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February 7, 2000

Customer Tracking: It's Not Just Web-Site Hits
Tools and services help E-retailers monitor customer behavior online and tailor advertising

By Judith N. Mottl

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s the cost of acquiring online customers increases, E-retailers are spending more time trying to understand and please their customers. E-commerce managers are using sophisticated tracking tools and services to monitor customer actions and design more appealing and easier-to-use Web pages and transaction services.

When retailers first started selling products and services online several years ago, there were few tools for tracking traffic and monitoring network performance. For insight on customer interaction, most IT managers relied on Web-server log files--huge databases that noted each visitor's interaction with a server. But the log files provided only enough information for simple navigation and content analysis.

IT managers also initially used network protocol analyzers to determine network stability and response. But those were quickly dumped since they focused on lower levels of the network, such as IP and TCP, and couldn't interpret HTTP header information.

As online retail competition increased, the need for in-depth customer demographics and real-time monitoring became more important. Both are vital in content presentation, marketing initiatives, and advertising campaigns, marketing experts say. Making sure that a site loads fast, tools work, and transactions are processed quickly are the keys to online success, analysts say.

That's why IT managers now require tracking tools that can measure site performance, record and analyze shopping patterns, and constantly monitor potential trouble spots with servers and links to the Internet, analysts and Internet marketing experts say.

"The server log data provided basically just the 'hits.' Nowadays, we're in the business of measuring audience behavior," says Tim Meadows, VP of marketing for NetRatings Inc., a New York Web audience measurement and marketing company whose service tracks customer behavior and provides analysis. "We marry demographic information with activity to see which sites are popular, where people are shopping, and what they're buying."

As a result, E-commerce managers no longer suffer from a lack of data about online customers. In fact, thanks to tracking tools and services, Meadows says, they may have too much data. "Everyone's swimming in data these days," adds. "Now, customers want what's-behind-the-numbers analysis."

When Net-Temps Inc., an online recruiting service for the staffing industry, went looking for a monitoring and tracking tool two years ago, it chose Insight from Accrue Software Inc., which provides E-business analysis software and services.

Net-Temps, a North Chelmsford, Mass., Internet-only venture launched in 1996, initially relied on server log "hit" figures, VP Kevin Strange says. "We wanted to know more--the frequency of hits, page population, repeat visitors--and also track our ads since we spend millions of dollars on advertising," Strange says. The job site "serves out 35 million hits a month, so this helps detail all the data."

Accrue's software helps determine proper content presentation, trims advertising costs, and affects business strategy, he says. It has saved the company nearly $500,000 by providing accurate feedback on ad campaign results, Strange says. Net-Temps spends $230,000 a month on advertising.

Insight also has helped determine channels for users. "We used it for determining what our temp job hunters are seeking in terms of work," Strange says. "We were able to establish channels such as administration, clerical, and sales to respond to that need."

The software also helped determine the best spot for a "submit resumé" feature, which Strange says is crucial to the Web site's success. "We did five versions of our site, linking the button in different places, and used the tool to determine which one worked best. It's really amazing, very neat that you can get into the heads of the visitors."

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