Analytics (So Much More…)

During a recent partner meeting, the topic of ‘marketing analytics’ came up – it’s amazing how one topic can bring a sudden hush over the room. Certainly everyone has their opinions and interpretations on this topic and no one can deny that analytics is one of the hot topics these days for any type of organizational leader, but what many of us tend to forget is that analytics go so much further than just marketing – it touches every functional aspect of an organization ranging from human resources; finance; investor relations; brand awareness; corporate communications and so on.

The real key to successful and measurable metrics is interpreting the analytics in a way that everyone understands and can make informed decisions – ultimately providing a mechanism that can be acted upon in a manner that will drive additional results for an organization. Anyone can easily run a report on your website; Google ads; marketing initiatives; number of responses to sales initiatives and so on, but the real key is interpreting all of the working pieces and determining how they are collectively driving results – ideally achieving your organization’s goals. For example, even a job posting for an administrative role can affect your analytics – with greater access than ever before, interested candidates view job postings, share them with colleagues and family; discuss them on multiple social media outlets – every touch point is contributing to your organization’s analytics.

While it sounds fundamental, this can be enlightening for those who can’t comprehend the big picture. We’re always amazed when we meet with clients and ask them about their website analytics. In many cases, we’re met with a blank stare. Here are successful businesses, that experience continued growth year after year, but never really think about how their websites are driving business – and that’s ok for the short term, but as more and more of their competitors start to review their own analytics and metrics more closely the greater the potential that the growth of these organizations’ could start to decline. So the next time someone wants to talk about “marketing analytics”, why not lead with – “That’s an interesting topic, got a few minutes?”

To Market We Go!