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Mobile Measurement Is An eBusiness Imperativeby Joe stanhope, May 15, 2012

FOR: eBusiness & Channel strategy Professionals

Key TaKeaWays

Mobile eBusiness Measurement faces Three hurdles from The startMeasuring mobile eBusiness initiatives presents challenges due to the fact that: 1) mobile is an integrated part of agile commerce, not a standalone channel; 2) mobile responsibilities span multiple departments; and 3) securing funds and resources for mobile initiatives is challenging given that mobile remains a small percent of total revenues.

Most eBusinesses still focus on Measuring Traffi cWhile Forrester recommends measuring a series of metrics for mobile websites and a diff erent series of metrics for mobile applications, the majority of eBusiness professionals still focus on standard metrics like traffi c when measuring the success of their mobile initiatives.

Measurement Means More Than Just collecting dataEff ective mobile measurement can help eBusiness professionals to better understand their mobile initiatives but should not stop there. Savvy professionals will use the data to drive mobile site optimization, establish new targeting/segmentation schemes, leverage the unique opportunities aff orded by mobile, and test new initiatives rigorously.

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FOR EBUsInEss & ChAnnEl sTRATEgy PROFEssIOnAls

Why Read This RepoRT

Mobile has reached critical mass due to improved infrastructure, advances in device utility, and overall market penetration. Engaging with customers via mobile is unavoidable: Whether or not eBusinesses have a defined mobile strategy, consumers are browsing and buying on their websites via mobile devices. Yet mobile measurement is in its infancy at eBusinesses: More than half of eBusiness professionals surveyed said they did not have defined key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of their mobile initiatives. This report on performance management in the mobile eBusiness playbook helps eBusiness professionals learn how to take full advantage of the mobile opportunity as they move beyond the status quo and implement tactic-specific measurement for their mobile websites and applications. By adopting full-featured mobile performance management tools and tracking appropriate metrics, eBusinesses can go beyond counting the number of visitors and application downloads to optimize user experiences and revenue generation via mobile channels.

Table Of Contents

Mobile is here — and effective Measurement is Key

Implement Tactic-specific Metrics To Track Mobile Activity

Ready, set, Measure!

go Beyond standard Tracking Metrics To Optimize Mobile Performance

RECOMMEndATIOns

Mobile Will only Rise in importance: Get Ready With Measurement

notes & Resources

Forrester used data from the August 2011 global eBusiness And Channel strategy Professional Online survey in the writing of this report.

Related Research documents

Mobile Commerce Forecast: 2011 To 2016June 17, 2011

Mobile Channel strategy: An OverviewJune 2, 2011

Mobile Measurement Is A Customer Intelligence ImperativeApril 13, 2011

Mobile Measurement is an eBusiness imperativePerformance Management: The Mobile eBusiness Playbookby Joe stanhopewith Zia daniell Wigder, Julie A. Ask, and doug Roberge

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Mobile Measurement Is An eBusiness Imperative 2

© 2012, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited May 15, 2012

MoBile is heRe — and effecTive MeasuReMenT is Key

For eBusiness professionals, the mandate to launch and operate a mobile eBusiness is there, but complexities create measurement challenges. They must contend with the following challenges:

■ Mobile is a component of agile commerce, not a standalone channel. Mobile commerce incorporates far more than just placing orders on one’s mobile device. Consumers are increasingly using their mobile device across channels, for example to research products and price comparisons prior to making a purchase in-store. eBusinesses must understand all of the ways that consumers are using mobile devices in their purchase path — and be able to measure that impact.

■ eBusiness is not the sole owner of mobile. Given that mobile plays so many different roles, eBusinesses often split ownership of mobile across internal departments and third parties. 1 Internally, mobile is frequently defined as a standalone group, separate from other digital channels, and many organizations outsource the development and maintenance of mobile technologies. These divisions add silos of responsibility and significant complexity in managing the performance of mobile efforts.

■ Actual sales don’t reflect the mobile excitement. Although mobile commerce revenues in the US will surpass $30 billion by 2016, mobile will represent just 7% of total eCommerce revenues that year, making it easy for companies to rationalize delayed investments.2 eBusiness professionals already find it challenging to secure adequate resources to measure and manage performance: Today 52% say that they struggle to get the budget/resources they need to develop mobile services. But eBusinesses that overlook mobile based on its direct revenue contribution fail to recognize that it is a significant enabler for other points of customer engagement, whether it’s driving in-store sales or enabling consumers to contribute social media content related to the brand.3

implement Tactic-specific Metrics To Track Mobile activity

One of mobile’s great attributes is that it is highly measurable. But mobile measurement encompasses more than meets the eye. Mobile is a catchall category that represents a collection of multiple channels. Mobile web browsing and applications are discrete — albeit related — channels in terms of technology and user experience. Due to these differences, measurement strategies must be tactic-specific. The first step in implementing mobile measurement is to understand the metrics that are available in a given channel and how they can be applied to your mobile strategy.

Best practices for measuring mobile websites are strongly rooted in traditional web analytics — understanding traffic sources, on-site behavior, and obstacles that impede conversions (see Figure 1 and see Figure 2). Mobile applications require a different set of metrics: Savvy eBusiness professionals analyze metrics such as task completion, functionality, and user experience. Of all of these different metrics, traffic still remains the dominant metric measured at eBusinesses: Seventy-four percent of




eBusiness and channel strategy professionals use traffic metrics to measure the success of their mobile business.4 Encouragingly, eBusinesses are also starting to measure customer satisfaction, with 51% saying they use this metric to determine the success of their mobile initiatives.

Figure 1 Key Metrics For Mobile Websites

Source: Forrester Research, Inc.71681

Metric Value to the mobile marketerNumber of visits Overall traffic to the website; this identifies the proportion of traffic from mobile

devices to a primary or standard website, or trend analysis of overall traffic to amobile website.

Network/carrier versusWi-Fi

Type of connection used to access the site; this indicates bandwidth that mayinfluence site design and can be a high-level proxy for type of location from whichthe site was viewed.

Conversion Number of completed success events, such as purchases, viewing ads, or completingforms; this ultimately drives revenue and channel value.

Search keywords Which search keywords do visitors use to locate the website; this identifies visitorinterests and intent and can be used for search marketing and site design.

Time on-site The amount of time users spend on the site; when correlated with conversions andother events, this indicates how e�ectively the site is designed for helping usersaccomplish their goals.

Content viewed Specific pages viewed; this shows which content resonates most with visitors.Content that has low rates may not be relevant or have a problem, and popularcontent should be leveraged and expanded upon.

Site path analysis Path analysis tracks how visitors navigate the website; this is used to locate design orcontent obstacles that block visitors from progressing to success events, or highlightpopular paths that should be a focus of the site.

Page views Number of pages viewed once visitors arrive at the site; this shows the depth of visits,an indicator of engagement.

Location Location of the visitor; this provides context for whether visitors access theinformation from home or from certain other locations, which indicatesinterest and utility and may be valuable for targeting.

Visitor sources This identifies how visitors find the website, such as via paid or organic search,marketing campaigns, partner or affiliate sites, or direct entry.

Device Device attributes such as screen size, operating system, and hardware profileinfluence site design that is e�ective within mobile form factors.

Bounce rate Number of visitors to leave the site after viewing only a single page; this indicateswhether the site is relevant to visitors.




Figure 2 Key Metrics For Mobile Applications


Metric Value to the mobile marketer

Number of applicationdownloads

Counts the number of times the application has been installed; this establishes thebaseline universe of application users and may also serve as competitive trendingbenchmark within a given application category.

Sessions Session data provides visibility to the high-level application usage pattern such asfrequency of application use, length of sessions, and length of time betweenapplication use.

Events Tracking specific activities within applications such as success events, ads viewed,and which functions are popular provide valuable conversion metrics and influenceapplication design to optimize the customer experience.

Application crashesand errors

Identifies problems that occur during application usage at the device and applicationlevels, highlighting bugs or other potential issues that impede the user experience

Network/carrier versusWi-Fi

Type of connection used while accessing the application; this indicates bandwidth,which may a�ect application design and can be a high-level proxy for type oflocation from which the application is used.

New versus returningusers

Separates first-time application users from returning users; this identifies whetherthose who download the application actually proceed to use it, and whether theapplication is sticky and provides the utility and value to justify multiple visits.

Device and OS version Device attributes such as screen size and operating system influence applicationdesign that is e�ective within mobile form factors and leverages functionalityavailable in each mobile platform.

Location Location of the user; this provides context for whether visitors access the informationfrom home or from certain other locations, which indicates interest and utility andmay be valuable for targeting.

Application pathanalysis

Path analysis tracks how users navigate the application; this is used to locate designor content obstacles that block users from progressing or highlight popular pathsthat should be a focus of the application.




Ready, seT, MeasuRe!

Once you make the decision to pursue mobile measurement and develop an understanding of the available metrics, deploy a mobile measurement solution. These tools are readily available in a variety of form factors and price points. In fact, you may already possess mobile measurement capabilities within an existing analytics solution (see Figure 3). Mobile website and application measurement solutions are typically software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications featuring three high-level components:

■ Data collection. Mobile measurement tools collect traffic and event data via snippets of tracking code embedded in the client application or website. Tracking mobile websites differs significantly from traditional web analytics because many devices do not accept JavaScript or cookies, making multiple data collection techniques mandatory. Most solutions also employ secondary approaches to complement standard JavaScript tracking.

■ Metrics dashboard. After vendors collect, process, and aggregate raw activity data into usable metrics, they present the information to users in a dashboard or reporting application. The dashboard typically provides visibility to metrics in both tabular and visual formats and may permit various degrees of drill-down within reports, customized layouts and comparisons, and role-based user access.

■ Data access. Mobile measurement solutions offer varying levels of access to data from outside the application. At the most basic level users may export reports in CSV or MS Excel format. Advanced solutions also offer programmatic access to reporting or detail data via batch file transfer or application programming interfaces (APIs) to export data into other systems for deeper analysis.




Figure 3 Categories Of Mobile Measurement Vendors


Categoryname Description Strengths Weaknesses

Representativevendors

Web analytics These vendorso�er mobilemeasurementfunctionalitywithin their webanalyticsplatformo�erings.

• Broad span of capability;ability to measure visits toprimary websites from mobiledevices, mobile websites, andmobile applications

• Places mobile measurement incontext of website andinteractive marketingactivities

• Easy to implement; webanalytics solutions are alreadydeployed and available inmost organizations.

• Mobile measurementis not a core producto�ering.

• Forces mobileapplicationmeasurement into aweb analyticsparadigm

• Functionality andunderlying trackingtechnology may notbe as advanced asspecialist vendors.

Adobe Omniture,AT Internet,IBM Coremetrics,Google,Webtrends

Mobilewebsiteanalytics

These vendorsspecializeprimarily inmeasuringactivity onmobile websites.

• Strong expertise and focus onmobile website analytics andmarketing

• Support for a broad array ofmobile activity, includingmarketing, Web, commerce,and 2D bar codes

• O�ers advanced datamanagement and mobileplatform support

Separates mobilemeasurement fromexisting analyticsinvestments

AdMob, Bango,PercentMobile

Mobileapplicationanalytics

These vendorsspecializeprimarily inmeasuringactivity onmobileapplications.

• Strong expertise and focus onmobile application analytics

• Expresses data and metrics inan appropriate application-specific paradigm

• O�ers advanced datamanagement and mobileplatform support

• Separates mobilemeasurement fromexisting analyticsinvestments

• O�erings are highlyspecific toapplications.

Flurry, Localytics,Ubikod

Mobiledevelopmentplatform

These vendorso�er trackingfunctionality ascapabilitieswithin theirdevelopmentplatforms formobile websitesand applications.

• Integrates tracking into thesite or applicationdevelopment process

• Supports a broad range ofmobile marketing activitiesfrom a single platform

• Mobile measurementis not a core producto�ering.

• Separates mobilemeasurement fromexisting analyticsinvestments

• May lack advancedanalytics features

Kony Solutions,Netbiscuits

Applicationmarketmeasurement

These vendorscollect andaggregate datafrom developersand applicationstores to o�ermarket-levelresearch onapplications.

• Provides benchmark andcompetitive analysis data onapplication adoption andpricing

• Maintains a taxonomy tosegment the applicationmarket

• Complementary to applicationmeasurement solutions

• Not a replacement formobile measurementsolutions

• Anonymized, market-level data only

App Annie,Distimo




Go Beyond standard Tracking Metrics To optimize Mobile performance

As a young category, mobile eBusiness is a complex and unfamiliar endeavor for most organizations. Without the benefit of time-tested best practices and benchmarks, eBusiness professionals must pave their own path to success by developing a measurement strategy to understand the intersections between consumer motivation, design, technology, and actual usage. Unfortunately, few organizations today track more than the most basic indicators such as mobile website visits or number of application downloads; less than one-third of organizations track customer satisfaction, revenue, or leads generated on mobile devices.5

An effective mobile measurement strategy must go beyond these basics to:

■ Measure conversions. Ultimately, measurement needs to support the monetization of your mobile websites and applications. For eBusinesses, conversions may be defined as purchases, registrations, or leads. To link revenue with mobile activity, instrument your mobile websites and applications to track success events, and then calculate overall dollars generated via mobile, conversion rates, and revenue per user and compare these metrics proportionally over time and across channels to assess relative performance.

■ Optimize the user experience. For mobile user experiences, less is more. The most successful mobile websites and applications streamline activities within the construct of the mobile device, providing precisely the functionality and content required to accomplish tasks — and little more. Track usage patterns such as functionality used, path analysis, frequency of use, and session length to understand users’ needs and inform design decisions. One retailer discovered that the store locater button in its iPhone app was extremely popular despite its obscure location three screens deep, so it moved the button onto the start page to maximize utility and convenience.

■ Take advantage of targeting and segmentation opportunities. The diversity of the mobile ecosystem creates ample opportunities to leverage data for segmentation and targeting. For instance, a bank performed analysis to determine that the advanced functionality of its iPhone banking application drives improved customer satisfaction and lower costs of service than mobile website usage. To maximize application adoption, it tracks the devices used by mobile website users and subsequently promotes the iPhone application to iOS users via follow-up email and website targeting.

■ Leverage the distinctive capabilities of mobile. Mobile devices offer many distinctive characteristics and functions that are unique to other channels. These capabilities are opportunities to measure new types of user activity, craft compelling user experiences, and sidestep the limitations that plague other channels. For example, a real estate company that historically struggled to attribute website activity to lead generation found that mobile’s native click-to-talk capability allows it to track phone number usage from its mobile websites and applications as a success event, clearly tying mobile activity to leads.




■ Test everything. Many mobile website and application concepts are new, making it impossible to predict what will resonate with users. Assume nothing; test design and marketing concepts to ensure they are effective. For example, the increasing popularity of tablet devices puts eBusiness professionals in a bind: Are they mobile devices or computers? To determine how these devices fit into the mix, one retailer is testing redirects for tablet visitors — sending them to the standard fixed website, the mobile website, or a prototype large format mobile site designed for tablets — to determine which option is most effective with its customers. Also remember that consumers are new to mobile too, so give your tests a little extra time for changes to settle in and gain traction.

R e c o m m e n d at i o n s

MoBile Will only Rise in iMpoRTance: GeT Ready WiTh MeasuReMenT

The trend is very clear: Mobile adoption is on the rise, and it’s only a matter of time until mobile is a major source of traffic and conversions. The good news is that measuring mobile websites and applications is possible today. The bad news is that few eBusinesses currently give mobile measurement the priority it deserves. To make the most of the mobile opportunity and avoid falling behind the curve, put mobile measurement in place today so your organization has a full understanding of mobile websites and applications by the time mobile hits its stride. To move forward:

■ Start measuring mobile immediately. Even if your eBusiness doesn’t currently offer mobile-specific content, you are getting website visitors from mobile devices. Start measuring traffic from mobile devices today, and ensure that mobile websites and applications have measurement instrumentation in place from day one. Even if you track only a few key metrics, these efforts will pay off by developing mobile activity benchmarks to justify future investments and guide your mobile strategy.

■ Pay attention to the technical details. Mobile measurement comes with several unique technical challenges. While most user needs are basic today, obscure details will make a significant difference as sophistication grows. Begin familiarizing yourself with these factors so you can properly evaluate vendors and articulate the technical underpinnings that influence mobile tracking. This includes: 1) measurement instrumentation — how the tracking works, what environments are supported, and alternative methods that go beyond standard JavaScript and cookies; 2) audience identification — how your mobile measurement solution identifies users and ties sessions together; and 3) device identification — what the measurement solution’s device database contains, how the taxonomy is organized, who built and owns it, and how it is maintained.

■ Don’t force mobile into paradigms of other channels. It’s valuable to understand mobile traffic in the context of other channels, but don’t forget that mobile is a very different use case from traditional channels in terms of user engagement, device functionality, screen real estate, and network performance. Many mobile analytics solutions exacerbate the problem by making it too




easy to impose traditional website standards on mobile websites or express application metrics using website semantics. Take a fresh look at benchmarks for mobile websites and applications, and treat them as unique experiences to measure and optimize.

■ Establish ownership of mobile measurement. Mobile activities commonly cross departmental lines, particularly in large eBusinesses where separate mobile teams may operate in different divisions. Avoid divergent and isolated analytics approaches by assigning ownership of mobile measurement to a centralized resource. eBusiness professionals must work together with their customer intelligence counterparts to effectively manage and synthesize results of mobile measurement initiatives.

■ Share mobile insights across the organization. As your mobile measurement and testing programs ramp up, the organization will develop measurement standards, benchmarks, and best practices. Socialize these insights outside of the immediate circle of mobile stakeholders. This engenders an institutional understanding and appreciation for mobile eBusiness and gathers support for future initiatives.

■ Start planning for the next generation of mobile tactics. Mobile will continue its march of progress unabated for the foreseeable future as devices offer new functionality, carrier networks provide more speed and bandwidth, and consumer sophistication increases. Mastering baseline measurement principles today supports the adoption of advanced capabilities in the future such as tracking consumers across channels, leveraging location-based services, and migrating applications to non-mobile devices such as televisions. Start by prioritizing a list of potential future tactics that are relevant to your business, and plan segmentation and testing strategies to evaluate and eventually implement these innovations.

endnoTes1 For more information, please see the May 9 2012,“The Mobile eBusiness Ecosystem” report and see the May

9, 2012 “Strategic Staffing For Mobile eBusiness” report, which are also featured in the mobile eBusiness playbook.

2 Mobile commerce is expected to reach $31 billion by 2016. While this represents a compounded annual growth rate of 39% from 2011 to 2016, mobile commerce is only expected to be 7% of overall eCommerce sales by 2016, as purchasing still ranks low on the list of things consumer do on their mobile. Mobile commerce in this document includes retail, travel, and services. Categories in retail included in this survey (but not broken out include): PCs; peripherals; software; consumer electronics; books; music; videos; movie tickets; event tickets; over-the-counter drugs; nutraceuticals; medical supplies; personal care; apparel and accessories; footwear; jewelry; grocery; pets; toys; video games; sporting goods; flowers; furniture; large appliances; housewares/small appliances; art and collectibles; home improvement; garden supplies; office products; auto parts; and travel. For more information, please see the June 17, 2011 “Mobile Commerce Forecast: 2011 To 2016” report.








3 The data cited here is from the Q2 2010 Global eBusiness And Channel Strategy Professional Online Survey. For more information, please see the June, 2, 2011, “Mobile Channel Strategy: An Overview” report.

4 Source: August 2011 Global eBusiness and Channel Strategy Professional Online Survey.

5 The main metric used to measure success is traffic. While the majority of firms want to deepen customer engagement and improve customer satisfaction, only 30% actually measure customer satisfaction with mobile services. Finally, only 34% of interviewees claim to have introduced key mobile performance metrics across the organization. See the October 18, 2010, “How Mature Is Your Mobile Strategy?” report and see the April 13, 2011, “Mobile Measurement Is A Customer Intelligence Imperative” report.




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Mobile Measurement Is An eBusiness Imperativetry.newrelic.com/rs/newrelic/images/Mobile-Analytics-Performance... · June 2, 2011 Mobile Measurement Is A Customer Intelligence Imperative