Web Analytics Skills Snobbery

"Web analytics" as an industry is funny.

http://blog.jimnovo.com/2007/07/19/aberdeen-web-analytics/

"We’re already seeing web analytics job postings with phrases like “strong knowledge of SAS and SPSS highly desirable” meaning employers are looking for cross-platform, cross-tool, cross-channel analysts. The folks with this cross-knowledge set who can also “speak business” are going to be a very hot commodity going forward. Fortunately, most web analysts already “speak business”, it’s part of the WA culture - and speaking business is the hard part for most analytical minds....."

When I started in 1999 you couldn't interest anyone in a spot of proper statistics (or data mining as it had been rebranded in the mid 90's - since then its going through a few more names like "predictive applications") and now we've come such as long way that people are actually recommending the skills! I'm astounded and hope this means I'll never struggle to find work again!

Suggesting that people with analytic competency struggle to "speak business" is down right insulting. I suspect Jim is playing on the rather archaic stereotype of the speccy techie analyst that do indeed still exist - probably all too often - but for every non-"business speaking" techie, I'll show you a non-"tech speaking" bullshitting business speaker which could do a company just as much damage. Unfortunately quality is not the preserve of any particular domain of business.

"Like I said, the data is data, the behavior is behavior - and the tools are just tools. Web analytics is patient zero, infecting the corporation with a proper analytical culture....."

I have always found it amazing how those people who classify themselves as in the Web business are so amazingly confident in their own abilities and so dismissive of those in the rest of business. Admittedly, at lot of new online businesses have been created in the past few years, some with new and unique business models. A lot of new people are being introduced to web analytics but to suggest web analytics is to infect the larger organisations with the principles of analytics is ridiculous, snobbish and reflective of the superiority complex the channel has had since the late 90's.

When you consider the current money spent on campaign optimistation, fraud detection, credit risk scoring, direct marketing, market analysis, market research, usability, call centre analytics, data warehouse, operational optimisation etc. it's a little brave to suggest that these web analyst souls are going to be treading on new ground, exploring the great unknown in terms of how you go about doing things in an analytic manner.

Its a good job Jim goes on to point out that data is in deed, data, and that behaviour is indeed behaviour otherwise I might have been more scathing. This is something that many "web analysts" have long overlooked. The majority of web analytics has all been done before in other channels however these web analysts have been too snobbish to appreciate it.

When you consider that most web analytics tools have in the past had a very limited drill down capability, little data import or export functions, little ability to tie information to other channels and on the whole little flexibility on what they record, its remarkable they've got where they are.

There are, no doubt, areas where web analytics differ to other channels, but to be honest these are mainly in the areas of data collection and the speed at which it is possible to turn around analytics into action - however, sadly, action is still often far from the minds of the majority of users in this area - and this is mostly because the analysts themselves are busy with the other parts of their roles and the tools they use do not lend themselves to much more than reporting.

And this is where other channels can still lend web analytics a hand. The number of applications out there, utilising analytics and business rules in an offline environment is huge - and web vendors can still learn an awful amount if they open their eyes and adjust their product plans.

"If you’re a web analyst and are offered a chance to do SAS / SPSS / Business Objects / etc. training, I would jump on it."

As for jumping on courses I would say this. If your organisation has the foresight to invest in your skills in any way, you should take it.

I would not limit it to SAS, SPSS and Business Objects. Much as I love the analyst world, and amongst it are some very talented people, going on a course will teach you little more than the ability to punch buttons, write code or both - and if you do something like a SAS course you'll be writing a lot more code than you thought!

If you want to learn coding, I'd pick your language carefully based on your organisation and your goals and learn that, rather than thinking knowing a bit of SAS syntax is going to make you analytic genius. (At least with SPSS the tools have a greater emphasis on usability and the novice can get past the "button pushing" stage and into analytics quicker). Simply put, spending time with individuals who have experience in these tools in your organisation is always going to be a lot better than simply going on a course.

Personally, I'd much rather have someone in my team who is a whiz in the Microsoft office products (namely Excel and Access) or perhaps an SQL coder. Someone who has the familiarity with regular business reporting and their data structures, linking data together and capable of understanding the impact of analytics/figures on an organization would always be my preference - so consider that the next time you have courses to chose from.

Remember. The web is usually only one channel or touchpoint of your business - in the long run the key is going to be pulling these channels together and any skills that will help that should be encouraged.