driving profit in the downturn:using data to improve website performance and drive business results

Driving Profit in the Downturn:Using Data to Improve Website Performance

and Drive Business Results

Marisa Gallagher and Jamie Yaptinchay

Who We Are

Marisa Gallagher• Vice President, User Experience• 8+ years with the company• Clients: Cisco, Disney, Ancestry, Genentech, McKesson, Sun Microsystems, Singapore

Airlines, Napster, Farmers Insurance, NASA, Visa, ESPN, ABC• Studied Anthropology and Film at Notre Dame, Business at Haas• Worked at the early days of CNET and LookSmart• Areas of focus: uses of narrative and data, media & entertainment, travel, enterprise

Jamie Yaptinchay• Strategist, Site Optimization• 4 years with the company• Clients: 50+• Double degree in Informatics and Economics at University of Washington• Early Atlas analyst and pioneer in use of the Atlas tag for site-side analysis• Areas of focus: translating data to business goals, SO, combining qual + quant

© 2009 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

Why Data + Profits = Marketing Needs to Sharpen Its Focus

88% of CMOs are seeing

the downturn wreak havoc on their budgets and plans


Let’s Get Down to Business

Setting Perspective

The Top 10 Profit-Driving Uses of Data


1. See how you measure up

2. Don’t play hard to get

3. Know where you’re coming from and going to

4. Dig for (buried) treasure

5. Follow your treasure trove

6. Don’t play 20 questions

7. Don’t fumble in the end zone

8. Raiders of the last log

9. Explore the space-time continuum

10. Track your buzz, hug your haters

Start with a Hypothesis – Map Your Customer’s Flow


Use the timeline below to map a typical (core or new type) customer’s relationship to your brand.1. Plot 3-5 key experiences your customers have on the way through the gates of the funnel.2. Mark down when and where those experiences happen and why they are so key to your funnel.3. Identify 2-3 questions you have about this flow – ideas you have a hunch about and want to investigate.

AREAS FOR INVESTIGATION:

A. B. C.

You rock!

You suck!

zeroemotion

preference

conversion

consideration

awareness

Start with a Hypothesis – Map Your Customer’s Flow


AREAS FOR INVESTIGATION:A. Increase word of mouth, add reviews? B. Increase trial – online demos? C. Increase retention - expand newsletter pilot

+ reup options

You rock!

You suck!

zeroemotion

preference

conversion

consideration

awareness

Saw

funn

y co

mm

erci

al

Frie

nd r

ecom

men

ded

them

Saw

goo

d de

mo

from

com

petit

or

Ano

ther

frie

nd r

ecom

men

ded

a

seco

nd o

ptio

n

Test

ed th

e pr

oduc

t + li

ke it

Fou

nd a

per

fect

dea

l

Got

cou

pon

for

new

one

, ju

st a

s w

as r

unni

ng o

ut

love

s th

e m

onth

ly n

ewsl

ette

r an

d

is o

n an

aut

o-re

fill

EXAMPLE

Diving Into the Details

Seeing the Ideas in Action

1. See How You Measure Up


CONVERSION RATES BY VERTICAL*

Average Min Max

Financial 15.4% 0.3% 87.1%

Pharma 5.9% 1.2% 16.6%

Publisher - Content 36.8% 25.0% 48.7%

Retail 11.4% 0.0% 68.3%

Travel 10.1% 0.1% 25.5%

Averaged 15.9% 5.3% 49.2%

Do you have room to move? Are you closer

to the floor or the ceiling?

What: Know your conversion rate and how it compares to others

Why: Knowing how you’re doing, and how much you could improve, is half the battle

How: Use traffic + sales data, web analytics, or SiteOps diagnostics

*sample stats only

2. Don’t Play Hard to Get


Search marketing is too big to ignore – your competitors will be using it, if

they aren’t already

What: Investigate and fix your search ranking

Why: If your customers can’t find you, they can’t buy from you

How: Take on the quick hits yourself - then dig deeper with an SEO specialist

3. Know Where Your Coming From & Going To


Is every page your “home page”?

What: Review your referral sources and entry points

Why: Knowing your users’ traffic flow allows you to change it

How: Check your web analytics reports

4. Dig for (Buried) Treasure


E-commerce

What: Identify your site’s critical pages and hidden gems

Why: Find out where you need to focus attention

How: Check web analytics for traffic, time on site, and patterns/anomalies

Media & Entertainment

5. Follow the Treasure Trove


What: Test and optimize critical pages and hidden gems

Why: Fixing the freeway will help users get to the destination

How: Run in-page diagnostics, a site survey, or usability test on the pages

Test to understand users’ behavior

6. Don’t Play 20 Questions


What: Remove unnecessary form fields and steps in your processes

Why: Nothing needs to stand in your customers’ way, particularly you

How: Run a usability test or in-page/form field diagnostic

Only dogs like to jump through hoops

7. Don’t Fumble In the End Zone


What: Clean up confirmation pages and cart handoffs

Why: If someone gives you their credit card, they usually want you to use it

How: Check web analytics, run A/B tests or in-page drop-off diagnostics

The most critical drop-off point occurred after

users actually submitted application

forms.

This represents a loss of over 3,600 card

applications

8. Raiders of the Last Logs


What: Review your search logs

Why: Users use their own words to tell you what they’re looking for

How: Pull or customize the base report that comes with your search package

Even Google and Zappos can offer Insights

9. Explore The Space-Time Continuum


What: Investigate how seasonality and geography affect your users’ behavior

Why: Knowing when and where = relevance

How: Check public tools, web analytics, and custom reports

“We’ve moved our publication schedule because the news environment has shifted and we’ve been listening to you.”

– Time Magazine

10. Track Your Buzz, Hug Your Haters


What: Listen to your customers

Why: Being the last to know your product sucks is bad for business

How: Explore the continuum of tools – from Google Alerts to Nielsen BuzzMetrics

Even disappointment can lead to a better relationship – if it’s thought of as one.

Thank YouMarisa Gallagher

[email protected]/marisagallagher

Jamie [email protected]

www.twitter.com/jamiey

Appendix - Abandonment Rate


ABANDONMENT RATES BY VERTICAL

Average Min Max

Financial 41.14% 21.30% 70.91%

Pharma 48.81% 25.45% 72.56%

Publisher - Content 53.20% 29.22% 85.79%

Retail 26.85% 11.61% 83.87%

Travel 47.46% 9.48% 94.68%

Do you have room to move? Are you closer

to the floor or the ceiling?

What: Know your abandonment rate and how it compares to others

Why: Knowing how you’re doing, and how much you could improve, is half the battle

How: Use traffic + sales data, web analytics, or SiteOps diagnostics

driving profit in the downturn:using data to improve website performance and drive business results

Design

rights reserved

hypothesis

data

closer

funnel

hug

companyclients

space