When taking on the task of introducing or reforming
analytics within any organization, there are a few things that the experts
recommend making sure you are aware of. I’ve compiled the ideas and sentiments
into five points:
There is no silver bullet
There is no one specific tool or process that will work for
everything or everyone. At the same time, obsessing about tools and which one
will work the best will only have you chasing your tail with no success.
Avanish Kaushik mentions in his blog that 10% of your time should be spent
implementing tools, whereas the other 90% should be used to make sure you have
the structure and organization to support and derive the correct information
from what the tool as well as other mediums give you. (Kaushik A. , 2011)
It’s not about the Data, it’s about how you use it
Data is where everything starts. It is the iron ore of the
digital world. Without it, nothing of value could be derived. Just as with iron
ore; however, it is not helpful to gather as much as you can of everything you
can if you are not prepared to use it. Success will not come by how much data
you’ve collected, by how well you can use a tool, but more from your business
savvy and your soft skills. (Kaushik A. , 2011) Turning data into
something a business leader can use is key. Ovetta Sampson in a comment to Sean McGinnis on his blog stated:
“people lie…not on purpose but unconsciously and
incrementally. So when you look at analytics you have to account for the whole
human thing. Correlation DOES NOT equal causation and if you really want to
extrapolate your analytics and measurements to account for consumer behavior
then you better brush up on your scientific methodology or hire a Ph.D.
scientist because you can’t do it with data alone. A lot of marketers get the
data and have no idea what to do with it and use junk science methodologies to
make decisions that have no basis in proven reality. Data alone doesn’t tell
the story. Humans are known to act against type for all number of untold
reasons. Data is better than ever today but it isn’t the whole picture. It
isn’t the holy grail and if you aren’t a student of the behavioral sciences –
anthropology, psychology, sociology- you won’t know what to do with it.” (McGinnis,
2012)
Start With Outcomes, invest in metrics that matter
If how you use the data is key, how do you best use it? You
start with clear outcomes and invest in metrics that matter. Augie Ray while commenting to Sean McGinnis on his blog
stated: “ I wish earlier in my career I’d realized that
people will settle for ILLUSION of metrics rather than invest in the metrics
that matter.” Aaron Biebert in the same blog mentioned: “What gets measured
gets done. If you measure and distribute meaningless stats to your team, they
will work on improving them. Measure what matters.”
It helps no one when you measure how many times birds flew
past your window on the way to work. Find those things that drive value. No one will care about data six months from
now when nothing has changed. Money is normally one of the best outcomes to tie
metrics to for businesses. Non-profits may care more about impact, governments
about reduced costs. Find what drives value, and then measure it, use the
metrics to drive change and you will be more successful because of it. (Kaushik A. , 2011) (50 Resources
for Getting the Most Out of Google Analytics)
Be Pragmatic
Being pragmatic means to deal with things sensibly and
realistically and to look at the world based more on the practical rather than
the theoretical. Theory is great at times, but practicality is where business
is done. Some things cannot be measured, tracked, or accounted for. Some things
are impossible to do, to know, etc. The human contribution to the science of
analytics can throw the whole train off the track. No one is perfect in the
world so don’t anchor to what should be able to be done, measured, etc. in a
perfect world. Focus on the small ways you can improve business priorities and
outcomes. Knowing that and realizing that analytics is not the end all be all
will keep you afloat when the world turns upside down. (Kaushik A. , 2011) (Ben, 2010)
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
The field is constantly changing, adapting, and evolving. Don’t be afraid of change, of using multiple
tools. The questions we are searching for so we can answer are hard to find and
changing every day. Be willing to be nimble and quick on your feet as you look
for ways to improve. Don’t get stuck in a rut just because it has been working.
That all can change in a blink of an eye. (Kaushik A. , 2011)
Don’t be afraid of elbow grease
There is a lot of work involved in analytics. Malcollm
Gladwell said that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert, and he was right.
Dane Findley stated in Sean McGinnis’ blog post: “My
best analytics coming from simply being in the trenches — working on my site
every day for 4 years, you just start to get a sense of what will work and what
won’t, before you even have to try it. ALSO: I wish I could have told myself
years ago that everything works a little bit, but there aren’t enough hours in
the day to try “everything” so you have to just pick a couple of key areas,
create a strategy, and throw your weight behind those exclusively. Community
Management is an essential piece of the puzzle, but it’s a huge time sponge.
The more important piece is to keep Google happy (even though no one likes to
say it directly like that, it’s so politically incorrect, yet true). The 3
analytics I look at each week are: uniques, average time on site, and referring
sites (In that exact order).” (McGinnis, 2012)
To become good, you have to put in your time. It may not be
actual elbow grease, but the more you put into it, the more you will get out.
Avinash Kaushik suggests finding 5 hours a week outside of work, family,
school, church, or whatever to devote to yourself to learn, experiment, and
seek to become that expert in whatever you desire. (Kaushik A. , 2011)
What are your thoughts? For those of you already in the
Digital Analytics industry, do you share the same opinion? What have you seen?
Works Cited
50 Resources for Getting the Most Out of Google
Analytics. (n.d.). Retrieved February
12, 2013, from KISSmetrics:
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/50-resources-for-getting-the-most-out-of-google-analytics/
Ben, W. (2010, July). Experience Marketers - What
are 3 things you know now that you wish you knew when you 1st started.
Retrieved February 12, 2013, from Warrior Forum:
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/741889-experienced-marketers-what-3-things-you-know-now-you-wish-you-knew-when-you-1st-started.html
Kaushik, A. (2011, January 10). I Wish I Had Known
That - Digital Web Analytics Edition. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from
Occam's Razor: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/i-wish-i-had-known-that-digital-web-analytics/
McGinnis, S. (2012, December 19). Learning
Analytics: What I Wish I Knew Then. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from
321digital: http://312digital.com/learning-analytics-knew/
