June Dershewitz on Web Analytics

The Upside of Tool Migration

I've been reflecting, lately, on a major web analytics tool migration project that I recently saw through to completion.  To be honest it was not a simple task.  As the news of Omniture's acquisition of Visual Sciences sinks in, I realize that we as an industry have got a few tool migration projects brewing.  Maybe more than a few. 

Faced with the prospect of this work, and in the spirit of optimism, I'd like to mention some of the positive outcomes of a tool migration project.  Even if it is a giant hassle it can be quite beneficial in the end.  Here's why:

• Get the big picture.  If you've had the same measurement system for quite a while, chances are you've got data trickling out in all directions.  Switching tools means that you'll have to take stock of all downstream destinations.  Nothing quite like this exercise to show you just how widely used your data actually is.
• Clean house.  Got something that's broken?  Who doesn't.  No matter how great your existing system is, something could stand to be improved.  Now's your chance to fix a misconfigured tag element, update a report, or kill off a feed that's gone stale.
• Build trust.  Repeat after me, "Watch the trend, not the absolute," and, "Data quality sucks, get over it."  Right?  Some people will always question the integrity of web activity data.  When you make the switch you'll have to reconcile your numbers to some extent, but it also gives you renewed opportunity to show just how confident you are that the data is sound, valid, and worthy of business decision-making.
• Cultivate skills. Who wouldn't jump at the chance to add a bullet point to the skills section of their resume?  A new tool means new opportunity for web analysts, and it can be a refreshing change for those who've been working with the same tools for a long time.

Go on, call me a pollyanna - I'm being mighty optimistic.  I know we've got an unexpected load of work sprung upon us, and it's going to take a while to get through it all.  But I really do think we'll come out of it in better shape than we're in now. 

San Francisco Web Analytics Wednesday Event and Resources

I ♥ SF.  I have lived and worked in the city of San Francisco since 1999; although I was not born here it feels right to call it my hometown.  Over the past 2 years I have helped organize Web Analytics Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Through my participation in WAW I have met a great group of like-minded professionals, and I know I'll be running into these people again and again over the course of my career.  Need I mention that you could benefit similarly by attending WAW events, either here in the Bay Area or wherever you happen to be?

Here's our next local gathering:

Wednesday, October 24th, 6:00-8:00 pm
Zebulon Cafe and Bar
83 Natoma St, San Francisco, CA
Look for us downstairs; we'll have a sign on the table.
Drinks and light snacks provided courtesy of this month's sponsor, Web Analytics Demystified, Inc (thanks, Eric!).
Please RSVP so we know to expect you.

If you'd like to stay in the loop regarding future events, please join the Bay Area WAW Yahoo! group and/or Facebook group (you need a Facebook profile to follow this link).  All of our events are cross-listed, so either group will do.

If you're not a Bay Area person, thanks for enduring this locals-only announcement.  If you organize - or would like to organize - WAW in another city, I'd be glad to offer my advice.  I can be reached at june-at-semphonic-dot-com.

What is the Career Trajectory in Web Analytics?

I've just returned from eMetrics in DC and, as is the case after any great gathering, I am inspired by what I've learned, percolating with questions, and reallllly tired.  Over dinner on Tuesday a fellow conference attendee referred to my personal interest level in web analytics as "rabid."  No wonder I'm tired; I've been in mad dog mode for 3 days straight.

I spent a great deal of time this week thinking about careers.  My own career, the careers of those around me at eMetrics - we're all trying to find our spot, adapting as the web is changing, as our tools are changing, as our personal priorities are changing.  Career management is a tough issue, and it's something I believe anyone who is in this field or thinking of entering this field absolutely must consider.

I was fortunate enough to co-present, with James Gardner from Aquent Staffing, a talk entitled Career Management Strategies for Web Analytics Professionals.  I shared the story of how I've managed my own career in web analytics, then I gave some advice on the topics of job-hopping, freelance consulting, and the "swiss army knife" approach to skills development.  James rounded out the talk by describing what I think is a really useful framework for career management.  Bottom line: Nobody cares about your career as much as you do; it's up to you to decide where it takes you.  Our slides are here:

Presented at eMetrics From:

June Dershewitz

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We knew someone would ask a certain hard question during Q&A, and indeed it did get asked, "So ... what is the career trajectory in web analytics?  I'm in the field now, but where do I go with it?"  Here's the summary of our answer plus some follow-up thoughts:   

On a personal level, know that there is no single exemplary career trajectory you should follow.  YOU need to think about what would suit you best based on your own goals and dreams.  This goes back to self-responsibility - it's up to you to choose the direction you take.  If you prefer management, do that.  If you prefer individual contribution, do that.  There's not one "right" way to do it, so choose what makes you happy.

A fellow from a large company came up after my talk and said he felt like he's had a lot of success with his own career path.  He started out as a web analyst, then was a manager of web analysts, and now is working as a business strategist with fairly wide-ranging responsibilities (all at the same company, no job-hopping).  He feels strongly that his background in web analytics has given him a good foundation for the broad work he does now.

Others see management as the direction they'd like to head but face obstacles along the way. Just because you see the potential for expanded use of web measurement in your organization doesn't mean you will get the executive buy-in you need in order to grow your team.  If you want to manage a team of analysts but lack the budget to hire anyone, how do you advance your career?  How frustrating!  Megan Burns from Forrester Research provided strategies for overcoming this barrier in her eMetrics presentation entitled The Business Case for Web Analysts.

Career advancement is less well-defined and more difficult for web analysts who enjoy individual contribution.  I, for one, am a details person - I love to actually DO analysis work - and I'm aware that a pure management role would distance me from the activities that attracted me to web analytics in the first place.  To that end I prefer the variety and challenge that I get as a consultant, and I believe it's possible to become a leader, acting as a mentor to others rather than moving up the management ladder in the traditional sense.   If you are an individual contributor you absolutely must make an active effort to ensure that you continue to move forward with your career; be creative and don't get stuck in a rut. 

This bifurcation between individual contribution and management paths is not unique to web analysts - it does happen in other career specializations.  Take sales, for example.  Say that you get your start in sales and find that you excel at it; eventually you'll have to make a choice about how you advance your career.  Do you continue to sell, working on larger and more prestigious accounts?  Or do you stop selling and move on to manage others who sell?  There's no one right answer.  It's up to you to choose.

Thoughts?  Stories?  I welcome your feedback.

WebTrends Engage '07: What Happened in Vegas

Was I there to bask in the legendary Las Vegas ambiance?  Or was I there to learn about WebTrends' new product offerings?  In all honesty, a little of both.

I've just returned home from the WebTrends Engage conference, held October 9th and 10th, in Las Vegas.  I'd never been to a vendor-sponsored show before.  It was a little odd to be surrounded by many (though not all) of the usual suspects in the field of web analytics - clients, vendors, consultants - but conspicuously absent were some of my favorite people who happen to work for (or are clients of) competing vendors.  I enjoy events like X Change and eMetrics precisely because of the lack of tool focus - vendor neutrality makes it easier for participants to transcend the whole discussion of tools and talk about what really matters to us and the businesses our work supports.

BUT, as I said I was there to experience Vegas and learn about WebTrends products.  Mission accomplished.

First things first: Vegas ambiance.  WebTrends threw a fabulous party on Tuesday night at the Palms hotel.  The club was totally over-the-top: retractable moon roof, smoke machine, cheesy cover band, guys from the conference dancing somewhat awkwardly while still wearing their name badges.  Dave Navarro showed up later in the evening.  Really. 

And then there was my hotel room.  Although I paid the normal room rate, hotel staff inexplicably (mistakenly?) upgraded me to a penthouse suite - 6 rooms, 4 couches, 3 TVs, panoramic view of the Strip, etc.  Ha!  I was hardly even there.  I was out at the conference, as I said, learning about WebTrends products.

As the name of the conference suggests, WebTrends is pushing the concept of engagement.  One of their new products, Score, makes it easier for marketers to create custom engagement metrics and then assign a score to every single visitor.  How cool is that?!  On Tuesday there was a panel discussion on engagement involving a great cast of thought leaders in our field, including Semphonic's own Gary Angel.

There's definitely some debate on whether or not we think engagement is real or fluff.  Regardless, tools like Score will make it possible for practitioners to see if engagement is a useful thing to concentrate on in real life, not just in theory.

Score was actually the second-most interesting/useful product I learned about at the conference.  The real reason I was there was to learn about Visitor Intelligence.  You can bet I took notes.  I will share some thoughts on Visitor Intelligence in another post.  In the meantime, check out this thorough review written by my fellow conference attendee, Jacques Warren.

Building Bridges: 7 Ways to Get Marketing & IT to Play Nice

We all have our war stories, everyone in the web business.  Marketing has trouble getting through to IT, and IT gets supremely frustrated with Marketing.  But you know what, we all have to work together, more so now than ever.  It benefits everyone if we make an effort to get along.

At the Optimost Optimization Summit held here in San Francisco on October 3rd, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion entitled Building Bridges: Strategies for Overcoming the Marketing/IT Chasm.  I had 4 panelists, all clients and partners of Optimost, who shared their own war stories and also provided insights about what it takes to get Marketing and IT to play nice. 

Here's what I learned from my panelists:

1. Choose the right person or group to serve as the bridge.  Look for a good communicator who has a really solid understanding of IT but also knows the business side.  If you're going to fill this role internally, consider an IT person who'd like to make a career transition to business.
2. Transcend politics.  Sometimes it helps to bring in a politically agnostic party to fill the bridge role, perhaps a consultant.  [Disclosure: yes I am a consultant.  However, this was an unsolicited comment from my panelist on the client side.]
3. Encourage regular communication.  Get an IT rep to attend Marketing meetings, and get a Marketing rep to attend IT meetings.
4. Recognize the issue of control.  IT often doesn't want to give up control to Marketing, so make sure control is considered before you act.  Example: involve IT in vendor selection - don't just buy a tool and spring it on them.
5. Consider timing.  Nobody likes last-minute requests!  Marketers need to give sufficient lead time when requests are made.  If you know you'll need help with an upcoming project, communicate project status to everyone.
6. Provide context.  When asking IT for help, share not just WHAT but WHY they're being asked to do something.  Conversely when IT communicates back how long something will take, it's helpful to know why it'll take that amount of time.
7. Share results.  At the end of a successful project, be sure to acknowledge IT for their contribution.

Toward the end of the session one audience member made a great observation about why we're often at odds: Marketing wants change and IT wants stability.  Think about it - Marketing strives to find newer, better ways of reaching the customer, and IT's goal is to keep the system running smoothly in the first place.  Next time you find yourself in a conflict between these groups, try standing in the other person's shoes. 

Incidentally, I'm new to public speaking, so getting up on stage at the Optimost event was a big deal for me.  I'll be up on stage again at eMetrics in DC on October 16th; this time I get to talk about Successful Career Management Strategies for Web Analytics Professionals.  If you're there, please stop by and say hello.

And go on, there's the comment form.  Tell me your thoughts on bridge-building.

Where We're at with Data Integration

I recently had the opportunity to ask 20 or so fellow web analytics practitioners what they're doing with respect to data integration.  Although each answer was as unique as the person who spoke, there was a common theme:  we want to do more in the future than we are doing today.

The few who are now farthest along in data integration efforts are all doing it in-house, with real data warehouses and technical teams who manage the underlying hardware and software and load processes.  Others are struggling to get systems like this up and running, all the while wondering if there is a better way.  The vast majority of us are sitting on the sidelines knowing data integration is something we want to do eventually but not knowing quite where to start.

Web analytics vendors have begun to address this common desire: see, for instance, WebTrends Visitor Intelligence and Omniture Genesis.  As hosted services, such products could make data integration possible for those of us who are not willing or able to maintain our own technical infrastructure.  If it's not the final answer, at least it's a step in the right direction. 

Assuming we get our tool issues sorted out, we'll still have people issues to contend with.  Data integration almost certainly involves the coordinated efforts of several groups within an organization.  Sometimes our counterparts don't want to share - for political reasons, or privacy reasons, or who knows what.  Getting everyone to work together may end up being the biggest challenge we'll face.

Yes, folks, that's what we're up against.  And yet, it's something we all want and I believe it's something we'll manage to do in the months and years to come.