Determining whether or not your company needs an enterprise-level web analytics platform can be a huge undertaking. Add in an ever growing marketplace for web analytics tools and you’re faced with the cumbersome task of evaluating which tools really benefit your company’s objectives versus which tools are hyped nice-to-haves.
That’s why I was immediately drawn to the recent report “Enterprise Web Analytics Platforms 2015: A Marketer’s Guide”, published by Third Door Media. Not only does the report help companies decide if they really need an enterprise web analytics platform, but it reviews market trends and provides comprehensive vendor profiles.
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Claire Schoen, Vice President of Marketing Services at Third Door Media, about the “Enterprise Web Analytics Platforms 2015: A Marketer’s Guide” report. She offered some great insights about the best ways to approach the process of adopting a new web analytics platform as well as some interesting industry trends. At the end of this post, you can find a link to connect with Claire, and learn more about the resources that were shared in the interview.
ML: Why do you think this research is really needed right now? How do you think organizations and people can really benefit from it?
CS: Several years ago we were looking to adopt a marketing automation software and we were looking for research about what we needed to know going into the buying processes. We wanted to know about the whole landscape surrounding this particular type of software. If you’re a buyer of any kind of marketing technology, you want to know that the technology is going to work for you. You also want to know that the company that you’ve bought from is going to be around for a while and continues to go in the direction of your needs using that tool. We ended up thinking in terms of how many people would benefit from research like this which led to this report.
The “Enterprise Web Analytics Platforms 2015: A Marketer’s Guide” basically looks at software, whether it’s web analytics, marketing automation, SEO platforms, media management platforms, etc. We’ve chosen 8-9 different categories and we look at the following questions: 1. What is this tool? 2. What is the overview in the marketplace for this tool? 3. What are the trends? 4. What are the vendors reacting to within that space? 5. What do you need to know to ask a vendor when you’re looking at these tools? Then finally, at the end we identify the leading companies in the space or the ones that come up most often for people purchasing tools.
ML: If you had to ask a vendor 2-3 questions when purchasing a new tool what would they be?
CS: First, and this is true for any tool, is “Do we need it and why?” You need to understand why you or your company need to take on this tool. The second question to ask is, “How are you going to use it?” Closely followed by that is, “How are you going to know it was the right decision to buy it?” Essentially, what are the measures of success that will let you know you made the right choice. Those are the key questions and then beyond that is “Who is going to use it?” and “Are they trained and qualified to use it?” Those are all questions that need to be asked before you even approach a vendor.
Also, make sure that all of the people who are going to be stakeholders down the road are involved in the collection process. Have management, the marketing and technology departments and the people who would actually be using the tool included in the discussion. Have all of them in on the discussion about what it is that we’re going to buy and how we’re going to use it. Then you’ve established relationships within the organization that can continue as you’re using the product.
ML: To build on that, in the report you mention one of the challenges that different groups within an organization have is struggling to analyze and understand customer experience because they are using different data sets or tools. How do you think we can be better in 2016 at understanding customer experience as a whole organization – not just the different teams within the company.
CS: One thing I think is big that will only become bigger in 2016 is using predictive analytics within platforms. And that is already happening. Marketers are able to better understand and respond to customer behavior in a way they haven’t before. These tools are giving marketers the ability to read the right message, at the right time, to the right person.
ML: How do you measure ROI of analytics?
CS: That’s probably the $64,000 question for marketers today because analytics means a lot of different things. There’s social analytics, predictive analytics, web analytics, etc. I think that is going to vary from company to company because you need to measure what the analytics is used for. For example, if you’re an ecommerce company you’re measurement of success is going to be different than if you’re a B2B high-end user selling $100,000 medical equipment – it’s a very different measure. It’s very similar to overall attribution. Attributing ROI to different measurements will be different depending on the business that you’re in.
ML: When people start talking about ROI and the evolution of web analytics – they usually say that’s why you need big data because it combines analytics from different platforms. People have different definitions of big data, what in your definition is big data? How do we make the argument of what big data really is and what it isn’t?
CS: I think big data has been misunderstood. To me big data is that you’re getting it from all different channels at the same time.
What it really represents is the fact that there is really so much data everywhere. For marketers you just need to understand what data you need and that’s where analytics comes in. To me, you could have the possibility of 100 different data points on your websites, but you might only need 20 for example to successfully run your business. Otherwise you can drown in the data and forget what it is that you’re really trying to accomplish, which is to match your potential buyers with the products and services you’re selling.
I remember one time at one of our conferences where a speaker showed up with a whole lot of data points about paid search, and showed a chart with a sudden drop off in sales. And if you looked at their chart you think, “Oh my gosh, what happened?” And the answer was that they ran out of inventory. And someone could look at that chart and come up with a million different reasons why the sales dropped off, but unless you pull your head up outside of the data and say “This is what really happened” then you’ll get lost. Now, I don’t want to come off sounding like I’m against it. There is so much more information now that you couldn’t get a few years ago that is really helpful.
ML: A few more questions about your trend analysis. You’ve talked about how many organizations and some colleges are providing more specialized training but how can we begin addressing the projected shortage of analytics talent? What should companies do?
CS: Well there are two ways to approach that. One is to train the people that you have. And one of the things I’d recommend to anyone adopting a software tool is to not only look at the training that comes with the package but to negotiate an additional module available in case you have a new hire. So if it’s a year long contract try and make sure you get a module add-on so you can train new hires.
ML: To build on the concept of education and training – you talked a little bit about people becoming marketing technologists. How can marketers begin the transition to becoming marketing technologists? What do you see as the path?
CS: Depending the side of the fence you’re coming from – if you’re a marketer wanting to learn about technology you need to do everything you can by going to the trade shows and trying to learn the tools themselves. If you’re a technologist, you spend as much time as you can talking to marketers and reading marketing magazines to better understand the other side.
ML: When you were putting this report together along with the writers, what was your “Aha” moment?
CS: This is interesting because this report is one of many that we do. But I think a thread that runs through all of these reports is the opportunity that exists when these tools are adopted and used is huge. The “aha” moment is that there is so much out there and there is so much opportunity out there in the technology.
We’re all humans and I think that there is this perception that if we figure it out and buy the tool it’s going to solve all of our problems in marketing. And that’s just not the case. These are tools. These are mechanical tools, they aren’t human. Like the question, “Is it the analyst? Or is the analytics?” And you have to have both – you have to have the tools but you have to have the people that understand why they’re using them and THEN understand how to use them. I think the “why” is first and the “how” is second.
ML: If you could ask readers of this report to do one thing, what would it be?
CS: I’d like to hear what they found most valuable and what they would like to learn more about.
Additional resources:
- Claire Schoen – VP, Marketing Services, Third Door Media (LinkedIn, Twitter)
- MarTech’s annual conference (a Third Door Media brand) for marketing, IT, and digital executives is scheduled for March 21-22 in San Francisco. Don’t miss this opportunity to register before it sells out
- To learn more, please download Enterprise Web Analytics Platforms 2015: A Marketer’s Guide.
- Additional reading – InfoTrust’s blog post about evaluating the need for enterprise web analytics tools.
