The Wondering Analyst

Social Media and B2B companies

2010-04-19T10:38:00.001-07:00

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Social Media and B2B companies

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I wonder.. Why I believe in Social Media?

2009-11-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

I was asked by a co-worker of mine “Do you believe in this social media thing?” My answer was: Yes - It is hard not to believe in Social media when you blog, have a LinkedIn account, Facebook account, use social bookmarking, post presentations of slideshare etc.

“BUT was I sure that this is not just a Fad?”

No I do not think Social media is just a fad. Why? Well, first let’s look at the some data. According to Universal McCann study, the social media is being adopted across the world at a very fast rate. (There are many studies of this nature with similar findings)

And second- because of my belief that we as human beings like to connect, communicate & converse with each other. And any tool that allows this connection, communication & conversation to take place effectively will be here to stay. Look at the examples of snail mail, telegraph, phone, TV, radio, internet, email etc. All these tools allowed people to connect, communicate or have a conversation.

Social media allows effective and efficient communication and conversation to take place among likeminded people spread across the globe. It is a way to be part of the global village.

Here is the example I provided to my co-worker to illustrate the power of social media and how it allows likeminded people with limited resources to communicate, converse and make a change for good.

The “Pink Chaddi” campaign: This campaign took place in February of this year. The following will give you a little background on this campaign:

The group used the full power of social media – they set up a blog, created a Wiki, created a face book account, had other blogers pick up the story, etc – to communicate, converse and create a buzz across the web world

The impact? The campaign was a big success. The story was picked up not only the leading Indian newspapers but also news outlets such as NPR, BBC, NYTimes, etc. AND more than 40,000 pink underwear where sent to the leader of right wing group along with a very acute message.

So here social media allowed something that would have not happened before – it allowed like minded individuals to come together across the globe, take action and be a force for change.

Shift Happens

2009-10-31T08:04:00.001-07:00

This is one of mine favorite presentations.See if you agree.

Shift Happens

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I wonder.. How to improve the performance of the Product Information Page (PIP)

2009-10-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

Your product information pages (PIP) are your key selling pages on your site and act as your online sales force, even if the visitors have only come to research the product/service that you sell. The main of objectives of the content of the PIP pages are:
1. Effectively communicate the benefits provided by the product/service
2. How the product/service will address the visitors’ needs.
3. Key benefits of transacting with your site for the product/service – weather it is today or at a later date.

Before we can talk about how a Product Information Page can be improved to achieve the stated objectives, we must understand how people interact with online content. Based upon research done by multiple user experience experts, the online consumer interacts with the PIP page in the following manner:

The First 3 seconds: Chances are that visitors are coming to your PIP page either from on-site search results, category page, directly from global navigation or from being deep linked by some online marketing campaign. Depending upon the source, the visitors to the PIP page spend first 3 seconds trying to orient themselves to make sure that they are where they should be and have not come to an unexpected page. To help the visitor in their orientation, make sure that on top of the page you have:

1.A clear image of the product – make sure that this is same as what they might have seen before on search result page or category page, etc.
2.Product Name – make sure that this is same as what they might have seen before on search results page or category page etc.
3.Messaging/Product copy Handshake – Make sure that the first snippet of product copy the visitor is exposed to be similar to any messaging that has been used in the referring page. For example – make sure that you use similar words on category page and PIP page

The next 8 seconds: Once the visitors decide that PIP page potentially has the product/service they are interested in, they then spend next 8 seconds deciding if the page has the kind of information that would help them in their purchase/research decision. To help the visitor though these 8 seconds, make sure that your PIP page has:
1. Scan friendly product features
2. Price of the product (if applicable)
3. Any specials/promotions that you might be running
4. Any hidden benefits such as 60 days money back etc.
5. Clearly marked Call to action
6. Clearly marked content categories that can help the visitor make the purchase decision.

The next few minutes: Once the visitor has decided that the PIP page has the kind of information that would be useful in their purchase/research decision, they will spend next few minutes – depending upon the nature of the product/service and their familiarity with the product/service – to understand if the product/service meets their specification AND that it provides them the desired benefits. This is what will make or break you click-through-rate on the Call to Action. To get a high click-through-rate on your CTA, you should provide:
1. Benefits focused content that educates the visitors on how the product/service will help address their needs
2. Provide all the content on the same page. You have many options of presenting the information on the same page – tabs, accordion, pop-up windows for flash and videos, etc. You should use them. Why? Every click you make your visitor go through means a loss of 3% to 5% of the traffic. Don’t make your visitors go to multiple pages to get the information they need to make the decision.
3. Clearly labeled content. Don’t make the visitor guess what each tab or accordion or additional page might contain. Use common speak when labeling your categories rather than some company specific lingo
4. If it is long consideration product, then provide downloadable additional collateral that the visitor can take always with them to share with others – such as white papers, data/specification sheet, case studies
5. Any other content that will help the visitor feel comfortable with the product – 3-D product view, product demo videos, etc.
6. Build Trust – Make sure that you provide information such as return policy, privacy policy, delivery information, etc. easily available on the PIP page.

Call to action: Once you have educated and convinced your visitor, what actions should they take? Here is the key to the question– don’t assume that the only action they want to take is to buy online right then and there. If the PIP page has done its job, then they should, but you cannot assume that. Hence you want to make sure that you provide a variety of call to action that the visitor might want to take (if applicable, and this is not a comprehensive list):
1. Add to cart
2. Free trial/sign up for any content
3. Call Now
4. Chat now
5. Email the product page to friend
6. Add to wish list / gift list
7. Print Product specifications

Of course, as usual, you must TEST, TEST and TEST to see what will work for your site and your visitors. To measure the success of your PIP page, I would recommend that you measure the following:
1. Click-through-Rate on the call to actions
2. Average time spent on the page
3. Page views per visit
4. Site abandonment rate on the PIP page

I wonder.. . Why you need to make sure that your digital agency has a strong Analytic group?

2009-10-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

I am a big proponent of using digital agency. Why? They bring many benefits to the table –thought leadership in digital marketing; wealth of knowledge and past experiences from a wide variety of industry verticals; quick ramp up capabilities in resources; etc.

So, have I said anything up to now that many companies have not already thought about? No. So why right the post? The reason I am writing this post is because when companies are shopping for a digital agency, they make sure that there is compatibility in all areas expect one – Analytic. And this is one of the key areas any company needs to think about.

Why? Let’s go back to the basics for a second. What is one of the key benefits that make the online space so attractive? It is the ability to optimize your programs quickly and effectively. The only way an agency is able to effectively optimize your campaign is if they have right type of analytic resources. So in the agency selection process, my recommendation is that you understand the following-

Does the agency have comprehensive analytic strategy? This strategy should include not only basic metrics and ratio metrics, BUT also actionable recommendations in the areas such as:
1. Publisher optimization
2. Placement optimization (for display only)
3. Position optimization (for PPC only)
4. Ad unit optimization (for display only)
5. Ad copy optimization
6. Offer and CTA testing and optimization
7. Landing page optimization

Is analytic group used strategically by the company? The agency should be using its Analytic resources in the planning stages of campaign and their analytic team should bring the following to the planning table:
1. Learning from previous campaigns of what has worked and what has not worked for a similar campaign for similar verticals
2. Industry research, benchmarks and best practices applicable to planned campaign.

Will the Agency have enough analytics resources assigned to the account? You should find out from the digital agency if they have appropriate level of analysts in house. Again, quick and effective optimization is key to digital marketing. If the agency has very limited analytic resources, the question is, will your program get the appropriate level of attention at the right time from the analyst?

Sample of analytic work? Ask the Agency to provide sample of analysis of campaign optimizations similar to what you are thinking of running.

Using rich media with video in 2010 online marketing mix

2009-10-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

End of the year is fast approaching and many of you must be in full planning mode for 2010. Well here is some good research from DoubleClick.com that you can use in your planning cycle for your online display advertising program. http://www.doubleclick.com/insight/pdfs/The_Brand_Value_of_Rich_Media_and_Video_Ads.pdf

I know that it is a little old, BUT, it is still quite valid. The key points this research makes are as follows –
1. Rich media with video out performances simple flash, GIF/JPG and rich media without video in the lower part of the purchase funnel.

2. Simple flash and GIF/JPG are the best in online ad awareness and message association.

So should you use rich media with video? Well it depends on your campaign objectives. You know me, I believe in numbers and the data provided by this research is quite compelling. Having said that, in addition to this research, you need to ask yourselves the following questions to make sure that using rich media is the right decision for you:

1. What is the additional cost of creating these rich media ads with video and how much longer will it take to develop these ads vs. flash ads?

2. Does the story I want to tell about my product/service really benefit from a video ad? (That is, with video am I able to tell a more value-add story about my offering that I would not be with simple flash ad?)

3. Do the target publishers of my campaign have technical ability to flight Rich media ads with video? (Many niche sites do not have technology to flight rich media ads with videos)

4. What is the additional media cost of flighting rich media ads with video? (Most of the publishers regard these types of ads as premium placements and charge a higher CPM.)

5. Finally, is my site setup to convert the traffic from rich media ads with video efficiently and effectively? (It is all good and well to look at the intent to purchase on the publisher site. BUT it is when the visitors come to your site, when the rubber of conversion meets the road.)

I wonder.. how do I improve the performance of my checkout process?

2009-10-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

1.Do Not Require Sign to place an Order: I am surprised how many sites, B2C and B2B, require visitors to sign in before they are able to make a purchase online. Why create roadblocks when you don’t have to. The visitor has taken the ultimate step you want them to take on your site; the best thing you can do is get out of their way and let them place an order.

If, for whatever reason, you have to have a login in your checkout process, then give the visitor an option to login as a guest. And at the same time provide a strong value proposition for creating an account with your site. Here is an example

2.No Surprise fees: Many customers are wary of shipping fees, especially when they are not shown in the shopping cart - what most customers may not realize is that shipping fees are dependent on the shipping address. So how do you balance the need to actually display shipping fees vs. avoiding the perception of hidden cost if you show shipping fees in the last step of the checkout process? By showing estimated shipping fees in the shopping cart and emphasizing the fact that it is estimated shipping cost that is subject to change. Here is an example

3.Build Trust: Web has given the consumers more venues to shop than ever before; but at the same time, it has also created a level of anxiety that consumers have not experienced before, even on well known brand sites. “What if I do not like the product?”, ‘What if the product is not what I want?”, “What if the product is defected?”, “Can I trust this company to exchange the product without any hidden costs?” etc are many of the questions that run thought the online consumers mind when they are looking to check out.

One of the best things that you can do in your checkout process is create trust in the mind of your customers at every step. Be upfront in addressing any concerns your customers might have and be ready to answer questions they might have at each step of the checkout process. Make sure that when addressing these questions, you use pop-up window to provide answers and not take them out of the checkout process.

4.Provide multiple payment options: Increasingly, online population is looking for different options when it comes to making payment for their purchase. Sadly, most of the e commerce sites are still stuck in the Credit card only mode. If a site offers only one payment option, then it might find it cart abandonment increase as more and more people adopt alternate payment options. Here is an example

Finally, you need to Test, Test and Test to improve the performance of your shopping cart!

6 Rules To Optimizing your PPC or Online Display Marketing Landing Page

2009-09-28T04:55:00.001-07:00

I wonder... How to optimize my lead generation landing page in six steps!

6 Rules To Optimizing your PPC or Online Display Marketing Landing Page

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10 Rules to starting a Web Analytic group

2009-09-21T18:10:00.001-07:00

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10 Rules to starting a Web Analytic group

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I wonder..... what are the 5 metrics I need to track for my B2B site?

2009-09-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

More and more BZB buyers are starting their search/research online and they look to product provider websites for content. Hence it is becoming ever more important for you to track & optimize the performance your sites.

But what should we track? What key metrics can help us identify core areas of improvements on our site? I have found the following five metrics to be some of the most important metrics that we can track for B2B sites: (I am sure there are others)

Overall site conversion Rate:
Measurement = Total desired actions taken on the site) / (Visitors to the site)

Note – This is a standard BUT important key metric to track

“True” site conversion:
Measurement = (Total desired actions taken on the site) / (Total traffic to product section & any other lead generation section of the site)

Note – Here we want to take out traffic to site that is NOT “convertible” – that is traffic to online communities, forums, on-site support sections, etc.

Product page Call to action Click-through-rate:
Measurement = (Total clicks on Call to actions on Product Pages) / (Total visits to the product section)

Note – Here we are trying to measure how effective is the content of the product page in convincing the visitor that the product is right for their needs

Lead Funnel Completion Rate:
Measurement = (Total visitors who completed a conversion funnel) / (Total visitors who started the conversion funnel)

Note – Here we are trying to see how clean and clear are the conversion funnels on the site. This is THE most critical metric that we can track on the site.

Homepage bounce rate:
Measurement = (Total one Page visits to the Homepage) / (Total visits to the homepage)

Note – I hesitated in putting this metric- even though it is important. Why? Well because many companies will focus on trying to fix this performance first. Even though it is an important area of Site that must be fixed, it is NOT the first area that must be addressed!

I wonder.... Are you part of the 72%?

2009-09-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

An interesting Reader’s Survey has been released by the Unica today. Of the readers surveyed, 72% said that they have no full time web analytic resource allocated to their online program. 72%! Wow! And then people wonder why the online space is not delivering on its promise.

Ladies and gentlemen – let me get on my soap box one more time. For you to truly have a viable online presence and program, you need to have a comprehensive web analytic group. I am not saying that you should hire 10 web analysts. BUT do not be one of 72% of the readers who have no full time resource allocated to web analytics.

See the results - http://www.unica.com/documents/us/emedia_esurvey.pdf.

I am wondering… Where do many online marketing programs go wrong?

2009-09-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, happy Labor day weekend everyone!

The answer is “They see analytics as an afterthought and not as something very critical to the success of the online marketing program, that must be done up front”.
Of course as you read this, you might have two different reactions – 1) “Come on, everyone knows this. This is so basic; talk about something more advanced.” Or 2) “Ha! Such a self- serving post from an Analytic evangelist” But hear me out! In life we must constantly focus on the basics. You will be surprised to learn how many organizations don’t focus on basic.

Lets ask the most basic question: “Why is online marketing such an attractive option?” Two answers are– 1) more and more of our potential customers are buying, researching and spending their time online; 2) we can gauge the performance of the online marketing almost instantly and improve its performance faster than any other channel.

Most organizations have thought about reason #1 very thoroughly. But when it comes to reason #2, they think only as far as putting tracking in place and basic reporting. But what about improving the program performance? Will just looking at basic reporting about impression, clicks, budget, etc. get it done? Well this basic reporting will let you know “WHAT is going on?” but not “WHY is it going on and HOW I improve it?”

Ladies and gentlemen, I know this is a very self serving post. BUT do yourself & your organization a BIG favor. Make sure that you think about optimizing your online marketing program as soon as you start thinking about launching an online marketing program. Do not wait until you are asked “Why is this not working the way we thought it would”. To do this, follow the five basic guidelines-

1. Set a key optimization goal for your program – ROI or CPA or CTR etc.

2. Design your program is such a way that in the “first phase” of your program you are able to get most learning about what is working and what is not working with the least amount of budget spend.

3. Gather data such as impression, clicks, CTR, Cost, CPC, CPM, CR, CPA/ROI, Conversions, Revenue, revenue per visit and Cost per visit by placement, by creative, by messaging, and by offer. The main objective here is to able to slice and dice the data every which way to get the best learning for your program WHILE focusing on the basic question: “Do my potential customers like and buy the story that I am trying to tell me?”

4. Get your analyst involved in your planning stage. This person, if they worth their salt, should have a lot of past learning of what has worked and what has not worked, that you can leverage in your planning.

5. Be ready to test EVERYTHING. The worst thing that you can do is launch a program with only one creative, messaging, or offer. Try out different things and let your potential customers tell you what they like or not like. Again here your analyst should be of substantial help.

I wonder... What are the five tools I need to effectively optimize my site?

2009-08-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

1. Analytic tool
Why: If you do not know what is happening on your site, then how can you optimize it? This will not only give you general KPI trends on your site BUT also will tell you what the visitors on your site are doing.
Which one: Of course all the web analytic tool companies will tell you that their tool is the best, but in my experience they all are pretty much the same. The key here will be how effectively you are able to use the information from the tools to optimize your site performance. If you have limited budget then I would recommend going free with Google Analytics.

2. A/B testing tool
Why: Once you THINK you KNOW what is wrong with you site, you want to be TESTING out different designs, content and/or navigation. Again the idea is let your visitors tell you which of the changes to the site they like the best.
Which one: There are many options out there, such as – Sitespect, Optimost, Offermatica (now bought by Omniture), etc. I really do not have a favorite. If you have limited budget then I would recommend going free with Google’s website optimizer.

3. Online survey tool
Why: It has happened many times. You have analyzed the site performance and then you have A/B tested what you think should be the new site design, content and/or navigation. BUT the results remain the same. What happened? Well it seems that site visitors did not agree with the educated opinion of what is the problem with the site and diagnosis of that problem. To solve this puzzle you need to go directly to the site visitors and ask them what they think is the issue with site.
Which one: There are many options, such as – Usability Sciences, Foresee Results, iPerceptions, etc. I personally like usability sciences. If you have limited budget then I would recommend going free with 4Q online survey.

4. Secondary research:
Why: Many times, we all need a starting point of what should be changed to optimize the performance of site based upon what has worked in the past for other companies. This is not to say that it will work for your site also – it is just a nice point of reference. There is a lot of heuristics research that is available that you can and should use to optimize your site performance.
Which one: Here are some that you might find useful – Jared Spool at www.uie.com, Jakob Nielsen at www.useit.com, www.usability.gov/, Daily trending data from www.eMarketer.com

5. Screen capture tool
Why: A picture is worth a thousand words! When you see some design, content, idea or navigation that you like or think is effective, pay them a compliment – capture it and see if you can use it to optimize your site. Or use it just as an example of what to do or not to do.
Which on: The one that I have been using is Snag-it. But there are many free ones available as an add-on to Firefox.

I wonder.. How do I improve my PPC program in 9 steps using Analytics?

2009-08-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

The promise of the PPC marketing has eluded many. What happened? Was this not suppose to be the savior, the money making machine, the silver bullet? Hey just buy keywords and make money hand over fist! Right?

Hmmm.. not quite. If it were so easy, would we all not be multimillionaire by now? Ask yourself this simple question, “Just because you see someone place an ad on Google, would you purchase whatever they are selling?” If the answer you have given is, “It depends”, then should you not expect the same answer for your ads?

“Can PPC channel be a ROI positive channel for my company?” Well, it depends! It depends if you have one of key ingredient - properly using analytics to optimize the program. This article highlights 9 steps that will help you position your program to be more ROI positive.

I will NOT say that this will guarantee you a ROI positive program. Why? Welll.. if I could guarantee that, I would NOT be working but be on some island enjoying my billions because, heck, I have 100% sure way to make money.

1. Set a goal – I know this is very basic BUT many companies falter at this very step. If you do not set a goal for your program then how are you going to optimize it?

Metric to be used: Cost per action (CPA), ROI

2. Analyze the existing program – Now that we have set a goal, we need to see how the current program is performing. You should look at least one year worth of data for this analysis (if your program is younger than a year, then look at YTD data).

Metrics to be used: Impressions, Clicks, Media cost, Conversion, Revenue, Click Through Rate (CTR), Cost per Click (CPC), Conversion Rate (CR), Cost per Action (CPA), ROI

3. Optimize the keyword list – Now that you have gathered all the data and analyzed it, you should optimize your keywords list to:

a. Prune underperforming keywords – these are the keywords which are below average in performance not only on the search engines BUT also on the landing page/site.

b. Core BUT search engine underperforming keywords – For these keywords, either the CPC is too high or the CTR is too low. You need to investigate the following –

· Do these keywords have poor quality score?

· Are these keywords very broad?

· Do I need to add negative keywords to take out irrelevant traffic?

Metric to be used: Cost per Click (CPC), Conversion Rate (CR), CPA/ROI, Quality score, average bid for the keyword.

4. Optimize ad copy – Once you have optimized the keyword list, you need to start thinking about the ad copy. You may be visible for the right keywords, BUT if your ad copy is NOT appealing to the searchers then you may not be getting the traffic you that you should. Isolate ad groups with below average click through rates (CTR) and see if the ad copy for these group meets two criteria – benefit focused ad copy and strong call to action, Based upon our analysis, ad copy that had strong benefits copy and a strong call to action, outperformed ad copy without benefits and weak call to action by 264%! (Of course recognize that your branded ad groups will have the highest click through rate). This is more of an art than exact science.

Metric to be used: Click Through Rate (CTR)

5. Optimizing offer – The simple key question that you must ask is “What is that tipping point offer that I can provide to a searcher so that the searcher will turn into a visitor and a visitor will turn into a customer?” One thing I have seen over and over again, $/% off offer will almost always outperform the “Buy X and get Y free” offer. Why? Well was I really interested in getting “Y” for free when I was looking for “X”? But then you must test this out for your company. As usual, the rule of thumbs and industry best practices are good guides for you to follow BUT they should not become law for you, until you have tested & validated them for your own program.

Metric to be used: Click through Rate (CTR), Conversion Rate (CR)

6. Optimize Landing page – Imagine, you have done everything perfect up to this point. You have a great CTR, a very low CPC, BUT when searchers come to your landing page, they do not convert. All that work down the tube! We need to make sure that the landing page has clear value proposition, clear call to action AND clear conversion funnel. If any of these are not working well, your conversion rate will falter

Metric to be used: Conversion funnel completion rate, CTA click through rate, Conversion rate

7. Critical Mass matters – One of the key questions that should be asked when looking to optimize the program is “What is the right level of budget for the program?” Find the sweet spot to get best ROI – invest enough to have critical mass in the market and not beyond a point where we are just throwing money down the drain. And how do we get there? Well we must test

8. Be realistic – Sometimes, no matter how much effort you put in the optimization of your program, your results will not improve. The honest questions one must ask are – Does my product have limited appeal in the market? Have I reached a saturation point in the customer segment that I am targeting; etc.

Test, test, test and then do more testing – As I had said in the introduction of the article, nothing is guaranteed in life. One of the biggest advantages of the online space is its ability for you to test your program. There should not be ANY holy grail here! Everything – keywords, ad copy, landing pages, offer, etc. – should be up for testing. The only holy grail should be “What do my potential customers want and how can I give it to them

I have been wondering – Who wins in the battle of Tool vs. Analyst

2009-08-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Its Man vs. Nature, its Food vs. Man, its, hmm well, Tool vs. Analyst.

Any organization that has gone through this battle has two key points they are trying to resolve –

1. How much to invest in the Tool and how much to invest in the Analyst.

2. What to bring in first, the Tool or the Analyst?

For many organizations, the strategy seems to be to bring the tool in first and invest 80% of their budget in the tool and 20% in the Analyst. This strategy has merits and of course seems to be popular. I believe that this strategy has couple of key issues –

1. When an organization spends major part of their budget in the tools and not enough on the Analyst, it short changes itself. Its like the organization has bought a Jet plane and then has money left over to hire a person who knows how to fly a prop plane.

2. When an organization buys the tool first, then their hiring strategy is driven & maybe limited by finding someone who knows how to use the functionality of the tool. If this person is not a true Analyst, then the only thing you have is someone who is able to pull the data out of the tool into the excel sheet rather than providing key recommendations (See the earlier post on “How should an organization view an Analyst” to see what an true Analyst be)

In my experience, the best strategy that an organization can follow is-

1. When it comes to budgeting, allocate 20% for the tool and 80% for the Analyst. A good Analyst can provide more value out of free tool such as Google Analytic than a data puller out of premium tools such as Coremetrics, Web trend etc.

2. Hire the right Analyst by the time you have short listed the tools that you want to bring in and have the Analyst work on bring in the right tool for the organization.

3. While the company is waiting for the tool to come in, the Analyst should be doing the following

a. Meeting all the stakeholders and learning the business (This will pay a lot of dividends in the long term)

b. Identifying the needs of the different stakeholders

c. Developing SLA with different stakeholders on what the Analyst will provide and when

d. Developing template for the Dashboard(s) and recurring analysis

We all say that our customers are critical to our business and we want them to have the right experience with us online. If we truly believe this then we need to make sure that we not have only the right tool but also the right people in place at the right time to deliver our customers the best experience with our online presence.

I have been wondering - How should organization view an Analyst?

2009-08-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

Almost every organization with online presence has an Analyst or wants one. And every organization has a very different view of what is an analyst. Many organizations describe an analyst as a data puller, or as a report creator, or as a Quoin Jock, or as a number cruncher.

Sadly, not too many see an Analyst as a strategic partner of the owners of the online organization. This strategic partner is not only the keeper of the lore – of what has happened in the past with the programs and web site of the organization AND why – but also someone who helps to improve the current online programs & sites AND helps in the planning of future programs and site improvements by leveraging his/her in-depth knowledge of online marketing, user experience and analytics

Honestly we can attribute this varying view on an Analyst to the fact that NOT all Analyst are equal. One must recognize that an Analyst is NOT an entry level job. A true Analyst needs to have in-depth knowledge of the following four areas to become a true strategic partner of an organization

1. Statistics (though Analyst is NOT a Data puller but an Analyst DOES start with Data)

2. Online marketing ( How can an Analyst help to optimize the existing program or help strategize about the future program if he/she does not have in-depth knowledge of these programs)

3. Online Usability (Again, if an Analyst does not have good understanding of usability concepts then he/she cannot bring insights to the table and connect the dots)

4. Online technologies

At the same time, an Analyst must develop the following soft skills-

1. Ability to work with people with different backgrounds in the company. Such as: Online marketing program owners/managers, designers, Copy writers, Agency partners, upper management, etc.

2. Build and give meaningful presentation to ALL levels of individuals in a company

3. Be an advocate for the Customer / User / Visitor of the company in online space

4. Ability to gather and see trends in customer / industry research (Primary and Secondary)

5. Ability to incorporate other people’s ideas into their recommendations

6. Ability to accept the fact that their recommendations are just that, recommendations. Testing is required to validate them

7. Ability to accept the fact that recommendations which have worked for one program may not work for another

8. Ability to constantly educate themselves to stay on top of the new and upcoming things

9. Ability to ask a question Why – even when it is to yourself and your own preconceived notions of what are the best practices and what will or will not work.