Whether you’re having a lot of success with web analytics or none at all, it might be time to invest in a professional web analyst for your small business. The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter how many Google Analytics tutorials you watch – it’s hard to match the knowledge and experience of a person or marketing agency that has been professionally trained in working in Google Analytics.
Understanding not only how to see results, but how to setup different Analytics Goals and metrics can show you the results that are most impactful and is essential to achieve business success.
More and more small businesses are coming to terms with this, and they’re realizing that their ROI is absolutely worth the money they have to spend on the new hire.
Whether you choose to go with an individual or an entire marketing team, here are some reasons why your small business can’t afford to not hire an analytic expert any longer.
There are only 24 hours in a day, and you don’t want to spend them all on analytics.
It’s a known fact that starting up and running a small business is no small task. It is extremely time consuming to run the day-to-day operations, and that’s without considering all the behind-the-scenes responsibilities such as, you guess it, analytics. Add that into the mix and you may find yourself struggling to find time to eat and sleep.
Furthermore, mastering any type of analytic software while also figuring out how to incorporate the data results into your business plan is an extremely complex process, and the success of your business could potentially depend on how well you’re able to understand and implement analytics tools.
While it will cost extra money to hire a person or a team to handle this aspect of your business, your business will thank you because it allows you to have more time to spend on other aspects of your business that may have been neglected when you were attempting to become an analytic expert.
Technology is complex and can be challenging.
The first example is geared towards people who are experts at technology and thus have the skills (if not the time) to become experts at analytics, but let’s face it – just because you own a small business doesn’t necessarily mean you’re Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.
I know several people who run successful businesses who barely have the capabilities to send group emails, but they’re businesses thrive because they are able to recognize their weaknesses and delegate the necessary work to the professionals. It is not that you should never try to learn a new skill, just don’t let your business suffer in the process.
If you know technology (or math, or data) is a struggle for you, consider hiring a web analyst to handle that aspect of your business while you attempt to teach yourself the necessary skills on the side. If you’re really lucky you’ll be able to find someone who might be willing to teach you a few things along the way. Don’t be ignorant of the process, but don’t feel like you have to handle analytics all by yourself either.
Your competition hired a web analyst and it shows.
If you’re still not convinced that it’s worth the extra money to hire an analytic expert, check out your competition and learn from their successes (or failures). According to BusinessBee.com, “If your primary competitors are performing effective web analysis and have come up with the right formula, your business can suffer if you’re not at the same level.” This could be because you don’t truly understand analytics, because you haven’t had the time to learn about the various tools, or because you’re just not sure how that data translates into conversions.
Whatever the reason, let an analyst catch you up so that you and your rivals can compete on a level playing field. Don’t let them beat you in an area that’s so easy to win. You can learn more about understanding your competitors’ analytics here.
You’re in a black hole of data and can’t see the light.
Even the most seasoned entrepreneur can become overwhelmed at the amount of data that analytic tools provide. That’s why sometimes it might be a good idea for larger or more established businesses to hire an agency that specializes in analytics as opposed to an individual, providing they have the budget to do so. Big data is becoming a big deal, and if you don’t agree check out this quote from ModusAgency: “We now create as much information every two days as we did from the dawn of civilization to 2003.”
When you put it that way, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to consider delegating analytics to a team of people who are equipped to handle a mass amount of data. A surprising number of CMO’s are even finding the recent data explosion to be overwhelming, and if they are, it’s a safe bet that small business owners are as well.
Analysts make data accessible for everyone.
There’s a big difference between analytics and accessible analytics, and if your business includes more than one person, it’s a safe bet that you’re going to want the latter. Good analytics are only so helpful if the only person that understands them and can explain them is the person doing the analyzing. If you have a team of people working together to market a product, you’re going to want them all to understand the importance of analytics and what all those numbers and percentages actually mean for the product and consumers.
Professional web analysts aren’t just good at analyzing data, they’re good at explaining it as well. “Great analysts are able to craft a story, to help us, the consumers of the data, to internalize the analysis to make it cogent and coherent.” So let them do what they’re best at – making numbers make sense, both for you and for your team.
Still not convinced that hiring a web analyst is a slam-dunk for your business? Check out this case study from Deloitte that shows how much a good analytic expert can impact your company’s ROI.
