Analytics: Data into Action -- All about Segmentation

I caught Matthew Bailey's presentation for "Analytics: Data into Action" at SES NY this week, and it's true: he is a fantastic, animated speaker. I can see why he's a favorite at so many of these shows.

Matt's session started with basic but good points (a) that analysis is more than reporting, (b) that web analytics works best when you start with clearly defined expectations about what you're going to measure, and (c) that no analytics solution is 100% accurate, but that trends are far more important than accuracy. All good stuff.

But then he delivered a hallelujah moment: great web analytics is about understanding the segmentation of your audience.

He exclaimed with great vigor: "Find the different goals and motivations of your visitors -- they're not one big herd of cattle moving from point A to point B!"

He also emphasized that "there is not a single conversion rate, but different conversion rates for different segments. Segment your analysis as well as your visitors."

I wanted to jump up and shout, "Yeah!"

Having been banging on the segmentation drum for many years ourselves -- occasionally feeling like the lone little drummer boy -- it was wonderful to have such a respected voice in the web marketing space advocate this ideal so clearly and passionately.

However, while Matt primarily focused on using different search marketing keywords as the way to segment respondents -- which is certainly a good idea on its own, matching different landing experiences for your different traffic sources -- we believe that pre-click segmentation is only trickle from the faucet compared to the waterfall of insight that can be harnessed from post-click segmentation. Transparent, participatory segmentation choices that respondents make along path-based landing experiences enable a much broader range of segmentation tracking and analysis.

I hope this segmentation meme comes up more and more in the shows and seminars ahead for 2008. As we've seen with our customers again and again, it is key to moving the bar in conversion rates.

-- Scott Brinker

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Posted @ Thursday, March 20, 2008 8:59 PM

Comments

# re: Analytics: Data into Action -- All about Segmentation

Hey Scott,

We too are hearing more and more segmentation conversations - music to our ears!

Question: is your post-click marketing about interpreting a visitor's behavior on a click-by-click basis to determine what segment they match, adjusting content along the way?

If that is true, I want to introduce you to Semanticator™ - http://www.semanticator.com . Our technology detects market segments upon arrival to a website. Allowing you to welcome them in a more meaningful way. This reduces bounce rate and provides a better opportunity to observe click-stream behavior to fine tune the messaging along their path. With the obvious goal of increasing conversion.

We would love to have a deeper discussion if you find this interesting.

4/8/2008 11:45 PM | John-Scott Dixon

# re: Analytics: Data into Action -- All about Segmentation

Scott,
I hear your lone cry in the wilderness!

In my previous marketing life the owner of the business (a world-leading skiwear manufacturer) could not see the value of segmentation, even though the marketing department, and we in the online marketing dept. especially so, tried for several years to get him to see the value.

What an arrogant, loser attitude.

Amen! It is ALL about better understanding your market, visitor, or customer and setting goals (Google calls them campaigns) that help you, the marketer, to understand them better.

I have been preaching for years that manufacturers should open their doors (and ears) to allow the market to tell them what it is they want manufactured, based on the mind set of the segment (or interest groups) they represent.

"You want a yellow Ski Jacket? Sorry we won't be building those until next year - here, buy a red one". If they are cold they will buy the red one.

The market is more than willing to give marketers and manufacturers or businesses good, solid, segmented and clear info, if only we would develop the channels, funnels or forums to allow them to respond.

It seems StarBucks finally caught on to this "novel" idea of letting their customers have the podium for a while (www.mystarbucksidea.com).

If they are smart, they will indeed see/read segmentations or trends out of that data, which could easily guide them to more or better sales, all based on what the CUSTOMER says it wants to see.

How novel, how ingenious.

I agree with both you and John-Scott Dixon on the importance of, but also the lifted value that post-segmentation has, having been a web manager for a billion dollar company for many years.

It was the post-click data that told me, when properly studied, what upcoming web implementations would best match the expectations and desires of our customers and visitors.

Everything else was too much like trying to play weatherman.

4/9/2008 1:30 PM | Randy Cole

# re: Analytics: Data into Action -- All about Segmentation

John-Scott, Randy -- thanks for the post-click segmentation camaraderie!

4/9/2008 6:03 PM | Scott Brinker

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