My first eMetrics is over and wanted to post some of the learnings I picked up, but first let me say how amazing it was. I met some really interesting and smart people, too many to name really. I learned some new things and got re-energized about metrics. It was just the booster shot I needed since I was getting a little lost in the humdrum of daily work. Anyway, here is what I learned:
- You are not alone. Often web analysts work by themselves, and maybe you are the only analyst in the entire company. As a result, you may be unsure of your implementation, or how to get your organization to adopt a data-centric approach, or how to take advantage of social media. Talking with other analysts is an ensuring process because we all have these issues. Hearing that others have been through what you are is comforting, and knowing that you are probably on the right track make the effort seem that much more worthwhile.
- Incremental change is better than a big change. Testing and changing in small increments will have a better result than do an entire redesign. Redesigns are sexy and expensive and career makers but they can often backfire and while increasing one important KPI they can actually be detrimental to others. Testing small changes for incremental improvement will win in the long run. I guess the tortoise was right.
- Learn from other industries. Television, marketing, radio, direct mail, all of these industries have things to teach web analytics. Analysts don’t need to reinvent the wheel but can take standards from other industries. Yes we are smart, but so are others and why waste time when someone has already figure out a solution.
- Speak their language! It is easy to get lost in the jargon of our industry, but it is essential to know your audience and speak to them with a parlance they are familiar with. By speaking to people using words they are used to analysts will speak with greater force and will get their message across easier.
- Include what they already care about. Chances are if you know your audience, then you will already know some of the things that are important to them. It doesn’t matter if it is what they should be focused on or not, by including the thing they care about, your audience is more likely to actually read your report. Include shiny baubles like word clouds if that is what it takes to get the attention you need.
- There is no silver bullet. As Stéphane Hamel put it, “A bad carpenter with a good hammer is still a bad carpenter, but a good carpenter can build you a house with a rock if need be.” Tools will not save the day, you must improve your practice, sharpen your methodologies and become clearer in your communication.