Analytics Resource Planning

One of the fundamental issues with making Web Analytics integral in an organization is the lack of resource planning. For instance, will Analytics function as a department similar to Accounting and Marketing or will Analytics be integrated into many departments?

After meeting with a client recently we realized that there was no clear plan as to who would be accessing Google Analytics for reporting and how the information would be disseminated throughout the organization for decision making purposes.

This is an important phase and can open up new opportunities for making Analytics move to the "frontal-lobe" of key executives and directors who may have previously not been exposed to the value of this information. For instance, how many PR Directors are mining through top referrer reports to find out what kind of visbility their press releases are generating. My guess is not many. I believe the old days of "press clippings" will be pushed to the back by the ability to generate a top referrer report in Google Analytics in less than 1 minute from logging in. Some may say, well what if the media source didn't publish the press online and you can only get it in print. Well, I guess that media source is a good candidate for a course in "Why the Web is Important" - which most businesses took back in the 90's when they started moving their business online.

My point is, that without proper planning for integrating Analytics into the organization the valuable reporting will be nothing more than the Employee Handbook gathering dust on the shelf. So before you go an allocate six-figures on a fancy new web analytics application you may want to consider giving Google Analytics a try and spending that six-figures (or five, four or three figures!) on Analytics Resource Planning and then Analysis and Optimization. This will most likely get you a better ROI on your Analytics and then the Analytics will get you a better ROI on those Marketing Campaigns.