Three-quarters analyze interactions between online channels
JUNE 14, 2010 – Companies still face many challenges in using Web analytics and measurement effectively, but some are taking steps to address those problems and move toward more coherent and integrated measurement strategies, according to a spring 2010 study by Econsultancy and analytics firm Lynchpin.
By far, the biggest barrier to an effective measurement strategy is a lack of budget and resources, named by over one-half of responding companies. Fewer than one-third selected any other issue. Budget problems were more severe than in 2009, when 45% of respondents complained of them.
Agencies disagreed somewhat with their clients, claiming a lack of understanding was the top issue, but admitting companies were improving in this area over 2009.
About 40% of companies said they were planning to increase budgets in the next year for internal staff and technology to improve their use of analytics, and almost one-half are planning to increase the number of internal employees working in the area.
Respondents were slightly more likely than last year to say that their company had a strategy to tie data and analysis to business objectives and there was also an increase in the proportion of analytics data they found useful for making business decisions�though most companies were still using less than half the data they collected.
Companies were also getting better at analyzing the interactions between online channels, with 76% doing so in 2010, up from 70% a year before. Nearly one-half were analyzing online buzz and social metrics. The proportion examining the interactions between online and offline, however, dropped by 6 percentage points to 41%.
An April 2010 survey by Aprimo and Argyle Executive Forum found US marketing executives considered integrating and tracking multiple channels was the biggest single challenge for CMOs today.
“The subject of multichannel is becoming much more important, but businesses seem to be focused on the view across online channels rather than joining up digital and traditional channels,” the Econsultancy report said.
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