An age old debate never seems to settle is whether Analytics is hard or easy. Ironically, this debate could be resolved if we (those of us in the web analytics industry), simply realized that analytics is both hard and easy. What’s certainly hard is convincing end users to commit and leverage analytics and make better use of data. When more people become data driven and adopt analytics, then analytics geeks (such as yours truly!) will find themselves impacting strategies at the executive table. Marketers, business owners and consultants could benefit greatly from making the “easy” accessible and the “hard” simplified.
To reach this goal, marketers need a guide to help build the marketing accountability that analytics, and smart people, bring to the table.
I hope to provide this guide and structure in my 7-Step Analytics Reporting Framework whitepaper. This framework will help marketers navigate through seas of data and reports and leverage insights to impact their business.
You can download the full whitepaper here.
And for those of you on the go, here’s a quick outline of what to expect:
1- Define your requirements
Clearly identify what you need to measure and extract key data to measure your performance. This is the foundation for all following steps.
2- Know your channels
Pageviews alone won’t cut it anymore. Different media platforms require different measurement approaches and techniques. Understand the characteristics of your channels and how to track each of them.
3- Trim your metrics
When it comes to reporting, apply this strategy: “less is more”. Just because you have a lot of data doesn’t mean you need it all.
4- Segment for context
Absolute numbers and aggregates hide a wealth of insight and can be very misleading. . Segment and allow “context” to give your data meaning.
5- Put intelligence at your service
Let computers crunch the numbers. Let reports detect and flag significant changes in your key performance indicators automatically. (If you are not a Google Analytics user, it’s time to jump on the bandwagon and leverage its powerful Intelligence engine.)
6- Integrate reporting
Data from your website offer just few pieces of the puzzle. Incorporate data from mobile, social, offline, competitive, etc. and look at the big picture.
7- Automate
Tired of manual reporting? Automate your reports. This gives you more time to do proper analysis.
Bonus Step
Channel Attribution & Multi-Channel Funnels
Download the full whitepaper here. Feel free to comment and share.
