Sorry I couldn’t help myself, I had to blog again today 😉
While surfing on my Netvibes, I just noticed this ClickPress article ‘Web analytics becoming a marketing competency‘ based on a survey undertaken by Coremetrics in the US & UK (just months ahead of continental Europe ;-)).
A small exerpt of the article just to give you a glimpse:
“Of the 120 US and UK respondents to the survey by Coremetrics, 73 per cent said analytics and measurement have become more important over the past two years and these skills are now seen as more important than branding and product promotion. ”
According to John Squire, vice president, product strategy and general manager, marketing services at Coremetrics:
“This study found that analytics and search engine marketing are being prioritised because they can reap enormous return and have a direct impact on an organisation’s online, and even offline, revenues,“
What can I say… Since 2003, at OX2 we have been investing more and more resources, time, money & personal energy in building our Web Analytics department knowledge and evangelizing the market. I have to admit that these past years, people here in Belgium looked at us as if we were completely crazy by doing so. The vision, that we had years ago when creating OX2, was that Web Analytics (or Web Insights as Avinash likes to call it ;-)) was going to be the next big thing in marketing and business. And hopefully, time is proving us right 😉 Accountability is becoming more and more demanded by companies and WA is a perfect way to measure results. The other thing is that, based on Web Analytics, optimizing online investments has become possible and profitable.
Also it’s funny to see that more and more agencies, SEO companies and other service providers are looking into Web Analytics and offering ‘Web Analytics’ services (I’ve stopped counting the number of companies approaching us to pick our brains in this field). But hopefully our investment will be worthwhile as Web Analytics is a bit more ‘complex’ that people think. There are no silver bullets! It’s not just about installing a product and dumping some figures… It’s about more that that. It’s the nirvana of an analyst (as Jim presented at eMetrics in London, reaching enlightenment in this field takes time, or as Avinash says it in his 10/90 rule for Web Analytics Success, the bottom-line for Magnificent Success ‘Its the people’).
Now that the market seems ready for WA (we’ve been signing new clients these past weeks like crazies) our dedicated Business Unit WebAnalytics.be will really start to grow, we’ve just added Julien on board this month and we have a very promising Romanian joining us in January 😉
We’re always looking for clever people so, drop us you’re CV if you’re willing to join our Web Analytics Dreamteam 😉
By the way, we are also looking for trainees (IT & Business Analysts), so if you want to see if Web Analytics is ‘your thing’ drop us also a mail with your CV and motivations.
OX2 Web Analytics Blog 
November 28, 2006 at 5:53 am
Glad to hear there is so much analytics energy in your part of the world! All the best to you!
November 29, 2006 at 11:25 pm
Hi Aurélie,
Yep ! The Web Analytics days are finally coming !! I started the practice here over 4 years ago. We did our first public seminar March 11, 2003, and almost all the 12 attending companies became clients within a year. I have done, and continue doing, a lot of education, but the good news is that the phone has kept rigning for the last year.
An important sign of the field going through a “wake up call” is the number of companies now putting Web Analytics (or Web Intelligence as I prefer to call it, but I guess Web Insights will win 😉 ) is a priority in their Web investments list.
And another sign of that phenomenon is the number of people calling me from across Canada and the US to offer me a job!!!
I’m not tempted to move, but of course, Belgium…
December 5, 2006 at 11:45 am
Aurélie,
I would very much like to believe the outcome of this research. Although I see a growing interest in the field (at least here in Holland), I would question the credibility of market research through questionnaires in general and especially if its done by a company that benefits from the results.
Concerning the title of your post. Shouldn’t it be more Analytics in general that is (or at least should be) becoming a core marketing competency. Most of my clients are doing business on and offline and most (if not all) customer buying cyclus are online as well as offline. Web analytics or analytics in general should be focussing on integrating the different channels. After all, it is all about getting more insight in the customer buying process and using the to do more business. At least, thats my opinion 🙂
February 5, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Hi Aurelie,
I think you’re absolutely right about web analytics becoming a critical factor in marketing decisions.
As an analyst with Jupiter Research, I’m conducting an online survey on SEM/SEO trends, challenges and best practices. The result will be a European and US report on the state of the industry.
Here’s the link:
http://www.insightexpress.com/s/Jupi112765
If you have a chance to write another brief post on SEM/SEO, that would be great for the web analytics industry.
Kevin