There’s no holding back the speed at which the digital industry moves. The press, both industry and mainstream, rush to report on the growing digital revolution and how it is influencing the world.
Ordinary people such as Susan Boyle are plucked from obscurity and made worldwide celebrities thanks to YouTube; Iranian democratic protests are seen around the world thanks to mobile technology and Twitter; and, according to a story in The Sun a few months ago, Facebook gives you sexual diseases (not directly, I hasten to add, for those who missed the article and are now worried). But there is another revolution taking place too – a quieter one, but just as important – the analytics revolution.
Analytics has come a long way since the measurements of hits became an indicator of success. With new, more advanced software and products, and a better understanding of what should be measured, I believe that analytics will be the key to success for your business in the coming years. Using analytics in the correct way will be the difference between a website that continues to grow and one that’s left behind, an agency winning pitches or losing them, and digital creative that either engages users or is easily forgotten.
Clients and digital owners are becoming a lot more savvy: they realise that everything can now be measured. We regularly hear how more money is now spent online than in traditional forms of media, which of course reflects changing consumer behaviour. However, it is also because, thanks to analytics, an online customer can be a lot more valuable. Online customers can be re-marketed to – and communicated to – much more easily, and the online reach is far greater than any other known method. So the data is there: we just have to use it.
Before being able to use the data, someone has to own it. Therefore, the kings and queens of this revolution will be all those web analysts, digital strategists and digital analysts out there. “Vested interest”, I hear you cry, and being a digital business analyst myself I am naturally a little biased, but this isn’t just coming from me. At a round table event I attended recently, a story was told of how, during a meeting, a table of people all thought a certain data-driven product was a surefire, must-have application, but nobody knew whose remit it fell under. Everyone agreed that this would soon change. The industry is at the stage where they realise analytics and data are key to gaining knowledge, but some have yet to structure their departments accordingly. Those who have somebody with the responsibility, budget and decision-making powers to drive analytics are those leading the revolution right now. It would not surprise me if, before long, there will be a chief data/analysis officer sitting next to the CEO, CFO and CTO.
If you’re reading this and patting yourself on the back because you’re a client with a web analyst, or an agency who use analytics when reporting back to clients, then pause for a moment – don’t be complacent just yet. You must still measure the right metrics. If you are measuring visits, unique visitors and pageviews or total online bookings, then please immediately cease patting, remove your hand from your back and step back into the crowd. All those measuring engagement and conversion, take a step forward and redouble your patting.
Key performance indicators have evolved from hits to pageviews to visitors to visits, and now it’s time to move on once again: to engagement and conversion. I would prefer 50,000 users per day who are engaged and interacting with the site, brand or campaign, than 100,000 users per day who bounce straight off.
You can jump up and down and shout from the roof tops about year-on-year increases in visits, as some do, but it is a hollow victory if these visits end in no conversion. And conversion is not just about the selling of a product – it’s about transforming a user into a loyal advocate to the brand, or converting them into interacting with the site.
You must consider what the real indicator of success is for your business. Are 50,000 Facebook fans as important as 5,000 fans leaving comments on your wall that month? Probably not. What is more important: 1,000 new Twitter followers last month or 500 retweets? What are you measuring: how many visits to your campaign or its bounce rate? And are you measuring the bounce rate of your homepage or all of the pages on your site that are deeplinked into? Are you measuring increasing bookings or are you measuring decreasing booking funnel drop-outs?
Agencies must take specific note of this: there is a huge difference between reporting and analysing. A spreadsheet of obvious topline stats isn’t helpful – insight and analysis is what clients are looking for. I emphasis my earlier point, that good analysis will in the future be the differentiator between agencies in a very crowded and competitive industry. Clientside – don’t be afraid of KPIs: set them carefully and thoughtfully, and measure them regularly.
The final piece of the jigsaw is as follows – and if you’re already doing this, then I raise my digital hat to you – use advanced tools and integrate these tools together where you can. Most analytic packages offer data at an aggregate level, but taking the step up to a product that offers data at an individual level will open up the world to you. With this you will be able to segment your users to a much more detailed level by looking at individuals’ exact behaviour. This will make re-marketing much more effective, and even re-re-marketing, if you feel so inclined. By linking a single customer view product or data warehouse with your email provider you can trigger emails to be sent automatically on significant dates. Or by linking single customer view products with your CMS system, you can deliver dynamic personalised content on site.
The really exciting thought is what can be achieved by linking up products analysing individual behaviour with the other next big advancement in analytic software: MVT and A/B testing. By linking analytics, single customer view and MVT products, it’s possible to segment your users and decide what test of page design you want to give them. Different versions of the pages can be delivered to your chosen users automatically, providing real insight into site design.
There is no doubt that the digital industry is becoming more powerful. Increasingly innovative ideas and products will be launched, and digital creative will become more imaginative and engaging. But if you want to make sure you stay ahead of the game, you need to join the analytics revolution. Ensure that you drive analytics forward, make analytics the heart of your business, set appropriate KPIs and look to link products together for an advanced understanding of your user. Data and analysis may not be the most exciting part of the digital world, but it will help you understand the digital world. Don’t get left behind while the revolution gathers pace. Those who have the most knowledge will be those who have the most success.
Chris Moon
Business Analyst - Digital, Visit London