Michael Gerstel

The Not-So-Quiet Holiday Season

Upon reading this blog’s title, I bet I can guess what the majority of you are thinking: “oh great, more premature holiday exposure”. Well people, we live in an era where Christmas commercials appear promptly starting the day after Halloween, so this subject matter should be of no surprise by now. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to try to sell you a webValidator subscription by wrapping it in shiny paper and bows, or by placing it under a quaintly lit tree placed beside a crackling fire.

The real reason I’m writing is to express my surprise during this time of year. Whenever the holiday season rolls around, I subconsciously expect the pace of business in the web analytics space to slow down. After all, aren’t retail and consumer goods supposed to be the booming businesses come this time of year? I’ve seen people lining up for electronics, perfumes, clothes, and even haircuts around this time... but web research tools?

Okay, so even though I’m not intending to convey that there are people actually lining up to listen to the voice of their customers, I am (pleasantly) surprised by how active this time of year is here at iPerceptions. What we’re seeing is that not only are more companies making strides to being customer centric by collecting online satisfaction and experience metrics, but they are increasingly trying to start this initiative before the end of the year, or alternatively, towards the beginning of the new one.

What’s triggering this drive? Well, it could be the common theme of various trade shows and summits that take place towards the end of the year; for example, at September’s Shop.org summit in Las Vegas, it was impossible to ignore the unquestionable theme of the importance of democratizing the voice of the customer; it was proclaimed and spoken about early and often.

Another potential influential factor of this seasonal boom could simply be linked to budgetary considerations. This is all too natural though, as the role of the web within so many organizations is growing at a dramatic pace – it only makes sense for budget allocation to keep stride.

Typically, companies put off initiatives of less importance to the end of the year in favor of more important priorities, and then these less valued projects get pushed off until the New Year. What’s important to realize here as that web research, specifically as it relates the “why” component of the web visit, cannot afford to be put on the backburner any longer. Companies are coming around to the importance of this research every day, even if that day also involves shopping for presents, booking a holiday getaway, and possibly even trying to avoid contact with the in-laws.

Closing Time

A couple of weeks ago I had big Saturday plans: going to a big box store to purchase some much needed household items. I wasn’t sure what time the store was open until on the weekend, and since I didn’t have access to my computer at the time I decided to get the information I needed through Plan B: calling the store. So after paying 50 cents to get the number through 411, I listened to about 4 phone options before getting to “hear store hours”. To my pleasant surprise, the store was open until 9 PM. Terrific, I could take my time!

After running some other errands I rolled up to the store parking lot at about a quarter to 5. Immediately I noticed that something was off; there was a huge outflow from the store’s doors and everyone was leaving the parking lot, meaning the store was clearly closing. Me being the stubborn person that I am, I inherently wanted to find out why it was closing 4 hours before the phone recording said it would. I knew this wouldn’t change the outcome or make my frustration miraculously disappear, but at least I would feel as though I “had my say”.

So after I weaved my way through the exiting masses I eventually got to a security guard who seemed to derive pleasure in stopping me at the store’s entrance. The conversation, which was extremely predictable, went a little something like this:

Security guard: Sir, we’re closing now, you can’t come in the store!
Me: Yes, I can see that, but I just thought you should know that the store’s phone recording says that you’re open until 9 o’clock today.
Security guard: But sir, there is just no way you can come in now because we’re closing up.
Me: Okay, I’m really not trying to come in - I just thought you should know that the phone recording is giving out faulty information and should probably be switched to avoid people facing the situation which I’m facing right now.
Security guard: Okay, but we’re closed.

As necessary as automated phone systems are for obtaining generic information, they have a major drawback: they’re not dynamic or flexible, and they’re not conducive to actual interaction with the brand.

With every passing day more and more people will look to the Internet instead of the phone to get simple information such as a store’s hours. Even if not near their computer, a rapidly increasing number of people are able to access the Internet through an array of handheld devices. So when a store changes their hours, they don’t have to overhaul their phone system – all that’s needed is changing a simple line of text on their site.

Had I turned to the store’s website instead of calling in to find out when they were open, I would have avoided wasting my time and subconsciously developing a negative impression of the brand. What’s more, even if the information I got on the site was wrong I would have had a great outlet to voice my aggravation and displeasure. Instead, my voice is only heard by a security guard who can’t get around the following unproductive fact: we close at 5.

“Can I try on that (e)sweater please?”

Quick, guess what generated more online revenue last year: computers or clothes? Believe it or not, online clothing revenue actually exceeded online computer revenue for the first time ever last year. Potential explanations of this shift often relate to new technologies such as rich imaging capabilities, more liberal shipping policies, and people’s generally increased comfort level with e-shopping.

Unlike buying a computer online where the priorities are comparing specs and pricing, clothing is very much a “touch and feel” purchase; the ramifications of this are that online shopping has to replicate the in-store environment as much as possible while at the same time capitalizing on the efficiencies that internet retailing puts at the forefront.

So the real question to ask here is what do online clothing shoppers want? Like we’ve said many times before in this blog, the best way to find out is to actually ask them. Attitudinal analytics has come a long way over the years in terms of market penetration over many different verticals, and sites that sell clothing online should be no exception.

If shoppers want to feel as though they’re perusing clothes on the shelves of a store, the etailer needs to know. Similarly, if they want to feel as though they have complete access to whatever equivalent the website can provide to an actual customer service employee, that should be known as well.

This milestone for online clothing shopping is important in that there companies are doing something right, but there is still much more growth opportunity out there. Currently, online clothing sales only make up less than 10% of all clothing revenue. While this number is impressive compared to what it was as recently as even two years ago, imagine how high it could be if clothing shoppers could seamlessly shop online? Avoiding real-world shopping drawbacks such as parking annoyances, over-zealous salespeople and line-ups would be music to many people’s ears.

So how does an online clothing store exploit on this opportunity for growth through this emerging channel? Well, I can think of two easy steps to kick start the process: step #1 is to ask your customers what would give them incentive to shop for clothing online, and #2 is to listen to what they have to say and make changes accordingly. Pretty simple, right? Now let’s just hope they have that sweater in blue.

Presidential Music

Everyone knows that people’s feedback and opinions are important for companies. For politicians listening is just as or even more critical. As demonstrated through her recent YouTube outreach attempt, Hillary Clinton not only cares what any and all Americans think (or anyone in the world for that matter), but she’s actually soliciting our opinion! If you don’t believe me, check out her video message before continuing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FV7XU-TLMU.

Clinton may not be leveraging YouTube’s popularity to get insight into hot button campaign issues like illegal immigration or healthcare reform, but her desire to reach out in order decide on what her 2008 election campaign song should be is meaningful nonetheless. Her YouTube video has been viewed almost a million times since it’s May 16th release and has garnered over 100,000 votes! Furthermore, the viral upshot from this exposure is immeasurable.

Some people have been quick to point out how this tactic is just a blatant attempt to catch up with Barack Obama’s “cool quotient”. There has also been debate over whether people’s derogatory song suggestions (“Cold as ice” and “It’s the end of the world as we know it” are just 2 of the many examples) have actually made a mockery out of her whole campaign.

That being said, her particular motives and the eventual success or failure of this campaign are secondary issues – of primary importance is that peoples opinions are increasingly being sought after in various public, private, and now political spheres.

Three years ago it would be virtually unthinkable to see either George W. Bush or John Kerry posting a video on the same site that showcases people getting mauled by their pets and practicing their light-saber fighting skills. Things are now different though, and the proof is right in front of us: politicians are now engaging their stakeholders and expanding their support base by soliciting feedback, in this case through a public user-driven content site.

Politics is very much a business, which is why it’s perhaps not entirely shocking to see politicians following the lead of private companies in order to interact with and listen to potential voters. Asking a voter to help select a campaign song is akin to asking a consumer how they felt about a brand interaction; you may not be guaranteeing your party a vote but you are building up your brand and benefiting from the acquired insight.

The question now becomes what song will we all be inundated with on Clinton’s campaign trail; will it be “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” by The Police, Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction”, or another one of the public’s top choices? Whatever the song is we’ll probably end up regretting our choice if she actually resorts to singing it.

Field of dreams and analytics

When I’m not busy working in the web analytics world I’m often playing or practicing for a very competitive baseball team. The team is basically made up of my group of friends, and none of us are even close to being major league quality. However, when you put a bunch of guys into an athletic context, even friends have a tendency to get cutthroat.

During my team’s pre-season our manager made a habit of sending the players a copy of each game’s box score. This maneuver was an attempt at being transparent with the information upon which he was making his decisions. His presumed logic was to show us the factual breakdown of the game so as to validate his impending decisions as well as cut down on the inevitable questions and complaints relating to them.

Despite his best efforts, the approach backfired miserably. Guys on the team were putting almost all the official scoring into question: if a player got a hit but officially it was ruled an error, that player would claim he was a victim of an unfair judgment and indeed deserved that hit; if, while on the field, one of our players blew a throw to first base and was charged with an error, he alleged that the throw would have been on target had the first baseman been properly positioned.

This situation is analogous to internal dissent within a company: if a website is suffering, it’s entirely possible that the person responsible for the site’s content will blame those responsible for the site’s navigation (can you see the potential domino affect?). Sure the click stream data may shed some light into users’ respective paths, points of abandonment and conversion frequency, but it falls short in revealing why customers actually did what they did.

When my manager stopped relaying the factual score sheet to us and alternatively started to record an in-depth account of each play that transpired, the questioning and squabbling stopped abruptly. The story on each play went from being hazy and contentious to being tellingly unambiguous.

Even though creating organizational harmony is not the primary purpose of attitudinal analytics, could that possibly be one of its side benefits? Now that players on my team have a written explanation of what they’re doing, both right and wrong, they are actually going out of their way to ask others how they can improve.

When the story is being told by the customers instead of the numbers that track them, department heads need not be at odds over where the website’s strengths and weaknesses lie – the answers are right in front of them!

If complete transparency of results can be leveraged to foster an environment of mutual accountability and collective accomplishment, a company’s website knows no bounds. As for my baseball team, I still need to learn how to hit a curveball.

What a difference a job makes!

Prior to arriving at iPerceptions, the world of web analytics only took on one meaning to me: behavioral data generated through click stream solutions. In my previous work, this was all I was ever exposed to and as a result, never knew that there were other ways in which to evaluate and make changes to the website I was working with. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re missing out on until you’re directly exposed to a better alternative (did the majority of people really think of how good having a refrigerator would be during ice box days?).

Now that I’m privy to knowing that there is indeed a proven way to get into the hearts and minds of web visitors through customer satisfaction and experience metrics, one nagging question continues to plague me: how could I never have actively sought out a means to compliment the existing “who” “when”, and “where” data that I was analyzing with the all-important “why” component? Now that I work with attitudinal data I suddenly realize how inadequate certain analytic information is without seeing the full picture.

Another point that frequently comes to mind is whether I may have ever made decisions based on entirely incorrect customer assumptions. Given that I don’t have psychic powers - or trustworthy tarot cards - to depend on, how could I have possibly known what people who I’d never met or spoken to were thinking when on my website? Also, if I was deaf to the voice of the customer, is it possible that my recommendations for change actually ended up having an adverse impact on overall satisfaction? Without having the ability to truly listen to customers, I guess I’ll never know.

Now that I’m working in an environment which acknowledges all aspects of the web visit and reports research on a holistic level, I’ve come to the same realization as hundreds of websites who have used our solution have: no one should resort to understanding their consumer through presumptions, conjecture, or as a very last resort, gut instinct (which doesn’t always work – just ask my bookie). From the iPerceptions clients I’ve spoken to, having access to customer’s verbatim feedback is like giving a gold digger a bulldozer instead of a shovel – you know he’s going to get what he’s after. I may not have had a bulldozer before, but it’s great to know it exists now.