The Web Analyst’s Enigma

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Web Analytics thrives on cross-functional team support. A healthy dialogue, good relationship and effective data exchange with various departments and their stakeholders is a pre-requisite to this role. By ignoring conflicting goals and different priorities with other departments, the web analytics manager would send bad-signals across the company. 

Web analysts rely heavily on various departments for the right data for their analysis. They must have access to the progress of their recommendations within different departments, and must also have data relating to the outcomes of their recommendations.

Web analysts true worth lie in their ability to access, study and interpret company-wide data and provide business solutions that no other functional member can do.

It would not only be unethical, but also in the bad interest if an analyst hides or cover-up his findings. Altering a new KPI that truly represents the objectives and success of the call centre or covering it with a less-optimal KPI, would be bad for the company and akin to buying sub-optimized keywords in CPC campaigns.

Case Scenario

Let’s take a case scenario!

With the help of some great web analytics, the new marketing campaign starts producing excellent results. However no one realises that it also starts causing negative spikes in the call center performance which company runs to educate and support its customers. The web analytics manager, due to his unique role understands the cause of this drop.

What is he going to do?

Should he be claiming the applause for the success of marketing campaign and remain silent on the issue of call center? Or, in view of company’s overall objective, devise ways to minimise negative effects on the call center which developed as direct outcome of the new campaign?     

As a skilled and trusted employee, the web analyst is there to produce value to the organization. The negative spikes in the call centre due to the successful marketing campaign, is certainly not creating value in the organization as a whole.

The web analytics manager and his team should find the variables that contribute to negative spike in the call center and try to find possible solutions. He must develop a dialogue between the two departments and encourage coordination between them to ensure that their actions and objectives are in sync with that of the organization.

Let’s assume that we are running this marketing campaign in online and print media for Rogers. With a strong copy and focus on the given product, we are inviting the audience to contact the call centre or reach a landing page to avail special promotional offer.

As visitors reach a customized landing page and start buying the product with the help of an optimized landing experience, the marketing efforts start paying off immediately. This shows in their excellent return per visitor metrics.

However, as the customer service department is not made aware of the nature and magnitude of the campaign, the call centre is ill prepared to handle that additional burst of traffic resulting in long waiting periods, poor response rate, insufficient product knowledge, and unsatisfied callers.

The web analytics managers’ role in this case would be to first verify all the findings and then contact the two department heads for a meeting to establish the facts. This could lead to more discussion rounds and arrive at a strategy to overcome coordination issues, if any. Given the sensitivity of this issue, other stakeholders should not be included in these discussions and any finger pointing should be discouraged.

However, the real challenge lies if there are no “coordination issue” between the two departments. If the web analytics manger feels that the KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) of the departments effectively measure their efficiency, he should strive to find the causes and solutions with the two departmental heads. He should try to find

• Objectives and execution details of the campaign
• Results of the campaign
• Impact on both departments
• Performance measures in both departments
• KPI and its relevance in measuring call centre performance
• Test findings under different conditions
• Potential causes and solutions
• Establishing solutions and reaching agreement

This way the web analytics manager would impartially carry out his duties in the best interest of the company and keep getting valuable cross-functional department support despite occasional inter-departmental conflicts. This is essential for the success of the web analytics department and the success of the organization as well.

Related posts:

1. Website Optimization Strategy – Project Report