Applied Insights

As part of our blog we will be having occasional “blogchats” with movers and shakers in the world of online marketing and analytics. We’ll be asking them questions about their views of the industry and topical issues and then posting them here for your delight.

Jim Sterne

I first met Jim Sterne over 3 years ago when I travelled over to Santa Barbara for the second ever Emetrics conference. Since getting to know Jim at that conference I have been fortuntate enough to have presented at Jim’s Emetrics events in the UK and the US and to share a platform with Jim at Ad-tech in London.

I was delighted when Jim agreed to become our first blogchat victim. As anyone who knows Jim knows, he combines an immense knowledge of the space with razor sharp communication skills. I took the opportunity to ask him about what he thought about the state of the web analytics industry, the future of the Emetrics events and the WAA amongst other things. Here’s what he had to say…

Jim, you’ve been observing and commenting on the web analytics space since before it was invented. What’s your opinion of the health and state of the industry today?

First, a correction. Somebody once introduced me as the Godfather of Web Analytics and I think that’s the most apt description of my involvement. I was *not* there at the conception, nor the birth, but I am decidedly and vigorously interested in its well being.

Where is the industry today? The technology is now at that adolescent stage. It is powerful enough to overwhelm those who want to use it and very useful for those who understand how to control it, but not mature enough yet to help the majority of companies get lots and lots of work done. Only those with clear goals, have a good handle on change management and have hired or contracted smart people with previous experience are at the top of the class today.

You have also worked in Europe for many years and you know our market well. What do you think are the main differences between the web analytics industry over here as opposed to over in the US?

Both the US and Europe have a spectrum of companies from we-can’t-spell-web-analytics-and-still-track-Hits to firms doing a serious job of optimizing their websites. The distribution may be a bit different, but the best and the brightest in Europe are every bit as good and bright and the leaders in the US.

Other than that, there is the issue of US companies moving into the European marketplace. Large companies with solid technology represent stiff competition to firms born and bred locally. But while the technology is strong, the local representation is not as muscular as local firms.

So, you think that there is a viable future for European web analytic vendors?

There is a very viable future for European web analytics vendors - both at home and abroad. European vendors have several advantages. First, the “home field” advantage gives them a leg up due to cultural differences, language differences and simply knowing who the local players are. They also have more feet on the street locally - for the moment.

But they also have the opportunity to expand into the US. That won’t be easy, but it can be very rewarding. I spoken to a number of European firms that are making US plans and finding US partners to work with. The critical piece will be whether they can distinguish themselves. Can they clearly differentiate their offerings in the minds of business buyers?

Who do you think are the most interesting or innovative players in the US or European market at the moment?

“The Big Four” in the US are (alphabetically) Coremetrics, Omniture, WebSideStory and WebTrends. They are showing up more and more around the globe. In Europe, they face RedEye, SiteIntelligence, Foviance, IndexTools, and WebtraffIQ. And my instant apologies to other who are not top of mind a the moment.

As for “interesting” and Innovative” there are several who are doing interesting things, but have not broken out into the mainstream yet. Clickstream and Speedtrap come to mind as having very interesting approaches but not huge followings. ClickTracks is doing a splendid job of providing a very serviceable tool at the lower end of the price range and keeps coming up with innovations.

In October there is the first East Coast Emetrics conference in Washington. You have changed the format for this one from previous Emetrics events in Santa Barbara and London. It’s a bigger event with a number of different tracks. What was the thinking behind the format of the event in Washington?

The Emetrics Summit used to be about web analytics. It’s changing now to encompass all ways one might measure the success of a website. So more than just clickthroughs and pageviews, the Emetrics Summit: The Big Picture is also taking into account customer surveys, performance monitoring, email marketing, search optimization. The question is, How do I know if my online efforts are paying off? How do I optimize web marketing value?

So, instead of 15 speakers and one track, the new format is 50 speakers over seven tracks. We’re also preceding the conference with a Web Analytics Association Training Day to get everybody up to speed. We want people to be on the same page when they hear the very first keynote so they can take away as much as possible from the very beginning.

Do you see the format changing in a similar way for the other Emetrics events in the future?

Absolutely. The world is changing and the Emetrics Summit is keeping up with it.

Where else are you thinking of taking the Emetrics conference to?

We’re talking about and possibly partnering with companies in Scandinavia, Asia and Australia, but it’s too soon to tell. Frankly, the work we’re doing in the next few weeks for Washington D.C. has us completely focused. Ask me again in November when I’ve had a chance to breathe a little

The Web Analytics Association has been going for about 18 months so far. You’re the President of the association. What would you say have been the main successes of the WAA in that time?

The first thing that comes to mind is our membership. We have over 1,000 people and 35 companies as members. That’s a good deal more than I had expected and I’m thrilled.

Also on the thrilled side of things, our Education Committee has done an astonishing job of getting exceptional university level web analytics courses online. Yeah, I guess I sound like a proud Godfather here, but I’ve been hearing those accolades from the students. The WAA has worked in conjunction with the University of British Columbia and the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics is truly world class.

This is the material that’s coming to the Web Analytics Association Training Day on October 15, the day before the Emetrics Summit.

What are the main agenda items for the WAA at the moment?

Education, standards and research top the list. The WAA is dedicated to educating as many people as possible so we can grow the industry. We’re also trying to set some standard definitions so we can discuss pageviews, visits and unique visitors and be confident that we’re all talking about the same thing. And the Research Committee is tasked with finding out more about who we are as an industry. What are our titles? How much do we earn? How many web analysts does it take to change a light bulb?

The Advocacy Committee has been hard at work trying to educate the government(s) so they don’t legislate cookies out of existence while dealing with spyware and malware. That’s a never ending battle.

Finally, the International Committee has done a wonderful job of setting up local WAA groups. There is a strong presence in London, another group in Scotland and ative groups in Finland, Germany and Italy. We’re continuing to grow.

Have you got another book in the pipeline?

In my head, yes. On paper, no. It turns out that running the Emetrics Summit takes up all the time that would have gone into writing another book. So the plan is to partner with a conference company that does the logistics for a living. I’ll be able to remain focused on the program and the speakers without having to manage the website, ensure that direct mail gets out the door and monitor registrations.

Once that happens, it’s well past time to update my Web Metrics book which was written back in 2001 and published in 2002. It’s only good for history classes at this point! And there are a few ideas running around in my head about the operationalization of marketing and how to ensure customer centricity that I’ll need to get off my chest once I get the time.

What do you think we’ll be discussing/worrying about as an industry in a couple of years time?

The big problems of today will not go away soon.

Privacy
Data management
Change management
Getting senior managers to Get It
Identifying goals instead of “poking data with a stick to make it talk” (thanks to Avinash Kaushik for that one.)

Some of us are already dealing with a giant problem that everybody will worry about tomorrow: Multichannel marketing. If nothing else, mobile marketing and mobile access to websites is going to add another layer of complexity and require a few more boxes of Beecham’s Powders.

Finally Jim, what do you like doing in your spare time? Do you have any spare time?

With all the traveling I do, it surprises my wife that I like to travel for vacations. Spare time during the week? You’re kidding, right?

Right! Thanks Jim.