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February 7, 2000

Customer Tracking: It's Not Just Web-Site Hits
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Insight is installed on a client's site and data is stored on an Accrue server. The tool captures the length of time users spend on pages, navigational path, entry and exit URLs, and popular referring sites. Customers receive daily, weekly, or monthly reports via E-mail, or can log on and download data using personalized MyAccrue Web pages. A Report Wizard lets clients conduct ad hoc queries about the data, and the data can be exported into Excel spreadsheets for additional analysis.

"It's the moral equivalent of a protocol analyzer tuned for HTTP and built for folks who are content developers and marketing executives instead of protocol engineers," says Bob Page, Accrue's chief technology officer.

Symantec Corp.'s Small Business Resource Center Web site (smallbiz.symantec.com) had a more difficult challenge finding a tool. Not only did Symantec want tracking and monitoring capabilities, it also wanted site-design capabilities and content services.

"We were looking for a whole solution," says Kerry Peters, marketing communication manager. The Cupertino, Calif., Internet security technology and virus-protection software provider two years ago chose NetMarquee Inc., which was recently acquired by Circle.com, a Web consulting firm in Needham, Mass.

Using Circle.com's E-Metrics service, Symantec "can assess what's working and what's not with E-commerce because adjustments are based on real data and not guesstimates," says Paul Baudisch, general manager at Circle. com. "It lets them get under the hood."

Kerry Peters Photo by Richard Morgenstein The tools help Symantec publish appropriate content and gauge visitors' needs. For example, visitors can download software products or request a CD-ROM version. Tracking user action has saved Symantec considerable money, Peters says.

"We get a quarterly wrap-up of site trends and can determine if more users are asking for a CD or downloading way before the production process," Peters says. "This helps us forecast whether we need to have more CDs produced or not." A year ago, CDs were the most popular request, but downloads increased tremendously during the last quarter. "Since we got that information almost immediately, we were able to cut down CD production right away and save money," she says.

Return on investment and accountability are high priorities of site owners these days, Baudisch says.

The tracking tools also help Peters determine content popularity and plan coverage. The ability to drill down on user site participation also affects content delivery. "We're able to see the click stream," she says. "We see how many people clicked on a story and if they read the whole thing or left on the second or third page. This helps us determine how our content should be presented--short stories vs. long stories."

Peters says metrics also play a role in customer interaction. "We used it to track the results of a monthly newsletter test. By coding the URLs of two different versions of the newsletter, we tracked how visitors responded and which one was most effective."

Best of all, she says, the metrics help her justify site project costs and budget requests to upper management. "I'm able to show results of different things on site, and how enhancements and changes are being received," she says.

Customer response was the catalyst for SmarterKids.com Inc., an online educational store, to employ a tracking tool. The Needham, Mass., E-commerce company primarily wanted to measure marketing efforts, says Al Noyes, senior VP of sales and marketing. The year-old product reseller sends 8.5 million targeted E-mails a month, using E-mail coupons, affiliated programs, and direct E-mail pieces.

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