Datalicious Blog - Data Driven Marketing

Formstack online form builder that also integrates with Google Analytics to track form conversions

We've had a few clients now that were looking for an easy online form builder that also lets you integrate with Google Analytics to track your form conversions and and I think we've finally found one in Formstack.

There seems to be quite a few of these tools out there but the main problem with most of them is the fact that although they provided a simple user interface to build forms without any HTML knowledge they don't allow you to add custom code to your form pages which prevents people from adding the necessary Google tracking scripts. At best you might be able to track that a form was started but not if it was actually finished so there's no way to track actual leads or calculate a form conversion rate (and that's probably crucial for most forms).

Anyway, have a look at Formstack, it's an easy to use tool that lets you build all sorts of online forms from contact forms over surveys to order forms and integrate them with a wide range of other platforms such as SalesForce, Highrise, FreshBooks, Mailchimp and Paypal.

Roy Morgan research showing Australian internet consumption increasing for Gen Y/Z and mobile

The below chart shows that although Australians as a whole still spend more time viewing television than consuming other media, Generation Y and Z are now at a level that is comparable to television. The amount of time spent per week on the Internet has in fact increased by 71% over the past 5 years compared to a decline of 4% for television.
Roy Morgan also found that an estimated 13% of Australians (2.25 million) have participated in some type of online activity using their mobile phone in an average four week period, up from 8% in 2008. The top 5 mobile phone internet activities participated in by Australians 14+ years old are: Email (5%), Social networking (5%), General browsing/surfing (4%), Weather (3%) and Instant Messaging (2%).

E*Trade: Omniture SiteCatalyst implementation review including media attribution and optimisation

Challenge

To quantify the impact of offline and online media spend on new customer acquisition, along with the construction of a reporting and analytics framework to continually optimise media budget allocation using a better understanding of customer vs. non-customer navigational paths. 

Solution

Major review and upgrade of the existing Omniture SiteCatalyst deployment to build a data collection foundation that could properly address the core business KPIs. A controlled display exposure test was used to quantify the incremental conversion uplift from online display advertising and to determine the real media cost per acquisition. In addition, a website entry survey was used to further analyse the impact of existing brand equity and offline media activity on online channels, specifically navigational search and direct to site visits. It was particularly important to look at the differences between customers and non-customers.

Results

E*Trade now has the ability to report on and de-duplicate conversions across all paid and non-paid media channels as well as to clearly differentiate between customers and non-customers. The marketing team can now not only optimise the company's media mix for maximum acquisition efficiency but also use the data to develop a smoother customer experience and media attribution model. The developed reporting and analytics framework provides the client with the ability to analyse a range of core KPI's on an ongoing basis, putting the business in an excellent strategic position moving forward.

Testimonials

"E*Trade Australia was originally looking for a provider who could help us optimise our media spend and Datalicious brought with them best practice analytics to demonstrate the true value of our marketing dollars. Since then, they have become a critical business partner in their support of our Omniture analytics implementation. They've provided great insights which have driven key business decisions." Trang Young, Senior Internet Marketing Manager, E*Trade Australia

 

StickyBits: Tag any barcode with content and improve user experience and campaign tracking

StickyBits is a new service that lets you attach content to any bar code anywhere as long as you have an iPhone or Android. Other users who scan the same bar code can then see your comment or attachment (image, video, audio, etc). 

Try it now! Install the iPhone app and scan the below barcode.
The whole thing is similar to the Google Favourite places service we wrote about earlier but much more flexible. Anybody including businesses can now generate barcodes and attach content to them including special offers or additional information, very powerful! 

Visit the official website below for more information or email us at insights@datalicious.com if you want to find out how your business could us this technology to improve user experience or campaign tracking.

Sign up and start tagging

Generate free bar codes online

       
Click here to download:
StickyBits_Tag_Barcode_Everyth.zip (2542 KB)

Tying offline sales from retail stores and call centers back to the online campaigns driving them

Have you ever wondered how many of the offline sales that happen in your retail chain or call centers are actually driven by online campaigns and research activity on your website? Would you like to know the true value that your online media spend is driving including offline conversions?

The graph below shows how companies could use email receipts sent out to customers after conversion events across all channels to tie at least a small sample of offline conversions back to online campaign and research behavior. By sending out email receipts and providing incentives for customers to open and click on the emails it would be possible to trigger virtual online order confirmation pages similar to the standard online confirmation pages. 

The standard cookie based campaign tracking mechanisms of any web analytics package such as Omniture and Google Analytics can then take over and do their normal job and help tie the virtual sales events back to visitors and campaigns.

Email us at insights@datalicious.com if you would like to find out more or need some help implementing the below for your company.

Target: Integrated campaign planning and analytics delivering Christmas like results mid year

Challenge

Develop an integrated campaign flow across traditional and digital channels to maximise impact and implement the necessary analytics framework to evaluate campaign performance.

Solution

Development of integrated campaign experience in cooperation with the client’s creative and digital agencies to enable a smooth campaign flow and optimal user experience designed to push social sharing. The early development and integration of the analytics framework into campaign planning process from the very beginning ensured tracking best practice was followed and a maximum amount of data could be collected across all channels. The project also included an in-depth review of the current Google Analytics set-up leading to the implementation of advanced website visitor segmentation capabilities.

Results

Traffic levels on the Target network of sites increased significantly during the integrated campaign, for the first time rivalling historic peaks from previous Christmas periods mid year. The campaign also resulted in a visible increase in retail transactions in the targeted product category and an increase in new CRM program subscribers, delivering and overall positive return on media investment. Thanks to a system of unique vouchers and the availability of advanced segmentation options in Google Analytics, the generated retail revenue could be tied back to the originating media channels and broken down by various segments delivering additional customer insights.

Google Favourite Places integrates QR codes to help connect online and offline world for businesses

Online and offline business presences are increasingly merging together and Google just launched a new service called Favourite Places that uses QR codes to help business make the online offline transition easier for their customers.

Google identified more than 100,000 local businesses in the US that are searched for most often and each one received a window decal from Google featuring a scannable QR code. Customers can scan that code with any of hundreds of mobile devices and be taken directly to that business's place page on their mobile phone where they can then find more information and download coupons as well as rate and review the business.

Visit the below page to find out more about Google Favourite Places
http://www.google.com/favoriteplaces 

Not sure yet what kind of stats will be available to businesses but knowing Google that won't be far behind. Given most retailer with online presences are probably struggling to determine the impact of their online activities on real world sales the Google numbers will be a welcome addition to metrics such as phone calls to unique website numbers, downloaded store coupons or store locator searches. 

InteractionConsortium: Great interactive visualisation of Australian' web history

Check out the below interactive visualisation of Australian' web history form the InteractionConsortium to see how traffic volumes and audience sizes have changed for major Australian sites over the years.


15 Common Mistakes in E-Commerce Design

And while we're at it here's also a list of what not to do if you're selling stuff online.

1. A lack of detailed product information
2. Hiding contact Information
3. A long or confusing checkout process
4. Requiring an account to order
5. An inadequate site search engine
6. Poor customer service options
7. Tiny product images
8. Only one product image
9. A poor shopping cart design
10. Lack of payment options
11. Not including related products
12. Confusing navigation
13. Not including shipping rates
14. Not including store policies
15. Not putting focus on the products

Read the full article with visual examples here
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/10/08/15-common-mistakes-in-e-commerce-design-and-how-to-avoid-them/

Other great ecommerce usability resources
Ecommerce Website Design’s 6 Common Mistakes
5 Ecommerce Design Mistakes
3 Common Mistakes of the Ecommerce Company
5 Big eCommerce Design Mistakes
Top 10 E-Commerce Mistakes to Avoid
How to Avoid 7 Fatal Ecommerce Mistakes
5 Common Ecommerce Mistakes

Two-Thirds of Americans Object to Online Tracking

Interesting survey (details below), paints a completely different picture to the previous research I've seen on eMarketer. Would be nice to see some Australian results on this topic. 

"ABOUT two-thirds of Americans object to online tracking by advertisers — and that number rises once they learn the different ways marketers are following their online movements, according to a new survey from professors at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley."

Original article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/business/media/30adco.html?_r=3&ref=technology

(download)