MIS Directed Metrics or Hey, Where Do Customers Buy Their Stuff Anyways?
Bill Floyd
In today's internet environment, metrics can indeed tell an important story. But they can also tell an incomplete or inaccurate story. Numbers alone that don't take into account how the market really works, and stats that don't point customers toward a buying path may look good on the paper, but in fact may be counterproductive. Here's the story.
Jack, who works for a major manufacturer, has adopted a goal of growing web traffic on HIS website. He figures the more visits he gets, the more business opportunities present themselves. And, these increasing numbers make him look good to his boss at year-end reviews. So you can imagine his surprise when Shawn, who he works for, pushed back.
Shawn understood the appeal of presenting growing internal web metrics and indeed expected some increase. But, he made it clear to Jack that the channel is designed to PUSH activity downstream to their Distributor Partners. "Jack", Shawn presented, "It cost us money to handle every inquiry. That's their job. That's what we pay them for. Plus, they can do many things that we can't - like TAKE THE ORDER. They can also add complimentary items, bring samples that afternoon and more." Jack shot back, "But our information is more complete, up to date ... deeper." Shawn agreed. "But our job is to find ways to feed as much of that information as possible to our feet-on-the-street: the Wholesaler. Bringing them all to our site instead muddles the roles, is expensive, and diminishes the advantages of the channel. It's not JUST about creating our own metrics. It's about driving customers to our partners where they can get instant, local service and buy. Those are the metrics that count the most."
Jack walked out of the meeting with a fresh perspective. And, new marching orders. NOTHING is more important than the channel and how its buyers, sellers and specifiers interact.
Contact Us bfloyd@electricsmarts.com
Jack, who works for a major manufacturer, has adopted a goal of growing web traffic on HIS website. He figures the more visits he gets, the more business opportunities present themselves. And, these increasing numbers make him look good to his boss at year-end reviews. So you can imagine his surprise when Shawn, who he works for, pushed back.
Shawn understood the appeal of presenting growing internal web metrics and indeed expected some increase. But, he made it clear to Jack that the channel is designed to PUSH activity downstream to their Distributor Partners. "Jack", Shawn presented, "It cost us money to handle every inquiry. That's their job. That's what we pay them for. Plus, they can do many things that we can't - like TAKE THE ORDER. They can also add complimentary items, bring samples that afternoon and more." Jack shot back, "But our information is more complete, up to date ... deeper." Shawn agreed. "But our job is to find ways to feed as much of that information as possible to our feet-on-the-street: the Wholesaler. Bringing them all to our site instead muddles the roles, is expensive, and diminishes the advantages of the channel. It's not JUST about creating our own metrics. It's about driving customers to our partners where they can get instant, local service and buy. Those are the metrics that count the most."
Jack walked out of the meeting with a fresh perspective. And, new marching orders. NOTHING is more important than the channel and how its buyers, sellers and specifiers interact.
Contact Us bfloyd@electricsmarts.com
