Xavier Colomes, Sr Web Analyst – Intuit UK
What is the real value of Digital Analytics? Do you feel dragged to reporting and not focusing on testing and growing the business?
The Digital Analytics set-up is typically a mess for most organisations. Whether you get to start with a clean slate or are just the unlucky analyst tasked with sorting it out, Xavier believes you have a three month window to take the necessary actions. He walks through his checklist for your critical 90 days, delineating the priorities and how long tasks should take. Xavier shares stories from Intuit and previous companies so you can kick start your analytics from the basics to success in only three months.
3. WHAT MANAGEMENT THINKS I DO
WHAT DEVELOPERS THINK I DO
WHAT MARKETING THINKS I DO
WHAT I THINK I DO
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WHAT FINANCE THINKS I DO
WHAT I REALLY DO
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5. THE VALUE OF DIGITAL ANALYTICS
A LIVING LEGEND
ANALYTICS NINJA
INFLUENCING STRATEGIC DECISIONS
OPTIMISATION & TESTING
MID / LONG TERM PROJECTS
A GOOD ANALYST
DEEP DIVE ANALYSIS
THAT GUY WHO
USED TO SENT
REPORTS
AD HOC ANALYSIS
REPORTING
THE ANALYTICS
GUY
TOOLS CONFIG
HOW YOU WILL
BE REMEMBERED
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6. THE VISION
IN 3 MONTHS WE ARE SEEN BY THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COMPANY
AS LEADERS OF CHANGE AND STRATEGIC BUSINESS PARTNERS
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7. THE CHALLENGE
FOCUS. DO LESS TO ACHIEVE MORE.
80% OF SUCCESS WILL COME FROM 20% OF THE CHANGES
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8. WHY 3 MONTHS?
WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE
OUR PROJECTS ARE PRIORITISED FASTER
WE HAVE A GREAT IMPACT ON CHANGE
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10. THE ROLE OF THE
DIGITAL ANALYST: THE PLAN
5 - OPTIMISATION
BUSINESS
GOALS
&
STRATEGY
ANALYTICS
ROADMAP
1 –TOOL
CONFIGURATION
4 - ANALYSIS
3 - AUTOMATE
REPORTING
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2 - DATA
EXTRACTION
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11. WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO AVOID
REPORTING
DASHBOARDING
LOOKING BACKWARDS
TRACKING & TOOL RELATED ISSUES
WATING TIME ON NON RELEVANT CHANGES
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12. 3 MONTHS TO SUCCESS
THE GOAL IS TO SOLVE FOR “DEFINE” AND “AUTOMATE” WITHIN THE
FIRST 3 MONTHS TO FOCUS ON THE ACTIONABLE PART OF OUR ROLE
DEFINE
PLAN THE WEB ANALYTICS
ROADMAP, ANTICIPATING
TOOLS, PROCESSES AND
REQUESTS
w1: ONBOARDING
w2: THE PLAN
w3: TOOLS
w4: VALIDATION
AUTOMATE
AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS
OF DATAEXTRACTION .SEND
THE REPORTS REQUIRED
BY THE BUSINESS
w5: EXTRACTION
w6: DASHBOARDS
w7: AUTOMATION
w8: EDUCATION
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DELIVER
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE
BUSINESS
w9: THE DEEP DIVE
w10: SEGMENTS
w11: VOC
w12: TESTING PLAN
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13. 1
DEFINE
WEEK 1:
ONBOARDING
UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS:
PLAN THE WEB ANALYTICS
ROADMAP, ANTICIPATING
TOOLS, PROCESSES AND
REQUESTS
the business model
the product , lineup, UVP & details of the offering
the Industry (eCommerce, SaaS, Content, Brand, Marketplace, etc)
the website (do a intense Heuristic taking notes of everything you see)
the funnel & customer journey (cycle, segmentation, motivations)
competitors, customers, segmentation, etc...
UNDERSTAND THE COMPANY:
organisation, who is who, top Hippos & decision makers
realistic SWOT analysis, no company is perfect. Main areas of improvement.
top sponsors, business partners & influencers for analytics
identify eventual risks and blockers
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14. WEEK 2:
THE PLAN
DRAW YOUR PLAN
1
DEFINE
PLAN THE WEB ANALYTICS
ROADMAP, ANTICIPATING
TOOLS, PROCESSES AND
REQUESTS
What is your vision and mission of the analytics role in the organisation
What will you do: What success looks like in Analytics
What metrics and KPIs will you track. Identify your critical few
What goals, segments, events will be measured and what tools will you use
What do you need to achieve the goals and what/when needs to happen
How will you share the data and insights
GET BUY IN FOR IT
Present your plan to your main stakeholders. Make it one of the priorities.
Ask clearly for what you need: Resources, Money, Tools or Prioritisation
Commit to your results. If you commit and deliver the results. you’ll have
trust for the future changes that you implement
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15. WEEK 3:
TOOLS IMPLEMENTATION
REMEMBER CRITICAL FEW
1
DEFINE
PLAN THE WEB ANALYTICS
ROADMAP, ANTICIPATING
TOOLS, PROCESSES AND
REQUESTS
Tag management tool
Clickstream (GA, SC) tracking, goals, eCommerce tracking, custom vars, etc.
Heat map tool & Visit recording (Crazy Egg, Inspectlet, Click Tale)
VOC tool (4Q, Qualaroo, Uservoice, etc). Start tracking the Visit Intent.
Testing tool (Optimizely, convert.com, sitespec)
CONFIGURATION
Profiles & filters structure (per product, country, division, device)
Goals and Funnels
Traffic source tracking
Data Sources (adWords)
Site Search tracking
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16. DIGITAL ANALYTICS IS MUCH MORE
THAN CLICKSTREAM DATA
VOC
USABILITY
TESTING
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17. 1
DEFINE
WEEK 4:
VALIDATION
TRUST AND CREDIBILITY ARE SACRED
PLAN DE WEB ANALYTICS
ROADMAP, ANTICIPATING
TOOLS, PROCESSES AND
REQUESTS
Validate basic Clickstream data (visits, pageviews) with at least 2 tools
Validate traffic attribution with other sources (AdWords, affiliates, etc)
Validate Goals and Transactions agains the main DDBB (finance or product)
Debug all the process carefully, including evars, cookies, segments, etc.
Make sure that you are tracking all devices in all browsers
Unknown unknowns: Make sure you are tracking absolutely every page of
your website
Triple Check that VOC tools are not blocking important buttons
Validate that you don’t store PII data and comply with your local law
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18. 3 MONTHS TO SUCCESS
THE GOAL IS TO SOLVE FOR “DEFINE” AND “AUTOMATE” WITHIN THE
FIRST 3 MONTHS TO FOCUS ON THE ACTIONABLE PART OF OUR ROLE
DEFINE
PLAN THE WEB ANALYTICS
ROADMAP, ANTICIPATING
TOOLS, PROCESSES AND
REQUESTS
w1: ONBOARDING
w2: THE PLAN
w3: TOOLS
w4: VALIDATION
AUTOMATE
AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS
OF DATAEXTRACTION .SEND
THE REPORTS REQUIRED
BY THE BUSINESS
w5: EXTRACTION
w6: DASHBOARDS
w7: AUTOMATION
w8: EDUCATION
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DELIVER
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE
BUSINESS
w9: THE DEEP DIVE
w10: SEGMENTS
w11: VOC
w12: TESTING PLAN
#eMetrics
@xavier_colomes
19. MONTH 2: AUTOMATE
WE HAVE THE TOOLS AND BASIC TRACKING IN
PLACE, BUT WE ARE NOT READY TO ANALYSE YET
USE THE SECOND MONTH TO CREATE A PROCESS
WHERE YOU DON´T HAVE TO SPEND TIME
UPDATIG USELESS REPORTS AND DASHBOARDS
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20. 2
AUTOMATE
WEEK 5:
EXTRACTION
AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS
TO EXTRACT DATA AND SEND
THE REPORTS REQUIRED
BY THE BUSINESS
DATA SHOULD KEEP FLOWING WHERE YOU ARE IN HOLIDAYS
Regardless of the tool, create an automated (if possible) process to access
to the critical few Web Analytics metrics of your business
Start using Excel to keep the data and
Identify all the other data sources that are criticall to your success and
create the same process
THE DATA EXTRACTION MATURITY MODEL
• Level 0: No extraction, only the tools UI
• Level 1: Excel extraction for ad-hoc reports & analysis
• Level 2: Recurrent manual extraction via SQL or plugins
• Level 3: 100% automation and deployment of Web Analytics data
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22. EXTRACTING DATA FROM SITECAT & GA
UI
SCHEDULED REPORTS
EXCEL
REPORTING API
DATA WAREHOUSE
DATA FEED HIT LEVEL
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(Limits app.)
BigQuery
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23. WEEK 6:
DASHBOARDING
CREATE THE BASIC DASHBOARDS TO RTB
2
AUTOMATE
AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS
TO EXTRACT DATA AND SEND
THE REPORTS REQUIRED
BY THE BUSINESS
Learn about the reporting culture in the company (KPIs, time periods, etc)
Focus on the critical few
Add always an absolute, a comparison (WoW, MoM) and a trend
Leave room for basic commentary
Automate the creation of the dashboard as much as possible
CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF ALERTS (10-20%)
Changes on traffic
Changes on acquisition
Changes on engagement
Changes on Conversion
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25. WEEK 7:
AUTOMATE REPORTING
IDENTIFY THE MAIN CONSUMERS
2
AUTOMATE
AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS
TO EXTRACT DATA AND SEND
THE REPORTS REQUIRED
BY THE BUSINESS
90% of the data we are required is not used, just reported. Automate it.
Identify the main consumers and automate reports to them via email.
Don’t become a “data guardian”. You want data to be used by everyone.
Make it easy to access the data, so you are not bothered in that
AUDIT THE REPORTING: IS THIS REPORT ACTIONABLE?
YES, by me. Then it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth maintaining.
YES, by the receiver. Automate it.
NO, and can be droped. Drop it.
NO, but I’m required to send it. Delegate or teach how to access the data
ASK THEM: What did you change based on this report the last time?
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26. 2
AUTOMATE
WEEK 8:
EDUCATION
AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS
TO EXTRACT DATA AND SEND
THE REPORTS REQUIRED
BY THE BUSINESS
DATA NEEDS TO BE UNDERSTOOD TO BE USED
Train your office in Web Analytics and Basic Analytics methods (Excel).
Organise a series of Workshops and short courses. Make it fun.
Share your plan and partner with every team / department closely
Spend time explaining HOW can YOU support THEM to achieve their goals
Work with them in the analysis of the reports that you deliver, but let the
team take the first successful change or action based on that (Quick Wins)
To ensure this process, give each team / colleague / marketer a KPI to
monitor and improve: BR, LTB, CTR, etc.
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27. 3 MONTHS TO SUCCESS
THE GOAL IS TO SOLVE FOR “DEFINE” AND “AUTOMATE” WITHIN THE
FIRST 3 MONTHS TO FOCUS ON THE ACTIONABLE PART OF OUR ROLE
DEFINE
PLAN THE WEB ANALYTICS
ROADMAP, ANTICIPATING
TOOLS, PROCESSES AND
REQUESTS
w1: ONBOARDING
w2: THE PLAN
w3: TOOLS
w4: VALIDATION
AUTOMATE
AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS
OF DATAEXTRACTION .SEND
THE REPORTS REQUIRED
BY THE BUSINESS
w5: EXTRACTION
w6: DASHBOARDS
w7: AUTOMATION
w8: EDUCATION
27
DELIVER
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE
BUSINESS
w9: THE DEEP DIVE
w10: SEGMENTS
w11: VOC
w12: TESTING PLAN
#eMetrics
@xavier_colomes
28. WEEK 9:
DEEP DIVE & FUNNEL
A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS
3
DELIVER
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE
BUSINESS
Draw the funnel and start from the very top to the conversion point:
Awareness, Acquisition, Engagement and Conversion
Analyse the traffic sources, devices and Multi Channels.
Before analysing pages at the URL detail, analyse the overall funnel using
the content templates (all landing pages, all product pages, all category
pages, checkout, etc).
What are they looking for? Analyse Site Search terms
Analyse the Heat maps and the records of the contents that you found
more relevant for the business and where engagement needs to be
analysed to the detail
Add competitor analysis, and present de results
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32. 3
DELIVER
WEEK 10:
SEGMENTATION
WHERE THE INSIGHT IS HIDDEN
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE
BUSINESS
Create a comprehensive set of segments aligned with the business strategy
Segment by Visitor Intent: Identify the visit purposes using VOC tools and
assign one goal to each of the different purposes. Which are more likely to
convert? Which is satisfied and which not?
Segment your traffic by Branded / No Branded. Don’t assume that Branded
traffic is the traffic that already knows / likes you.
Segment by Device. Understand what is the main purpose of each device and
how is it contributing to the business objectives.
Segment by type of customer: Converter, Abandoner, Browser, Searcher...
Segment by Geography. Country, region or City level, depending on the
business. Analyse Site search, products and abandonment by geo.
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33. SEGMENTS BY ACTION
WHAT´S THIS
PERFORM A SEARCH AND LEAVE
SEARCH AND LEAVE IN PRODUCT PAGE
CART ABANDONDONMENT
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34. WEEK 11:
VOICE OF CUSTOMER
UNDERSTAND THE WHY
3
DELIVER
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE
BUSINESS
Include Web/App NPS or ratings as one of your Goals
Don’t stop in the tools: Get out of the Building
Observation is a powerful technique, but combine Usability studies with
Interviews to get the most of every session.
Include VOC metrics: Visitor Intent, Task Completion rate, NPS, etc...
Leverage Clickstream and VOC to create your website Personas
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35. WEEK 12:
THE TESTING PLAN
USE THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
EXPERIMENTING SINCE 350 BC.
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3
DELIVER
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE
BUSINESS
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39. TIPS TO BECOME
A TRUE
INFLUENCER
FOCUS: DON´T CREATE NOISE OR
CHURN
LISTEN FIRST
UNDERSTAND EVERYONE´S GOALS
DON’T ADD NEW COMPLEXITY
DON’T FIX WHAT IS NOT BROKEN
USE YOUR POWER TO SOLVE THEIR
PROBLEMS TOO
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40. WHAT WILL FAIL?
Timings: Nothing will happen fast enough
Ownership: Priorisation and buy in for changes
Technology: The great challenge for A/B Testing
WHAT WILL SAVE YOU?
The plan: When you commit to a date and you deliver
The people: Partner with the right people and share your vision
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42. RECAP AND TAKE AWAYS
1. THE GOAL OF THE DIGITAL ANALYST IS TO LEAD CHANGE
2. THE VALUE OF THE ANALYSIS RELIES ON THE ACTIONS
TAKEN BASED ON IT
3. WE NEED TO AUTOMATE EVERYTHING THAT TAKES OUR
TIME OFF THE MAIN GOAL
4. TO AUTOMATE REPORTING WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT
THE RECIPIENTS ARE UNDERSTANDING HOW TO USE DATA
5. WE WANT TO SPEND OUR TIME IN DEEP DIVES AND TESTS
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43. 3 MONTHS TO SUCCESS
THE GOAL IS TO SOLVE FOR “DEFINE” AND “AUTOMATE” WITHIN THE
FIRST 3 MONTHS TO FOCUS ON THE ACTIONABLE PART OF OUR ROLE
DEFINE
PLAN DE WEB ANALYTICS
ROADMAP, ANTICIPATING
TOOLS, PROCESSES AND
REQUESTS
AUTOMATE
AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS
OF DATAEXTRACTION .SEND
THE REPORTS REQUIRED
BY THE BUSINESS
DELIVER
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE
BUSINESS
DEFINE AND AUTOMATE
FIRST TO FOCUS ON
WHAT REALLY
MATTERS
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