Buzz Building Series - Issue 10: Reporting and building a pipeline of interest

Hi There,

Welcome to issue 10 of the buzz building series in which I'm going to give away a pretty big secret about Google Analytics.

There are companies out there that are very keen to sell you software that can tell you exactly WHO has been viewing your website, how they found you, what they looked at, and how you can find them.

Rick says...

Having been a user of Google Analytics for some 8 years now (it used to be known by another name before Google swallowed it up!), I've learnt a trick or two about how to extract more/hidden data from it.

It's a HUGE application that has absolutely masses of data, some of which is hidden (or not at all obvious).

Visitor Identification

For the clients that we run Buzz Building programs for, we have developed a report called "Visitor Identification & Analysis". In the report, we are able to determine:

> Which companies have viewed your website

> How they found you

> What they viewed

> Where they are, and therefore how you can contact them

In practical terms, here is how to get to the data (pay attention, this is good stuff that certain software companies don't want you to know!)...

Networks

In Google Analytics, there is a section called "Audience", under which is a section called "Technology". Within the Technology section you'll find "Networks". It is the Networks section that reveals which companies have been viewing your website.

Secondary Dimensions

You can then utilise the Secondary Dimensions feature, to see which "Landing Page" the business arrived on, which Keywords they had searched for or from which source they arrived from (Social Media, Email Campaign, Google, Referral site etc), how long they spent on the site, and which specific content they viewed.

Detective Work

To create a truly valuable pipeline, you can also do a little detective work with the data you've gleaned above. By cross-referencing the name of the company, with the secondary dimension of "City", you can often determine the location of the office and capture some contact details from Google.

Don't forget to tell your friends...

 

Owen says...

So how can you start to capitalise on all the good work you’ve been doing and the results and analysis you can get into using the tools and techniques Rick’s been talking about?

Well there will likely be four types of “visitor” that you come across and broadly they will fall into the following categories:

• Bots – these are computers or curators if you like. They continually work their way across and around the web logging content and webpages and assessing them in terms of their relevance and currency etc. So it’s good that you have them visiting your site but they won’t return your calls!

• Competitors – be flattered. You’re clearly making them nervous with your new levels of activity and great content. Pay attention to the pages they visit and any keywords they use to find you. You can start to get a feel for what’s worrying them most. Of course it’d be a good idea to visit them back and see which of your ideas they’re copying!

• Existing Customers or Contacts you know – this is great news too. Nothing beats staying top of mind and if your customers and contacts are visiting and reading your content regularly then you’re doing it well. Don’t fall into assuming that this is all you have to do however. Make sure you keep in regular direct contact. Perhaps most importantly if you’ve just sent them some information or directed them to a new page on your site or if you’re bidding or pitching for new work, tracking those that have come to visit you and what they’ve been looking for, will provide a very useful indicator.

• New and Prospective Customers – this of course is what gets people most excited. There will be some visits from people you’ve been trying to reach and sell to. It’s really satisfying to see people you’ve been trying to persuade visiting your site and reading your content. DON’T jump on the phone and delight in telling them you can see what they’ve been up to (!) but do drop them an email or put in a call which will come across as “timely”. In most instances I’d leave it no longer than 48 hours to follow up if you want to capitalise on their immediate interest.

The most exciting and intriguing visits will come from companies you weren’t actively pursuing. These are perhaps the most satisfying of all. This is a great indicator that the work you’ve been doing is paying off.

People are searching for something you can help with and they’ve found you – that’s brilliant. Beyond the company name, pay close attention to the key words or search terms they’ve used. Also the entry or landing pages they arrive on. This will give you fantastic insight into what’s working best for you.

Of course this kind of analysis won’t tell you exactly who from the company is looking, but at least you will have starting point to work from. 
It’s at this point that your targeting strategy, market segmentation and persona planning will come to the fore. In English that means, if you have spent the time considering the role or function or the type of person who would likely buy your product or service and the kind of issues or problems they may have, and need you to help them address, then you will have a good idea of the person in the company you need to try and follow up with.

In most cases it will be obvious both by what you sell and do and the search terms they’ve used or the pages they land on. So if you sell HR software and the search terms is “best HR software for HR directors” and the landing page is “our products” then you have a fair chance of guessing that the HR Director or function or the IT function would be a good place to start!

I would argue actually in this instance that you need a dialogue with all of them – but that’s a whole other blog!
Beware though; one visit to your site is interesting but it doesn’t necessarily, mean they’re ready to hear from you. It means you should put that company on a list to “keep in the loop” to make sure you bring them towards you – track how well you’re doing that over time. One visit is unlikely to indicate an intent to buy so don’t put these on the top of your list to follow up.

When and where you see more than a few visits and over the course of a few days then you need to get onto following these up quickly. I’ve heard many tales of people doing this and winning fantastic new business they hadn’t even knew was in the offing. 
Again, there are some caveats here too. A few visits over a period of time could indicate someone researching and open to being sold to. It could also indicate someone who has already made a decision to go with a competitor but wants to check out other options to ensure they’ve got the best deal or (if I’m being cynical) so that they can use competitor research as a way of getting a better deal from an existing supplier.

So tread with caution…but do tread…!

 

3 things to do today to help build your pipeline of interest...

Capture the named Networks that have viewed your site
Cross-reference the Networks with other relevant data
Plan your follow-up sales strategy

Don't forget, still to come in the buzz building series...

> Audience & content. How to write a buzz building strategy

> Buzz building and the resources required to sustain it

To discuss any aspect of the buzz building series, please call us at your convenience on 0203 1372 844.

Rick & Owen