Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Workshop: Roadmap to online analytics success

Increasing conversions, reducing acquisition costs and optimizing online marketing activities are often cited as key reasons for venturing into web analytics. Properly installing the tool is a challenge in itself but even when done successfully, unexpected issues surface and the value of online analytics quickly fade.

Analysis and data has been part of my job ever since I started over 20 years ago. I spent most of the last 15 years as a practitioner or consultant developing web sites and strategies for dozens of companies. More recently, I spent 18 months studying why some companies succeed while so many fail at web analytics. The result was the release of a first proposal for a Web Analytics Maturity Model.

Far from pretending to be smarter or more "expert" than others, I guess it's a matter of interest, lots of grey hair and a certain level of freedom that allows me to spend the time documenting and sharing my experience and expertise.

Several people asked for more. The answer is a half-day or full-day workshop I will present in several cities, starting with:
I'm always open to work with local partners to bring this workshop to a city near you. Contact me if you are interested to attend or organize.
* Registration coming soon

Workshop description

This course proposes an efficient methodology that addresses online analytics from a managerial perspective. The goal isn’t to learn how to use a tool or optimize your latest marketing campaign from a tactical perspective. The methodology stems from years of experience in online strategies and analytics as a practitioner and consultant to several clients as well as an 18 month study of critical success factors of analytics.

You will learn about the six key process areas of a successful online initiative and how analytics can be leveraged at every step of the site life-cycle. You will get a clear road map to achieve success.

Objectives

This workshop will go through an assessment of your online analytics goals and objectives from a business, marketing and web executive's point of view. You will learn about the critical success factors and the process that will enable you to plan for future advancement. At the end of this workshop, you will have learned:
  • A method to do a strategic evaluation of your current and desired situation.
  • How to leverage the six critical process areas of a data driven organization.
  • Tips & tricks to define realistic objectives aligned with your business... how to measure & achieve them!
  • How to identify areas requesting more investment and energy.
  • How to communicate effectively, be a change agent and overcome political storms.
  • Several real-life examples, failures & successes.

Target audience

The course is specifically designed for analysts who are change agent in their organization or web and marketing managers who wants to leverage online analytics. For exampe, the workshop will be particularly appealing to:
  • Web analysts and managers
  • Marketing and online marketing managers
  • E-commerce managers
  • Directors
  • IT directors and managers

Prerequisites

  • No knowledge of web analytics or a web analytics solution is required
  • No technical knowledge is required
  • Interest for online strategies and measuring success is a must!

Workshop schedule

  1. Introduction: analytical management = enlightened management
    • Overview of the online analytics maturity model
    • Description of each of the six critical process areas
    • Task: self-assessment of your current analytical situation
  2. Defining objectives: ideas more than you can handle
    • Defining objectives: a process
    • Planning and opportunities prioritization
    • The role of user-centered design, personas and persuasion architecture
    • Task: business objectives vs online objectives
  3. Statistics like you’ve never seen them before!
    • Average, trends, control limits from a management perspective
    • Population & segmentation
    • Correlation, trinity and multiplicity at work
    • A scientific approach to analysis
    • Conversion revisited
    • Task: Challenge!
  4. Communication: tell me a number and I’ll tell you a story
    • Key Performance Indicators, what they are (and are not)
    • Dashboards has they should be
    • Task: what’s your KPI?
  5. The analysis process
    • Problem solving and critical thinking
    • The importance of business analysis in analytics
    • SixSigma & Lean applied
  6. Management
    • Managing the unmanageable: the organizational culture
    • Change management
    • Political factors
    • The ultimate team
    • Task: case study
  7. Conclusion
    • Wrapping up
    • Innovation & the future of analytics
The workshop is filled with anecdotes, tips & tricks gleaned throughout over 20 years of experience, the last 15 spent working on dozens of online projects strategies and hands on web analytics learning.

Course material

Presentation hands out with annotations and exercises.

Additional info

Visit the Web Analytics Maturity Model section on immeria.net.

About the instructor

Stéphane Hamel is a leading voice for online analytics, helping businesses understand the value of performance measurement and process optimization. With over twenty years of experience, most spent developing web sites and online strategies, he is now teaching a full-semester, graduate level class about online analytics at Laval University (Québec City), as taught over 500 people through lecturing the « Award of Achievement in Web Analytics » and « Introduction to Business Analysis » classes at the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the « International Institute of Business Analysis » and on the board of directors and treasurer of the « Web Analytics Association ». Stéphane received the « Web Analytics Association Leadership and Technical Excellence Recognition » and is a frequent speaker at the « eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit » and other conferences. Stéphane owns a Master in Business Administration specializing in eBusiness.