Last week I attended the Webtrends Engage 2010 event in New Orleans. See this weekend for my reports on eating and live music in New Orleans. I covered some of the sessions on this blog. While there I had a
chance to speak with their CEO, Alex
Yoder, on an individual basis. We
went over some of the major directions for the company. Alex started by saying their core
principle was openness. They are
culturally open as a company. They provide direct access to everyone, including
himself.
As part of this directive of
openness they recently provided access to their knowledge base to the general
public. This included how-to-dos for their products, bugs, fixes and other
company information that had been behind a firewall and only previously
accessible to customers. Now it is available to anyone on the Webtrends site.
They are also sharing the
lessons that they have learned inside their company. Alex said that they deal
with many of the same issues that their clients face so they can learn from
each other. This sharing also helps to build a stronger sense of community with
their clients.
On the technology side they
partner with a number of providers to round out their capabilities. These
include Radian 6 on the front end and Teradata on the back end. Alex said that
things are moving too fast for one firm to say that they can do everything. It
is often better to partner than to build.
They are also open from a
technology perspective. They provide open APIs for both data extraction and
data collection, one of the few firms to do both. On the data extraction side they
allow for integration of their data into other tools within the enterprise.
This helps Web analytics to get out of silos and into executive dashboards for
greater visibility. Their data on customer activity can also go into CRM
systems to allow for more complete customer records. Their findings can also
trigger action-based emails to employees to promote proper responses.
On the data collection side
Webtrends can incorporate data where Javascript cannot go. They can look at
anything that is digital, such as the records of in-store transactions, to
provide a complete record of customer activity. They can also work with certain mobile devices.
Looking in the future Alex
said that Webtrends will continue to further optimize customer interactions.
There is a lot of marketing money flowing from traditional media into social
media. Webtrends wants to expand its support in this growing space. Mobile
devices is another growth area where they are working to enhance their
offerings. As marketing people need to work across a broader array of channels,
Webtrends wants to provide for better campaign management and coordination
across all of these channels.
Alex brought up gaming
consoles as another device where there is both marketing and analytic
possibilities. He recently received a Playstation3 for Christmas. It has a
large hard drive and an Internet browser. He can do email and chat and play
games remotely with others. Communities are developing around these games and
these communities will be fruitful targets for related marketing activities.
Alex said that his gaming
console has also taken away the need for cable TV as he can get what he wants
online. I have many friends who have also dropped cable and use their laptop
for TV through services such as Hulu. When people watch TV through an online device there is much
greater opportunity to collect data and interact with viewers than the
traditional TV set. Alex said that the gaming console will likely become a channel
for direct response ads in the near future. It already has some ads and related
product information.
The same injection of
intelligence is occurring as people switch to Kindles and other online readers
such as the new Apple iPad. When you drop a print newspaper on a front door you
have no way of tracking what people do with it. With online readers there is a
whole range of data collection opportunities.
Alex closed by saying that
Webtrends is defined by its relationships. These include customer
relationships, relationships with the broader community, and the relationships
that its customers establish with their customers. Having grown up in New
Orleans I added that people here really appreciate the help that comes through
bringing events like Engage to their city. Alex said that this event is also
part of their plan to better support communities. They have moved a number of the Engage activities out of the
hotel and into the city.
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