For quite some time now I’ve been using analytical tools to slice and dice user data on “small sites” (Wambo gets about 50K visits a month roughly, and I have 2 other small B2C service sites that I’m managing on the side). In doing so, I’ve realized that the kinds of metrics you look at for these sites that need to grow fast are very different from traditional analytics.
While traditional sites look at “improving” existing business processes (increasing conversion rates, enhancing the customer experience, etc etc ), startup sites are laser-focused on finding the right formula for their site or service. Startups are always building. And speed is what matters.
For us early stage sites, we look at a completely different set of numbers. And, we compare data ALL the time. Month-over-month, week-over-week, even sometimes, hour-over-hour. So I’m thinking of another kind of analytics that’d be useful for me, let’s call that growth analytics. In an ideal interface, I’d like everything presented in the context of velocity. Velocity been the uber measure, similar to a session or a page view in traditional web analytics.
I’d want to see user acquisition velocity by hour, day, week and month. I’d like to be able to compare velocities for different time ranges (this week vs last week). I want to be able to track acquisition velocity for different segments. I want to A/B test my site and see what the impact is on the velocity metrics. And I want to project in the future what my KPIs will look like if I can sustain the current velocity levels (i.e. if I keep growing my users by 3% a week, that will get me to the 1Million user mark by ___). A new calendar type but with dates in the future too, not just in the past.
Yes, you see where I’m going now. I think what’s a little broken with the state of analytics today is the fact that we spend 90% of our time trying to answer the “what happened” question. And that’s soooo yesterday 
It’s interesting how view points can change over time. As an hi-tech entrepreneur switching between B2B and B2C opportunities (Fireclick 1998-2005 then Wambo 2006-2007), I got to learn that markets function differently. Consumer businesses seem a little easier to get off the ground, but are highly competitive. Enterprise businesses on the other hand require stronger products, which take longer to develop - but once the initial hurdle is passed things get more predictable.For the last 2 years, Wambo has kept me laser-focused on Web 2.0 applications, social networking and media sharing. I spent a fair amount of time studying the market, innovating, and marketing to the consumer using a mix of viral and search engine marketing. This sharply contrasts with my prior experience at Fireclick, where I never really paid attention to the new wave of innovation led by YouTube and others - sites like Digg, Facebook and even MySpace were complete unknowns to me. I was simply too busy working with eCommerce sites. Gap.com, HSN, Novica, Tower Records - that was my world - far, far away from Web 2.0.
Recently, I’ve taken another look at eCommerce. Called a few of my former customers, looked again at a few of the leading retail sites and ran a few ideas by some eCommerce luminaries. In other words, I’m paying attention again to what’s going on in the world of eCommerce, but with a different approach - an approach we may call Web 2.0.
My first observation is an obvious one. Commerce sites keep getting more templatized and cleaner overall - unlike social networking sites, where personalization and chaos are generally the norm. By contrast, commerce sites appear inhuman and cold. And silent. Makes you feel like shopping at an empty 7Eleven at 5AM on a Sunday morning after a great party with friends.
I would think this issue has a significant impact on user engagement with the commerce site, and eventually, customer loyalty. Let me say this differently. Commerce sites have much to gain by humanizing the shopping experience, I think.
