As a web analytics solution provider, how can you compete against the triad of free tools from Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! if you are a web analytics startup? You don't.
But Quebec-city based web analytics player
Percute Technologies is doing well with a personalized, extensible offering for web agencies.
The usual stuff and beyond
Percute offers the usual round of page views, visits, visitors, referrers, path analysis and such in an intuitive and nice interface (you don't reinvent what works well). It even offers good segmentation capabilities, video-tracking, Flash, real time view of site sessions and step by step analysis.
But where Percute really distinguish itself is in its ability and ease of adding custom metrics and reports. They basically offer a custom tailored solution.
Being local, being personal
Since they are in the same city I am, and they also are entrepreneurs, I met with the Percute team several times. Stéphane Guérin and Philip Boumansour are very active serial entrepreneurs behind local successes such as:
- ToutLeMondeEnBlogue.com, a French language blog ranking service with presence in Québec, France, Belgium and Switzerland
- MonAvis.ca, a community-based evaluation service for restaurants, shops and such
- CineHoraire.ca, a theater schedule
- MesConcours.ca, contests, just contests, and just for Quebec!
- Nuouz.com, a Digg-like service
Their philosophy is simple: you can offer tailored and highly valuable services that are distinctly different from the traditional north-american behemoth. A while back I discussed about
cultural differences; the goal of staying local and personalized is counter culture to most American entrepreneurs objective of becoming the next Google (that might be just a perception non-american people have about the US...).
For agencies
After touting the direct sales model, they reoriented toward agencies: allowing marketing and web agencies to resale branded and customized versions of Percute to their own clients. To my knowledge, this is pretty much unique in the web analytics market.
My take
I initially met Stéphane in one of my MBA class and we had good discussions about Percute's business model. I think they have found a niche that suit them well and serves a real business need, especially in a local, French-based context. The challenge is always to explain the benefits of Percute
vis-à-vis Google Analytics and getting a few local big names on board. Once they break this barrier I'm sure things will get rolling.
