I have an interesting perspective. The majority of my professional career has been spent in web development and online marketing. I had a short jog outside of this industry and during that time, Google Analytics became the dominant web analytics tool. Boy, what a difference a little time and a great tool can make. Google Analytics, in combination with their Certified Partners have redefined, reshaped and provided access to advanced analytics for any company that wants it…and oh yeah, Google Analytics is FREE!
Web Analytics- Start Somewhere, Go Everywhere
It’s easy to get overwhelmed. Web Analytics, CRM, Supply Chain Management, etc., etc., etc. After working with many companies on enterprise analytics implementations, we believe it takes a few key ingredients to compete on analytics.
Focus- choosing where you are going to direct resource intensive efforts. Depending on your available resources, you may focus on one or a handful of initiatives that serve an overarching strategy. Some clients focus on conversion optimization, some focus on shopping cart abandonment, either way, focus is the answer.
Culture- companies that have a respect for measuring, testing and optimizing understand that quantitative evidence is best way to manage and run a company. While this sounds logical, this philosophy sometimes creates tension between management and the entrepreneurial vision of the leadership.
People- employees hired for their expertise with numbers or trained to recognize their importance are armed with the best evidence and the best quantitative tools. As a result, they make the best decisions.
Technology- there are a few advanced web analytics tools available today. Our choice, and the choice of millions of other companies is Google Analytics. GA is an advanced tool that serves many small companies and mid sized enterprises and serves them well when leveraged.
If you haven’t used web analytics to compete, get started. Decide on a few KPI’s that are important to your business, benchmark them and then make a change and determine if you are moving the needle.
If you using web analytics today, dig deeper. Go take a harder look at those traffic segments. Slice that segment one more time. Experiment with Multi-Variate Testing. Prove or disprove your theories. Action is the answer.
Create> Analyze> Compete