Many of us who have started web based service businesses in the last 4 or 5 years have modeled themselves from the company 37 Signals. They are an excellent example of a successful web business that bootstrapped their way to success.

For those of you that don’t know them, they are an extremely small company that has millions in revenue from a few excellent web based products. Take a look at Basecamp and Highrise. We use them both.

When I first built Mobivity, our Mobile Marketing and SMS platform, I had to keep asking myself “what would the guys at 37 Signals do?” Repeating that line over and over played a large role in or success.

They have recently release their second book. The first one was a free online one called Getting Real.

I’ve already been through a bit of their new one called Rework, and I am very impressed. Not only with their book, but also with the fact that we already do much of what they are talking about. It validates our strategy and makes me even more confident we are on the right track.

One of my favorite excerpts is the one about “picking a fight” with the competition.

If you think a competitor sucks, say so. When you do
that, you’ll find that others who agree with you will rally
to your side. Being the anti- ______ is a great way to differentiate
yourself and attract followers.

For example, Dunkin’ Donuts likes to position itself
as the anti- Starbucks. Its ads mock Starbucks for
using “Fritalian” terms instead of small, medium, and
large. Another Dunkin’ campaign is centered on a taste
test in which it beat Starbucks. There’s even a site
called DunkinBeatStarbucks.com where visitors can
send e- cards with statements like “Friends don’t let
friends drink Starbucks.”

This is something I have always thought was a great strategy (as you can see from this previous post…). When you have a better product, then let the world know! When the competition screws up (like Pinch Media’s 10 day data refresh lag time), let the world know!

I am about to do just such a post on the Mobivity Blog about Clickatell who just got shut down by every U.S. carrier and have sent their customers calling us in droves. We MUST take this opportunity to let the industry know what makes us different, and why these things would never happen to us.

If any of our readers have their own business, or plan to start one, then this book is a must read. Visit the Rework site and read the free preview they have available.

 

Copyright Mobile Web Analytics – Rework – An Awesome Book from 37 Signals

Well that was exciting…

We just placed our pre-order for the iPad. According to Apple it should show up on April 3rd. We ordered the lowest version since we will definitely be getting the 3G one when it is ready.

When the SDK was released we began development of an application through Millennium Studios, our mobile app company. Hopefully Apple will delay the release of iPad apps to the iTunes store until we can all test on the real thing. Everything works great in the simulator by who knows.

While developing the app, we added new features to AppClix to track iPad specific metrics such as what orientation the user is using your app in, as well as whether they are using an external keyboard or monitor.

We’ve also expanded the campaign tracking to accommodate traditional web campaigns. We anticipate a lot more advertising to be done on the Internet now that there is a full screen browser.

AppClix provides a custom URL for all apps and tracks referrers automatically when used on a web banner or site link. The custom URLs can also be coded with campaign codes and ad codes to further calculate ROI and conversions. The campaigns are then automatically created in AppClix. No need to set them up first.

We’re excited to get the iPad in our hands. Hopefully it will be on time as promised by Apple.

Stay Tuned!

Copyright Mobile Web Analytics – Pre-ordered Our First Apple iPad

Data, data everywhere yet nary an insight in sight.

Is that your web analytics existence?

Don't feel too bad, you share that plight with most citizens of the Web Analytics universe.

The problem? The absolutely astonishing ease with which you can get access to data!

Not to mention the near limitless potential of that data to be added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided to satiate every weird need in the world.

You see just because you can do something does not mean you should do it.

And yet we do.

Like good little Reporting Squirrels we collect and stack metrics as if preparing for an imminent ice age. Rather than being a blessing that stack becomes a burden because we live in times of bright lovely spring and nothing succeeds like being agile and nimble about what we collect, what we give up, and what we deliberately choose to ignore.

The key to true glory is making the right choices.

In this case its making right choices about the web metrics we knight and sent to the battle to come back with insights for our beloved corporation to monetize.

A very simple test can allow you to figure out if the metric you are dutifully reporting (or absolutely in love with) is gold or mud.

It is called the Three Layers of So What test. It was a part of my first book, Web Analytics: An Hour A Day.

What's this lovely test?

Simple really (occam's razor!):

Ask every web metric you report the question "so what" three times.

Each question provides an answer that in turn raises another question (a "so what" again). If at the third "so what" you don't get a recommendation for an action you should take, you have the wrong metric. Kill it.

This brutal recommendation is to force you to confront this reality: If you can't take action, some action (any action!), based on your analysis, why are you reporting data?

The purpose of the "so what" test is to undo the clutter in your life and allow you to focus on only the metrics that will help you take action. All other metrics, those that fall into the nice to know or the highly recommended or the I don't know why I am reporting this but it sounds important camp need to be sent to the farm to live our the rest of their lives!

Ready to rock it?

Let's check out how you would conduct the "so what" test with a couple of examples.

Key Performance Indicator: Percent of Repeat Visitors.

You run a report and notice a trend for this metric.

Here is how the "so what" test will work:

At this point you should cue the sound of money walking out the door.

Bottom-line: This might not be the best KPI for you.

Let me hasten to point out that there are no universal truths in the world (though some religions continue to insist!).

Perhaps when you put your % of Repeat Visitors KPI to the "so what" test you have a glorious action you can take that improves profitability. Rock on! More power to you!

Key Performance Indicator: Top Exit Pages on the Website.

[Before we go on please know that top exit pages is a different measurement than top pages that bounce.]

You have been reporting the top exit pages of your website each month, and to glean more insights you show trends for the last six months.

The "so what" test in this case highlights that although this metric seems to be a really good one on paper, in reality it provides no insight that you can use to drive action.

Because of the macro dynamics of this website, the content consumption pattern of visitors does not seem to change over time (this happens when a website does not have a high content turnover – like say a rapidly updating news site), and we should move on to other actionable metrics.

Here the "so what" test not only helps you focus your precious energy on the right metric, it also helps you logically walk through measurement to action.

Key Performance Indicator: Conversion Rate for Top Search Keywords.

In working closely with your search agency, or in-house team, you have produced a spreadsheet that shows the conversion rate for the top search keywords for your website.

Okay.

That's it.

No more "so what?"

With just one question, we have a recommendation for action. This indicates that this is a great KPI and we should continue to use it for tracking.

Notice the characteristics of this good KPI:

#1: Although it uses one of the most standard metrics in the universe, conversion rate, it is applied in a very focused way – just the top search keywords. (You can do the top 10 or top 20 or as many "head keywords" as it makes sense in your case, just be aware this does not scale to the "mid" or "tail".)

#2: It is pretty clear from the first answer to "so what?" that for this KPI the analyst has segmented the data between organic and PPC. This is the other little secret: no KPI works at an aggregated level to by itself give us insights. Segmentation does that.

Key Performance Indicator: Task Completion Rate.

You are using a on-exit website survey tool like 4Q to measure my most beloved metric in whole wide world and the universe: task completion rate. (You'll see in a moment why.

Here's the conversation…

Nice right?

Notice in this case you have a inkling to the top super absolutely unknown secret of the web analytics world: If you tie important metrics to revenue that tends get you action and a god like status.

Keep that in mind.

So that's the story of the "so what" test. A simple yet effective way of identifying the metrics that matter.

This strategy is effective with all that we do, but it is particularly effective when it comes to the normal data puke we call the "management dashboard". Apply the "so what" test and you'll make it into a Management Dashboard.

Closing Summary:

Remember, we don't want to have metrics because they are nice to have, and there are tons of those.

We want to have metrics that answer business questions and allow us to take action—do more of something or less of something or at least funnel ideas that we can test and then take action.

The "so what" test is one mechanism for identifying metrics that you should focus on or metrics that you should ditch because although they might work for others, for you they don't pass the "so what" test.

And killing metrics is not such a bad thing. After all this is the process that has been proven to work time and time again:

More here: Web Metrics Demystified.

Ok now it's your turn.

Do you have a test you apply to your web metrics? What are your strategies that have rescued you during times of duress? What do you like about the "so what" test? What don't you like about it? Do you have a metric that magnificently aced the "so what" test?

Please share your comments, feedback and life lessons via comments.

Thanks.

PS:
Couple other related posts you might find interesting:

• Six Web Metrics / KPI's To Die For
• 4 "Useless" KPI Measurement Techniques
• Five Rules for High Impact Web Analytics Dashboards

Kill Useless Web Metrics: Apply The "Three Layers Of So What" Test is a post from: Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik

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