In late 2009 I published the first version of the Online Analytics Maturity Model – an easy approach to assess the value and effectiveness of an organization’s online analytics practice. So far, nearly three hundred organizations participated in this unique study. I have now gathered enough data to assess the state of the industry from various angles: geography, industries, business type, years of experience, etc.
While we get excited about data integration, real time and crazy dashboards – let alone the Big Data frenzy – the reality is most organizations are still in their infancy when it comes to analytics.
This week at the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit we will hear about the most advanced and the brightest in our industry. While this is immensely inspiring and motivating, most attendees will get back to the office with a strange feel of being overwhelmed yet unsure about what to do next.
Online analytics in the US
Based on the six key process areas of organizations successfully leveraging digital analytics, we can look at benchmark results of the 75 US-based organizations that participated in the survey.
1. MANAGEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND ADOPTION
What is the highest job title with accountability for online performance measurement against business goals? The average score is 2.5.
Nobody
Project manager
Director or team lead
Senior managers, Vice president position
Several senior managers
It is implicit throughout the organization
2. OBJECTIVES
What is the objective of your current online analytics program? Average score of 2.4.
Yet to be defined
We use a request/task list
eMarketing optimization
eBusiness optimization
Business optimization
Reinventing our business
3. SCOPE
The scope defines the size of the playing field. Average score is 3.
We’re improvising
The HiPPO decides (boss or politics arbitrary decision)
Focusing on a specific online activity/sector (i.e. campaign optimization or specific site area)
We’re aiming to optimize a single channel (websites, social, etc.)
We’re looking at the whole ecosystem (several sites, social media, etc.)
We’re going beyond online and optimizing offline
4. TEAM & EXPERTISE
How is your online analytics team structured? Average score of 1.9.
No dedicated resources
Project team
At least one full time analyst
Distributed team – different managers
Multidisciplinary team – single manager
Experienced & empowered business users
5. METHODOLOGY
How do you develop hypotheses, define problems & opportunities, analyze and provide insight? Score of 1.4.
No specific methodology
I have my own way
We have developed our own methodology
We have adopted a proven methodology for our analytics
We use an agile methodology for our online activities
The whole organization has adopted an agile philosophy
6. TECHNOLOGY
How sophisticated is your use of the technology? Average score of 2.
We have yet to implement measurement tools
We are doing classic web analytics/clickstream/behavioral measurement
We have defined outcomes/conversion points, KPIs, dashboards
We do segmentation, merchandising & campaign optimization. We have personas & KPI alerts
We are merging multiple data sources, do behavioral targeting, and evaluate lifetime value
We do predictive analytics and have defined activity-based costing
Maturity self-assessment v2.0 beta
At eMetrics I presented the 1st results from this benchmark and a more complete paper will be available in the coming days. Starting today, people filling out the self-assessment survey will not only get their own evaluation, but also how they compare globally, by geography, vertical, and business type.
When enough data is collected for similar industries, business types and countries I can provide benchmark results. A global comparative benchmark is always provided.
Conversely, when enough data is available for those who are Responsible or Accountable in similar industries and business types, we can provide benchmark results includes years of work and analytics-specific experience.
On average, people in the Retail Trade industry, who are Responsible for online analytics have 8.7 years of work experience and 5 years of analytics experience (based on 21 similar entries).
For similar industry and business type, relative frequency of job titles and departments where analytics lives is provided.
You mentioned you are Statistical Analyst and analytics lives in Marketing.
Popular terms found in 21 job titles for people who are Responsible for analytics.
Popular terms found in 29 department names.
A rule-based engine (still under development) will assess your strength & weaknesses and provide a number of action items:
Pay close attention to your strengths and weaknesses and any key process area which is more than two degrees above or below others. Here are some points you might want to consider:
The Management dimension is above most others, indicating expectations might be too high for your analytical capabilities.
Your Scope might be too broad, try focusing on specific items in order to bring more value and demonstrate success.
The Methodology is often the weakest area, try educating yourself about topics such as Lean SixSigma and Agile Development.
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