data-driven marketing

Data-Driven Marketing

Startup Marketing BootcampCambridge, MA - October 2010

“In God we trust; all others must bring data.”

- W. Edwards Deming

David Cancel@dcancel

Who am I

Companies Advisor Investor

http://www.performable.com/@performable

The Problem:98% of the people who visit your site, leave never to return.

“The average conversion rate in the United States of America whether you're selling elephants or iPods.”

Avinash Kaushik - Analytics Evangelist, Google

2%

The Solution:Our software helps you find, engage and convert more of your website visitors into customers.

Performable Analytics

Online Marketing is shifting.

Online Marketing Paradigm Shift

Outbound• “Visitors” not People• Display & Search Advertising• What’s a Conversion?• Website• Get more Pageviews

1st Generation

Online Marketing Paradigm Shift

Outbound• “Visitors” not People• Display & Search Advertising• What’s a Conversion?• Website• Get more Pageviews

1st Generation

Inbound• “Leads” not People• Content Generation• SEO Black Magic Hacks• Convert via Brute Force• Acquisition not Conversion• Website + Social Media• Get more Leads

2nd Generation

Online Marketing Paradigm Shift

Outbound• “Visitors” not People• Display & Search Advertising• What’s a Conversion?• Website• Get more Pageviews

1st Generation

Inbound• “Leads” not People• Content Generation• SEO Black Magic Hacks• Convert via Brute Force• Acquisition not Conversion• Website + Social Media• Get more Leads

2nd Generation

Lifecycle• People & Customers• The Message is the Product• Service not Marketing• Referrals not Affiliates • Conversion not Acquisition• Your Brand is Everywhere• Get more Customers

3rd Generation

Internet Marketing 3.0 Different Goal

by Joshua Porter

InboundMarketing

LifecycleMarketing

Outbound Marketing

RelevantMarketing

CustomerService

CustomerAnalytics

Components of Lifecycle Marketing

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joao_trindade/4363149160/

Optimize your startup for learning by creating a data-driven marketing framework.

Analytics & A/B Testing are also not the answer.

Use quantitative & qualitative data to test YOUR assumptions.

A/B Testing. Multivariate Testing. Huh?

Multivariate Testing is Useless.

You are way too small to matter.

The point of testing is to prove or disprove assumptions quickly.

Multivariate testing leads to a non-gratifying experience because it takes too long.

The vast majority of sites should only use A/B testing. This means you.

Shameless Plug: ABTests.com

Learn by example

Always Be Testing Just Don’t be Stupid.

The Local Maxima Problem

Your Design

A Better Design

Optimized at Local Maxima

Current

by Joshua Porter

Optimize your startup for learning not data.

The 3 Steps to Data-Driven Startup Enlightenment

Data-Driven Startup Checklist

★ Operating Dashboard

★ Conversion Funnel Analysis

★ Cohort Analysis

Skip the fancy shit and use Google Spreadsheet. Ghettofabulous.

Step 1: The Operating Dashboard.

A single place for your entire team to see where you suck the most.

Company-wide dashboard Everyone! Including interns.

Fictional

Every initiative has to map to positive changes in these numbers.

Kill all features that don’t improve your operating metrics.

Only move to the second step after you’ve mastered the Operating Dashboard.

Step 2: Conversion Funnels

Metrics are fun, but Funnels kick ass.

Fancy Forget pretty visualizations

Pretty Wasted time

Keep it raw & ugly Do this tomorrow morning.

Monitor your funnel weekly to see how changes are impacting your business.

If you aren’t doing this you are implementing lots of useless features.

Features that will waste your precious time.

Step 3: Cohort Analysis

This is the “shot caller” of all analyses. Respect.

Cohort Analysis by Fred Wilson (post)

Without a cohort analysis you are flying blind.

Is your churn going up or down?

You don’t have a clue until you’ve done a cohort analysis.

Cohort analytics is in closed beta. Apply at Performable.com.

Focus on your customers. Not data.

Only one thing matters.

Does anyone care about your product?

Remember that your goal is simple!

Happy Customers

David Cancel

Twitter: performablehttp://www.performable.com

Thank You!