Give me information, not Data!

Marketing Directors

Today, I sat across the table and listened as the marketing director of a mid-size company told me what it was that was most important for her to track on the company website. She wanted to know how interest in her company's products was going to drive the bottom line, and she wanted to know how that was going to happen.

I read somewhere that the good news and the bad news about web analytics can be summed up in one sentence. "You can measure anything you want." This is so so true. I think this is the next obstacle in web analytics. And again, others have said this, the technology has caught up to meet most business needs (The industry needs more accessible Data warehousing and Data mining tools). Since the technology exists most companies are content to implement the technology and continue on their merry way without thinking even for a moment about how they are going to use the information gained. Why would you spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on a web analytics solution if you are going to treat it like so much database fodder. Do people really believe that number of visitors is a true indicator of success in this economy?

The answer to that question is sad for a lot of companies. And I can see the way ahead is paved with myth-busting and pleading.

Measure something only because you intend to act on the result. To do that you need to know where you are trying to go.

posted by mymo @ 11:30 PM