But one of the most important things that keeps me coming back to this retailer is its desire to have an upfront and open relationship with it customers – as outlined on two pages of the company’s website: Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Under Terms of Use, Drugstore.com details what it expects of its customers, including providing accurate account information, honoring copyrights and using the site for lawful purposes only. Under Privacy Policy, the company details what its customers can expect from Drugstore.com, including agreements with third parties, social media and email.
What I appreciate most about this company’s Privacy Policy page is Drugstore.com’s disclosure of what information it collects and how it will be used (1999-2013, para. 10):
We automatically receive and collect certain types of information whenever you visit our websites. For example, like many other websites, we use "cookies" and web beacons (described below) and obtain certain types of information when your browser accesses our websites. This information includes the Internet protocol (IP) address of your computer, your geographic location as determined by your IP address, your browser software and operating system, your web server, the date and time you access our site, session information (such as download errors and page response times), information about your viewing, search and purchase history, and information about the referring URL and the URL clickstream to, through, and from our websites. We use this information to monitor the usage and performance of our site, to enhance our customers' search and shopping experiences and to determine aggregate information about our user base and usage patterns.
While I don’t typically like businesses collecting information about me as a consumer, I do understand why they do it as a marketer. By collecting information about my online habits, the company can better target products, services, discounts and more to keep me coming back – what Drugstore.com refers to above as enhancing “our customers’ search and shopping experiences.” It also can help the company understand if its website has any issues, such as challenging processes or poor information, that keep me, and other customers, from seeing a purchase through to completion or creating an account – referred to as monitoring "the usage and performance of our site" and “aggregate information about our user base and usage patterns” in the company’s disclosure also referenced above.
Based on what I’m learning in my web analytics course at West Virginia University, I suspect Drugstore.com has set up several e-commerce goals for its websites, and tracks conversions and funnels, accordingly (if not, I would strongly encourage the online retailer to do so). I also suspect (and suggest) that some of the metrics Drugstore.com collects are focused on helping the company answer the following questions:
- How do customers arrive at our website and what keywords are they using to find it? (i.e. referrals and SEO)
- How often do customers return and how long in between their visits (i.e. frequency and recency)?
- What types of products are customers looking at and how many are they looking at (i.e. page views and page views/visit), and what are they purchasing (i.e. conversions)?
- Where are we losing customers? (i.e. bounce rates and funnels)
- How many visitors sign up for an account and/or make a purchase? (i.e. conversions)
- Are there are any parts of our account process that might be challenging and causing customers to leave? (i.e. funnels and conversions).
Just think of the wealth
of information Drugstore.com could have at its disposals by combining its
website metrics with knowledge gained from its social media sites, advertising
and paid search: the “story” of the company’s online presence could really come
to life – to the benefit of the business. Kaushik (2010, p. 357) explains:
The toughest challenges in online measurement are the touchiest. Gaining a Conversion is complex: a Visitor may visit your website multiple times and be exposed to multiple online marketing campaigns. And because we live in a “nonline” marketing world, the influences on a Visitor are not limited to online channels. We see television ads and billboards. Therefore, our Outcomes are no longer limited to online Conversions; we might do our window shopping online, but we convert offline.
For these reasons, Drugstore.com should consider using vanity URLs in its public relations, advertising and offline marketing efforts to assess how these elements can help drive online conversions. The company also should consider using unique coupons and codes in its offline campaign efforts to help determine effectiveness in reaching online ecommerce goals. And Drugstore.com should view traffic patterns online, when campaigns are running, to see what impact those efforts are having on the company’s online presence.
Additionally, Drugstore.com should look at the applications available from Google Analytics’ gallery. Two applications I suggest the online retailer should consider – and the reasoning behind those suggestions – are:
The toughest challenges in online measurement are the touchiest. Gaining a Conversion is complex: a Visitor may visit your website multiple times and be exposed to multiple online marketing campaigns. And because we live in a “nonline” marketing world, the influences on a Visitor are not limited to online channels. We see television ads and billboards. Therefore, our Outcomes are no longer limited to online Conversions; we might do our window shopping online, but we convert offline.
For these reasons, Drugstore.com should consider using vanity URLs in its public relations, advertising and offline marketing efforts to assess how these elements can help drive online conversions. The company also should consider using unique coupons and codes in its offline campaign efforts to help determine effectiveness in reaching online ecommerce goals. And Drugstore.com should view traffic patterns online, when campaigns are running, to see what impact those efforts are having on the company’s online presence.
Additionally, Drugstore.com should look at the applications available from Google Analytics’ gallery. Two applications I suggest the online retailer should consider – and the reasoning behind those suggestions – are:
- SessionCam. This application allows companies to record and replay user activity on websites, giving them the chance to observe the actual customer visits associated with the company’s web data. This application would be particularly useful in the company’s re-marketing efforts, as well as providing valuable conversion insights.
- Sprout Social. This tool is a “social media management platform that helps businesses effectively manage social channels and provide an exceptional customer experience. By integrating with Google Analytics, users are able to see their web traffic in relation to their social media activity on a single dashboard, (Google, 2011). Sprout Social can help Drugstore.com better understand how its social media activity is performing toward realization of online ecommerce goals.
All of these are suggestions Drugstore.com should consider using, if the online retailer isn't already doing so, to enhance realization of the company's ecommerce goals. This information taken together – from suggested questions and their associated
metrics to integration of on- and offline behavior to tools that can enhance understanding
and reporting – can help Drugstore.com predict the future online behavior of its
customers, allowing the retailer to identify unrealized opportunities and drive
growth. Rogers, principal at ConvertClick, explains in a blog (Puri, 2013,
para. 8) why retailers need to use predictive analytics to improve online
shopping experiences:
Generally speaking, analytics is about improving the decision-making process. The goal of predictive analytics is to analyze past and present behavior patterns to predict trends before they happen and build sound business strategies. That’s the next level for online retail.
I could not agree more with Rogers’ about the next level for online retail – actionable insight – and believe this is absolutely necessary for Drugstore.com to take full advantage of its multichannel analytics. What about you? Is there an online retailer you patronize regularly that you believe is drawing actionable insight from its online presence? If so, why and how do you think that retailer is doing this?
References
Drugstore.com. (1999-2013). Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://www.Drugstore.com/
Drugstore.com (1999-2013). Terms of use. Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://drugstore.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/512
Drugstore.com. (1999-2013). Privacy policy. Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://www.Drugstore.com/drugstore/qxc148674
Google. (2011, July 5). Sprout Social. Google. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://www.google.com/analytics/apps/about?app_id=1240001
Kaushik, A. (2010). Web Analytics 2.0. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Wauters, R. (2011, March 24). Boom! Walgreens buys online retailer Drugstore.com for $409 million. Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/24/boom-walgreens-buys-online-retailer-drugstore-com-for-409-million/
Generally speaking, analytics is about improving the decision-making process. The goal of predictive analytics is to analyze past and present behavior patterns to predict trends before they happen and build sound business strategies. That’s the next level for online retail.
I could not agree more with Rogers’ about the next level for online retail – actionable insight – and believe this is absolutely necessary for Drugstore.com to take full advantage of its multichannel analytics. What about you? Is there an online retailer you patronize regularly that you believe is drawing actionable insight from its online presence? If so, why and how do you think that retailer is doing this?
References
Drugstore.com. (1999-2013). Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://www.Drugstore.com/
Drugstore.com (1999-2013). Terms of use. Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://drugstore.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/512
Drugstore.com. (1999-2013). Privacy policy. Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://www.Drugstore.com/drugstore/qxc148674
Google. (2011, July 5). Sprout Social. Google. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://www.google.com/analytics/apps/about?app_id=1240001
Kaushik, A. (2010). Web Analytics 2.0. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Wauters, R. (2011, March 24). Boom! Walgreens buys online retailer Drugstore.com for $409 million. Retrieved Dec. 7, 2013, from http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/24/boom-walgreens-buys-online-retailer-drugstore-com-for-409-million/
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