A Review of Mumzworld and Ecommerce Analytics

THE BRAND

Mumzworld is the largest e-commerce retailer providing everything from diapers to strollers, pacifiers, and clothes, for mothers, babies and children in the Middle East and services specifically the following areas: United Amerites Emerites, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon. (mumzworld.com, 2016)

THE PROBLEM

Being the largest retailer of its kind, it’s extremely important their business model is adequately prepared to deal with large transaction volumes daily, and there is a good understanding of the inventory on hand. According to a Google Analytics review of their business (n.d.), Mumzworld was running ample ad campaigns to support sales of their products, and had great user data from ongoing Google Analytics – they just needed to develop a better understanding as to how to use that information more wisely.  Mumzworld needed to be able to quickly shut down ad campaigns running for particular products if those products were out of stock and be more efficient with their marketing dollars. There was also a goal to boast online sales and create repeat buyers of their products.

CHANGING ANALYTICS

Mumzworld added Google Analytics Enhanced Ecommerce, an analytical tool which “reports allow [brands] to analyze purchase activity on [the] site or app. [A brand] can see product and transaction information, average order value, ecommerce conversion rate, time to purchase, and other data.” The main goal of this tool for Mumzworld was to handle and identify the following:

·      Identify products driving the most profit

·      Set custom metrics to show out-of-stock items seen by users

·      Set custom metrics to show add to cart actions

·      Identify the shopping behaviors that were impacting sales

·      Identify which ad banners and promotions were working better and driving more traffic (through promotion tracking reports)

·      Set funnels to identify where people (based on location) were dropping out of the sales process

In addition to the metrics and goals identified as part of their new ecommerce analytics, Mumzworld also pulled their information into one tool, Analyze.ly, to better be able connect multiple data sources and then upload that data into Google Analytics. This afforded more detailed analytics review like cost per click and return on ad spend in the ad platforms. This thinking and focus helped the company maximize its margins, and provided a more unified structure to their analytics reporting.

WHAT WAS ADJUSTED AS A RESULT

This thinking led Mumzworld down a path of better identifying top performing channels by profit, not just by topline analytical data, and in turned allowed them to better advertise to their proper audiences.

The main difference: This new data encouraged Mumzworld to launch Retargeted marketing campaigns from search campaigns. The brand was able to use the data of people searching for certain products who didn’t convert to a sale and re-serve that content back to them via display advertising.

The company was also able to adjust all search and social media campaigns accordingly to better market the products in stock, which allowed them to better allocate their marketing resources to the right ad campaigns and not lose wasted budget.

According to the report from Google Analytics (n.d.),

“The retailer’s ecommerce conversion rate rose by 11% as customers found products that were more relevant and available. The time needed to restock inventory of top brands and product categories was cut from two weeks to fewer than 48 hours.

“Marketing spend improved with the new remarketing channels and campaigns. Remarketing revenue rose 128% in the first three months. All of Mumzworld’s top marketing channels achieved and maintained a minimum of 300% ROAS.”

WHAT NOW

According to research on SEMRUSH (2016), it appears there are no ad campaigns currently running for Mumzworld.com. However, they are registering more than 18,000 organic keywords with 121 registering as top 10 keywords (as of June 2016). See below the graphic that denotes this (this report pulled in data from the U.S. and did not allow a thorough review of the analytics in the UAE and therefore may not be completely accurate):

So not having a good understanding as to whether the ad campaigns noted above are still in place, reviewing the site from a page source code showed that effective meta and keyword tags are in place and this brand still has a very good understanding as to how to properly tag their site for better positioning. From the home page, we see a high level tagging denoting baby products:

 

The only thing I would recommend is a better tag in the actual URL. Now, an additional review was done further within the site on a product level and found that the same was in place, and identified specifically what would be displayed on the page:

 

It appears this brand has a thorough understanding of the importance of analytics on their page, specifically how to use those analytics to better sell and service their specific audiences. The only additional recommendation to consider is to include funnels and goals to better track conversions. A thorough (regular on an ongoing basis) analysis of top keywords against top sales items is vital for this business as well to determine if the two items are consistent, and how to adjust ongoing marketing campaigns going forward. 

REFERENCES

About Ecommerce. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2016, from https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1037249?hl=en  

Mumzworld reaches 300% ROAS with enhanced Ecommerce and data import from Google Analytics. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2016, from https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/mumzworld-enhanced-ecommerce.pdf

Mumzworld.com. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2016, from https://www.semrush.com/info/www.mumzworld.com (by organic)

Mumzworld.com. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2016, from http://www.mumzworld.com/

Google Applications and Their Relevancy to Businesses.

Google Applications are “ready-to-use applications that extend Google Analytics,”…providing solutions that take marketing tools to a deeper level, using the analytics piece to report and provide greater value to businesses. (“Find a,” 2016).

So what exactly are these application extensions and why do they provide so much value?

For the purposes of this post, two Google applications will be reviewed in greater detail based on the value they bring, as well as how they can be connected together in one campaign to provide deeper value to a business.

The first: Phone call tracking (Brand review: EASY CALL TRACKER)

The easy call tracker allows for tracking of actual phone calls from ad campaigns, email campaigns, website landing pages, etc. and is reported in Google Analytics. According to the noted features and benefits, the dynamic number method serves up a special phone number based on the Google Analytics parameters added to URLs used in ad campaigns, email blasts, landing pages, etc.  This tool also allows for offline tracking from TV commercials, direct mail, etc.

A few more specific features include (“Key features,” 2016):

• Online Call Tracking – Measure calls from SEO, banner ads, emails, referrals, etc.
• Offline Call Tracking – Measure calls from direct mail, billboards, commercials, brochures, etc.
• Google Analytics Integration – View call data in Google Analytics reports and dashboards
• Filter Call Data – Only count calls as leads in Google Analytics that last over a specified number of seconds
• Call Recording – Playback calls for quality control and training
• Instant Setup – Add, remove or configure tracking phone numbers within minutes
• Lots of Number Options – Local, toll-free and international numbers available

So let’s put this into context for a marketing campaign. A statewide hospital is focusing their 2016 strategy on awareness, new appointments, and repeat visits to their stroke center. They have implemented a year-long media campaign, flighted throughout the year, that includes paid digital advertising (with keyword ad search), television, outdoor, and emails to existing leads in their system. In both the digital and email campaigns, the leads are directed to a specific landing page within the website that captures additional information and also provides a phone number should the contact rather call than log-in digitally (many people are still most comfortable with calling to schedule an appointment, especially considering the age demographic susceptible to strokes). Additionally, with both the TV and outdoor, each has a unique phone number that will also be dynamically tracked and able to review in Google Analytics.

This tracking allows brands and businesses to see where the majority of their leads are coming from. And while you can’t assume the TV/Outdoor is going to draw in as many as the digital leads, it’s still important when tracking the return on investment for future campaigns and how media dollars should be structured.

The second: Email Marketing (Brand review: ANALYTICS 360)

Another important tool for brands and businesses alike is an email distribution software that allows for proper tracking and distribution on a more professional scale.  Mailchimp, a free email distribution platform, allows for the following:

·      Greater flexibility in email design

(mailchimp.com, 2016)

·      Automation for online sellers

·      Advanced analytics (this is what will be discussed in the following content)

(mailchimp.com, 2016)

·      Comprehensive mobile and tablet options that allow for quick ease-of-use in building campaigns, reviewing templates and sending emails

(mailchimp.com, 2016)

·      Integration with other apps, including Google Analytics, Salesforce, etc.

 So if we use the same hospital system from the earlier analogy under the phone tracking system, this email program and distribution software could be implemented as part of the Stroke campaign, include a trackable phone number, and also provide Mailchimp tracking software which is called Analytics 360. This software, which links Mailchimp’s Analytics 360 to Google Analytics, provides the same overview of data from Google Analytics, and syncs properly to make sure the data is consistent, while also providing valuable data regarding the specific email campaign. Whether it’s conversions against the goals set for the specific email campaign, or links to the website/landing pages, analytics are used to track the effectiveness of the content and clicks through to the next stage in the appointment process (if continuing to review the hospital marketing reference).

So how does it work? When campaigns are created within Mailchimp, one of the questions asks if the brand would like to turn on this tracking, and name it properly as to be able to easily reference it within Google Analytics. These analytics associated with the email program only relate to the visitors that have visited pages to the website/landing pages from the email marketing campaign. It keeps specific data for each campaign individually.

Furthermore, the campaign statistics within Mailchimp provide the following (much of the same information that Google Analytics provides, but includes link information, goals set against the specific email campaign, campaign cost, etc.):

·      Campaign ROI (if in e-commerce situation)

·      Campaign cost (price of Mailchimp account, the number of subscribers and how often the campaign runs)

·      Conversion rate

·      Per visit goal value

·      Goal

·      Revenue created

·      Transactions

·      Ecommerce conversion rate

·      Per visit value (revenue divided by visits)

·      Average value

·      Bounce rate

·      Visits

·      New visits

·      Average time on site

·      Pages per visit

So what now?

While not completely necessary, Google applications have the opportunity to bring more value to businesses by providing greater insights into marketing programs and tactics that are working properly or driving more traffic. Said another way, they allow businesses to take a deeper look into where leads are coming from, what they are clicking on, what is capturing their attention, etc. to better provide a return on investment, which is extremely important in today’s atmosphere. Having an ROI is key to continual development of ongoing marketing programs.

REFERENCES

Find a partner or solution. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from https://www.google.com/analytics/partners

Integrate Google Analytics with MailChimp. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://kb.mailchimp.com/integrations/e-commerce/integrate-google-analytics-with-mailchimp?_ga=1.217030993.612837420.1452871533

Key features and benefits. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://www.powermyanalytics.com/apps/easy-call-tracker/?utm_campaign=app_listing&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=ga_partner_gallery

Google Analytics vs. Clicky

It is no secret that Google seems to lead the way when it comes to web analytics tools. In fact, experts estimate that more than 30-50 million businesses have loaded Google Analytics onto their websites as their main analytics tool used to track site visits, content viewed, referral traffic, demographics, among other things. (McGee, 2015). Google Analytics offers a free, robust tool of web analytics in the simplest form, creating ease of use for the end user.

In contrast, there are plenty of other analytics tools that have developed since the inception of Google, including (but not limited to), Clicky, KISSmetrics, Chartbeat, Mint, GoSquared, etc. These tools have done their best to mimic Google Analytics, while offering something in addition in order to differentiate themselves, and to create a price structure where brands have to pay for the extra features. It’s a smart strategy.

So let’s take a look at Clicky. Clicky is also considered to be a robust web analytic tool that is almost as detailed as Google Analytics. In fact, Clicky focuses on providing real-time data, allowing brands to be more nimble and make quicker decisions. In addition, according to Oberoi (2015), Clicky’s immediate pros and and cons are as follows:

·      The analytics portion is nearly as good as Google

·      It provides real-time data

·      It is very easy to install and allows for a simple plugin within Wordpress

·      Clicky automatically feeds the website with keywords people are using to access the site; it also shows ranking

·      It offers Twitter Search Tracking, which can monitor Twitter tags, keywords and retweets

(Clicky.com, 2016)

·      It has an iPhone app which makes it easy to stay connected and review analytics from a mobile device

·      It provides a robust API for advanced users

·      It includes heat maps to show the popular click areas within a website

(Clicky.com, 2016)

·      It provides detail information about every person who visits the site

(Clicky.com, 2016)

On the flip side, however, are the cons associated with the analytics program. Continued in his assessment, Oberoi notes the following:

·      The interface is not user friendly and can be quite overwhelming to a first time user

·      It requires businesses to pay a fee if installed on multiple web sites or if the website receives more than 3,000 page views a day

·      Many of the key features, including the pros listed above, as well as goal tracking and email reports, are only available on premium accounts (which require additional payments)

Having listed out a few of the pros and cons, it’s important to understand the fee structure to evaluate if these added value items are worth the cost. As the chart below identifies, the lowest cost program (outside of the free program, which offers the same elements as Google) is $9.99 per month and does not include the heatmaps or uptown monitoring (uptown monitoring is a check and balance system to make sure all is working properly and no elements have gone offline). In order to get the heatmap and uptown monitoring items, businesses would have to purchase the Pro Plus plan for $14.99 per month.

How is it different from Google Analytics?

Having done a quick review of Clicky to see what is involved with this analytics tool and considering how they are trying to differentiate themselves in the online analytics marketplace, there are a few specific key elements noted by Angeles (2014) that are in direct contrast to Google and worthy of a more detailed review. 

The first: Individual Visitor Information

As noted above, Clicky provides detailed information regarding the individual users viewing the pages within the site, including IP addresses, Internet provider, location, operating system, referrer, visit length, sessions and actions (Google Analytics also provides this detail but not down to the individual user). This could prove extremely beneficial when trying to market to a very specific customer.

The second: Detail Heat Mapping

While Google Analytics tracks the pages viewed, content clicked, etc. within a site, Clicky provides (in their Pro Plus plan), a heatmap that better details what visitors are doing on the website – where they are clicking, visitor sessions, etc. This could prove extremely beneficial when tracking certain campaign goals as it provides a more visual viewing of what is drawing the consumer’s eye.

The third: Alerts

Clicky has a robust alert system that allows businesses to know quickly if there are issues with the site.

The fourth: Mobile-Friendly

According to industry experts, Clicky is one of the most mobile friendly web analytics services that exists. It provides great intel in this specific area, but also includes a mobile app that makes it easy for businesses to review their data. Additionally, Clicky does not use Adobe Flash like many other analytics tools, so it’s accessible on iOS and other devices that do not support flash. 

The fifth: Twitter Tracking Capability

While Google Analytics does a great job of tracking social referral traffic, Clicky provides a more detailed snapshot as to where the retweets, mentions, etc. are coming from. In fact, it pulls in a bit of social analytics support which could be beneficial to a brand using Twitter to drive traffic to their site. 

So What Now?

After review of Clicky and other analytics tools in contrast to Google Analytics, the recommendation could be made that:

·      Businesses should always include Google Analytics on their site as a first line of information. Because it is free, user-friendly, and provides a good snapshot into the details, it’s a good place for brands to start. It is also well tied-in to Google AdWords and creates ease of use when starting a paid advertising program. While Google may not have the added value items other analytics programs offer, they are still very much a front-runner in search and paid advertising and should not be discredited.

·      Having said that, it’s also important for businesses to be aware of the added-value items being offered within other analytics programs, as it might provide a deeper dig into consumer information and data that is needed. There might be small pieces of one that works better than the other and considered as a collective review package.

Angeles, S. (2014, March 19). 3 Google Analytics alternatives and why you should use them. Retrieved from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6090-google-analytics-alternatives.html

Clicky vs the other guys. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2016, from https://clicky.com/compare/

Oberoi, A. (n.d.). The top 31 best web analytics tools | Google Analytics alternative. Retrieved June 12, 2016, from http://www.adpushup.com/blog/web-analytics-tools-google-analytics-alternatives/

How do companies determine the best social media platforms to adopt and is it really necessary?

The short answer, it’s extremely necessary. As Holmes notes in a commentary written for Forbes Magazine (2015), “[social media sites] are fundamentally changing how [businesses] reach and interact with customers, offer products and services, communicate with employees and — in a nutshell — do business.” He goes on to say, “the best way to keep [businesses] successful, in my estimation, is to fully embrace social media.”

According to social network findings from Statista (2016), 78 percent of people in the United States have at least one social network profile. As noted in the graphic below, this trend continues to move upward year over year.

(“Percentage of,” 2016)

From a global perspective, there are currently 2.22 billion social network users, with a projected growth to 2.72 billion by 2019. (As a side note, when I was working with refugees in Africa, many of them had lost their homes, but still continued to have social media.)

(“Number of,” 2016)

Furthermore, according to the Social Media Marketing Report (2015), businesses that are already using social networks as a marketing tool agreed on the following benefits:

(Stelzner, 2015)

Based on the information gleaned in the charts above, businesses must figure out where and how they should be communicating with their customers on social media networks if they want to remain relevant.

Understanding this information, companies find themselves asking: should there be an implementation of every social media channel, and if not, which ones are best for the business?

The answer, however, should involve an analysis of a few, very important items:

·      What are the demographics for each site? Do they align with the businesses target audience?

·      What is the businesses overall goal and objective as compared to the purpose of the social network site? Are the businesses able to accomplish their goal and objectives through each social network channel?

·      Is there an internal content and analytics team that is capable of managing each outlet? If not, what is feasible, and which channel is the most important?

Companies have a tendency to jump head first into all channels feeling as if they should be involved in everything based on their lack of understanding on the purpose for each site. This is, however, very misleading as each particular social network site shares specific content and is geared to a defined target audience.

 

With that in mind, let’s look at the general purpose for each of the main social networks:

Facebook: “[Facebook] builds tools to help people connect with the people they want and share what they want, and by doing this [Facebook is] extending people’s capacity to build and maintain relationships. People sharing more — even if just with their close friends or families — creates a more open culture and leads to a better understanding of the lives and perspectives of others. [Facebook] believes that this creates a greater number of stronger relationships between people, and that it helps people get exposed to a greater number of diverse perspectives.” (Zukerberg, 2012)

Twitter: Twitter is “[a place] to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.” In addition, Twitter allows for continual status updates, 140 characters at a time. It’s meant to be a sharing of stories, events, opinions, etc. (“Our mission,” 2016)

Pinterest: Pinterest is a “visual bookmarking tool that helps [consumers] discover and save creative ideas.” It is a creative tool that helps with home remodels, do it yourself projects, recipes, etc. (“About Pinterest,” 2016)

You Tube: You Tube is a tool that allows “fast and easy video access and the ability to share videos frequently.” (Hamilton, 2011)

LinkedIn: LinkedIn has a goal “to connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. [Consumers] get access to people, jobs, news, updates, and insights that help [them] be great at what [they] do.” (“About us,” 2016)

Instagram: “Instagram is a fun and quirky way to share life with friends through a series of pictures.” Instagram is being built “to allow [consumers] to experience moments in [their] friends' lives through pictures as they happen. [Instagram] imagines a world more connected through photos.” (“FAQ,” 2016)

With the general purpose and mission for each of the main social network sites in mind, now consider the target breakdown for each. As shown in the chart below, the demographic profile ranges for each of the sites. Furthermore, the purpose and goal is shown to help businesses understand where they should land. For instance, a consumer good’s product like Chaco should consider Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram (and YouTube if they have the social media team in place). The content, however, should differ based on each site.

(“Choosing the,” 2015)

Consider the following platforms for Chaco’s:

Facebook:

Content for brand page: outdoor adventures, with possible real life stories of consumers on their journeys that are links directing to the Pinterest page. There should also be ongoing consumer engagement asking about their favorite outdoor activity. Consumers like to engage with brands when the brand isn’t constantly pushing the product in their face.

Ads: Retargeted shoe ads that leads consumers direct to a landing page within the Chaco web site where they are able to purchase the shoes.

Twitter:

Content for brand page: A mixture of product promotions and links to outdoor adventure guides. The adventure guides could be links to the Pinterest page to promote both social networks.

Ads: Targeted ads to consumers who follow any outdoor like page that direct to a landing page within the Chaco web site where they are able to purchase the shoes.

Pinterest:

Content for brand page: A mixture of product promotions (in context – shown in outdoor environments) with adventure guides to various parks, trails, etc.

Ads: Targeted ads to consumers who follow any outdoor like page or have shown interest in outdoor activities that direct to a landing page within the site where they are able to purchase the shoes.

Instagram:

Content for brand page: Product promotion in context – shown in outdoor environments.

In contrast, however, a business-to-business brand would not benefit from using most of the above tools (more specifically, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest). They would be better served using LinkedIn, Blogs and Twitter to push out relevant content and generate leads for potential business. Social media networks are not a one size fits all. Each business must figure out where they are best suited and focus their efforts on those sites.

References

About Pinterest. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2016, from https://about.pinterest.com/en

About us. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2016, from https://www.linkedin.com/about-us

Choosing the Right Social Media Platform for Your Business. (2015, February 9).  Retrieved from http://us.accion.org/business-resources/articles-videos/choosing-right-social-media-platform-your-business

FAQ. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2016, from https://www.instagram.com/about/faq/

Hamilton, D. (2011, January 13). Top 10 company mission statements. Retrieved from https://drdianehamilton.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/top-10-company-mission-statements-in-2011/

Holmes, R. (2015, November 18). Why businesses can’t survive without social media. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2015/11/18/businesses-cant-survive-social-media/

Number of social network users worldwide from 2010 to 2019 (in billions). (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2016, from http://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/

Our mission. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2016, from https://about.twitter.com/company

Percentage of U.S. population with a social network profile from 2008 to 2016. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2016, from http://www.statista.com/statistics/273476/percentage-of-us-population-with-a-social-network-profile/

Stelzner, M. (2015, May). 2015 social media marketing industry report. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/SocialMediaMarketingIndustryReport2015.pdf

Zukerberg, M. (2012, February 5). Mark Zukerberg’s IPO Letter Describing Facebook’s purpose, values & social mission. Retrieved from http://prosperosworld.com/mark-zukerbergs-ipo-letter-describing-facebooks-purpose-values-social-mission/2012/