You can’t have one without the other – or: Whoever considers testing without targeting is already lost

You would think it goes without saying. And still it was presented as one of the future challenges at the dmexco 09 in Cologne, Germany – for instance by Heinz D. Schultz, CEO at mindlab, in his presentation "Crossing the Chasm": the pooling of Web Analytics and Business Intelligence. Well – do you really have to stress this? Of what use could the best online marketing ever be if the bounce rate of your website rises to astronomic heights? If a visitor to your website does not enter the shopping procedure and does not convert? If an ad addresses a target audience totally different to the one your website appeals to? Testing can provide answers to many questions like these, but as I use to say, testing can only be the first step on the way to targeting."

Simple and logical as it appears to be – it still does not seem to have caught the attention of many companys in the online world. Whoever calls a testing tool his own is busy testing over and over again and in the end the board of directors, marketing department and design go with their guts. This kept in mind the issue will still be present in the next year –as shown e.g. by the announcement of Kevin Hillstroms presentation, Turning Data into Strategies: How Multichannel Forensics and Online Marketing Simulation leverage the art and science of E-Commerce for April 27th 2010 at the Ecom fair in Berlin.

Meet your customers where they are – thousands of companies in the web refer to this concept. But where is your customer? The knowledge gained from testing can help with this question. Where did he come from? Where does he leave your website? In which way could you address him so that you would get through to him? Whoever searched for the latest bestselling novel in the web and found your website should not be confronted with a kitchenware ad on your landing page. And who – as Heinz D. Schulz described in his presentation – orders trainers, which were returned by most customers for being to small, should be alerted to that during the order process. Your website is mainly used by elderly customers and wearers of glasses? You should keep this in mind when designing the website and be aware, whether the customers after having decided on the product will desperately search for the cart symbol which an aesthetics-oriented design has lightheadedly created just nuances lighter than the background...).

The final goal of every investment in the website should be the amelioration of the sales approach and as a consequence the augmentation of the conversion rate. For this it is indispensible for the Business Intelligence to keep in mind the results gained from testing the website and to turn them into well-directed design and marketing actions. As in every good marriage one has to work on ones communication skills. Until you finally can join in: Love and marriage...

About:
Matthias Postel is an expert in web analytics, testing and targeting. He is founder and managing director of the iCompetence GmbH which is based in Hamburg, Germany. The iCompetence GmbH specializes in digital business optimization with focus on website and conversion optimization.

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