to actually cut budgets.

More than 80% of respondents have seen increased interest in analytics from senior management within their companies. The report notes that this is usually a pain point for eMetrics attendees, and we certainly see it with out clients: getting management attention and buy-in is always a challenge.

But even more important that increased management attention: twice as many are increasing rather than decreasing their analytics budgets.

This is a powerful statement to the power of web analytics. As the report notes:

Web analytics helps us maximize the effectiveness of our shrinking marketing dollars by pointing out our strengths and weaknesses and providing an actionable roadmap to our most impactful ROI channels online. Tough times really do call for tough measures.

In a strong economy, anyone can succeed. When times are tight and competition is up, only the strong will survive.