analyzing analytics...XD

Finally, my last blog for our subject Data Mining under Mr. Mon Duremdes. I deeply regret that I have failed giving my 100% in my previous blogs. Hopefully, I will make up with this last one. (hehehe..XD)

Topic for this blog is about Web Analytics.....

So... what is Web Analytics?...

According to TechTarget.com: "Web analytics is the process of analyzing the behavior of visitors to a Web site. The use of Web analytics is said to enable a business to attract more visitors, retain or attract new customers for goods or services, or to increase the dollar volume each customer spends."

To reach the full potential of Web Analytics, it is necessary to understand and implement the following strategies:

1. FOCUS ON CUSTOMER CENTRICITY

Yes, we've all heard of the phrase "The customer is always right."... And it really is essential for every business to always side with the customer even though he/she is being unreasonable. What the customer wants... the customer gets... eventually... ;p

Companies should focus on what the customers actually want than what they think the customers want.

Once you've known these things, you can integrate it into your websites. Find out which of the things in your site create the most traffic. According to Mr. Avinash Kaushik, author of "Web Analytics: An Hour A Day"....

"Website Traffic comes from purchase is about 15-25%. And others comes from research , look for job, check on their order status, email complaints, check prices, learn more about the company, download images and/or other data."

Your goal is to shift from short-term to long-term analytics of customer centricity. Short-term meaning measuring how the website is delivering for your company. And Long-term meaning solving for your customer’s needs.

To be able to be successful in implementing a Customer Centricity mindset, you might want to try the "Trinity Approach".

2. SOLVE FOR BUSINESS QUESTIONS.

Three characteristics:

a.) They are usually open-ended and at a much higher level, leaving you room to think and add value.

b.) They likely require you to go outside your current systems and sources to look for data and guidance in order to measure success.

c.) They rarely include columns and rows into which you can plunk data you already have.

One can have an effective web analytics program if they know how to ask real business questions, understand those business questions, and have the freedom to do what it takes to find answers to those questions.

Follow the 10/90 Rule!

"Through my humble experience in this field I have developed a rule to fix this problem and achieve Magnificent Success. I call it the 10 / 90 rule. Here it what it says……..

• Our Goal: Highest value from Web Analytics implementation.



• Cost of analytics tool & vendor professional services: $ 10.



• Required investment in “intelligent resources/analysts”: $ 90.



• Bottom-line for Magnificent Success: Its the people. "

(Copied from Mr. Avinash Kaushik's blog.)

3. IDENTIFY OPTIMAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE & RESPONSIBILITIES.

"It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously.”

–Peter Ustinov,British actor and writer

Companies should know which models/methods are implemented in their workplace and which of those truly maximizes the capabilities and profitability of their companies.

To be able to truly identify those stuff, they can hire web analysts to better understand.

These are the characteristics of a great web insights analysts:

•They have used more than one web analytics tool extensively.
•They frequent the Yahoo! Web analytics group and the top web analytics blogs.
•Before doing any important analysis, they visit the website and look at the pages.
•Their core approach is customer centric.
•They understand the technical differences between page tagging, log files, packet sniffing, and beacons.
•They are comfortable in the quantitative and qualitative worlds.
•They are avid explorers.
•They are effective communicators.
•They are street smart.
•They play offense not just defense.
•They are survivors.

(You can also check out my groupmates' blogs for other related information)
-Mr. Charles Tugade
-Ms. Daniellene Benig
-Ms. Julie Nolasco
-Ms. Jerika Hemedez

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

–Theodore Roosevelt,26th president of the U.S.

I "REPUTE" EVERYTHING!!!! hahahaha >:)

“Reputation is only a candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit.” - James Russell Lowell

Reputation one of the things that us, mere mortals, give importance to yet something we cannot touch nor physically feel. I think all of us will agree that the best things in life are not the ones you can buy but the ones you can obtain through hard work and time.

"The great difficulty is first to win a reputation; the next to keep it while you live; and the next to preserve it after you die, when affection and interest are over, and nothing but sterling excellence can preserve your name. Never suffer youth to be an excuse for inadequacy, nor age and fame to be an excuse for indolence."

-Benjamin Haydon (1786–1846)

Building a good reputation is not as easy as it seems. You can’t just say that you’ve never had a fight with anyone therefore, you have a good reputation. It’s not as easy as that. People can even spend their whole lives building a good reputation. What more for a company that has thousands (or even millions) of connections from different sectors of the society.

A company will never be able to sell their products/services if they don’t have a solid and good reputation to begin with. For example, in Telecommunications industry, how can one sell its services if the company is known for having weak signal, has limited services, and only a few cell sites. People will never believe that your company can help them stay connected with people they need to talk to.

So for you to figure out what you can do to have or maintain a good reputation for your company, let's start first by defining what is "Company Reputation".

COMPANY REPUTATION

• The general estimation that the public has for your company.
• The state of being held in high esteem and honor.

For you to be able to take care of your company reputation you must know what to monitor, where to monitor, when to monitor, and how you can monitor well. All of these things I can provide to you thanks to....
and of course, our beloved professor in Data Mining, Mr. Mon Duremdes.


For "WHAT" to monitor in your company, these are the things we've read:

• Own brands - a company has a lot of unique products/services to offer to the market, therefore, one must watch out for any mention of their products/services (especially their no. 1 product/service) in blogs, newspapers, interviews, etc.
  

• Company name - the reason for monitoring it speaks for itself. It's your "NAME". People know you because of this name therefore you must monitor whatever things people add to your company name whether they put a positive or a negative one.

• Products and Services

• Executives and Spokespeople - monitor what your own people say to your company. Review speeches they'll give to the people/press.

• Marketing Campaigns - make sure all marketing campaign strategies are for the good of the image of the company.

• Industry Trends - your company must learn how to keep up with new trends. You wouldn't want your company to be named as something that has been stuck with the past or something.
  

• Competitors - duh! I'm sure you all know why!

• Your known weaknesses - learn to cover those up to prevent it from having too much negative impact on your reputation.

For "WHERE":

• Industry Blogs - you must know which blogs are crucial for your company's reputation, which blogs are more believable, which blog does people go to in search of a good critic in companies, etc.
• Vertical Communities - examples are facebook, friendster, multiply, etc.

• Employee Hangouts - where your employee goes to online. Which community sites do they visit 'cause your customers might probably visit those sites as well.

• Business Locations
  

For "WHEN"...

NOW!!!

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE.

For "HOW"...

DON'T PANIC!!!

YOU CAN NEVER ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING WITH A NERVOUS HEART & SWEATY PALMS.

REMEMBER!!!!

"A good reputation is more valuable than money."
- Publius Syrus (42 B.C.)

F

Other blogs related to this topic can be found in Deedin's, Julie's, Chabby's, & Ikah's blogs.

is it me or today's (tonight's) one of my luckiest days??? hehehe XD

we watched "Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince" today (July 16, '09)...XD better than the last one...at least, they're funny... & it's not that boring unlike the book 5 movie..hehe XD though, it's sad na my fave parts in the book is either not in the movie or the scene is not the way i pictured it or not the same as the one described in the book...hehe oh well, making a movie's hard work...hehe :))

anyway, lucky day ako today since....

1. i got the eeyore stuff toy dun sa Maxi claw @ ATC timezone...woohoo! \m/

2. got the "kurama the fox" cellphone accessory (can't even count how many times we tried to get that @ "Toys R Us" (ATC)...& we did it in one try!!! woohoo!)

3. we won 131 tickets @ Timezone Trivia game...yep, we won the jackpot!!! hehe woohoo! (again! hehe)


4. played Guitar Hero @ timezone...they have it na! hehehe XD (though 'di aq magaling dun... hahaha)

5. we had a really good time today...XD

grbe! super fun!! hehe XD sa uulitin...next stop...hmmm??? G.I. Joe... The Proposal... UP... New Moon... weeh!! can't wait...hehe XD

(i can now REALLY say that) "Saturdays just keep getting better & better."....NOT!!!!!!!!

I'll tell you what almost happened & what actually happened to me (about an hour (or 1.5 hrs na ata..hehe) ago).

You see, I have 4 dogs... (2 male & 2 female; none of them have the same breed)...

The boys are named Billy (am not sure what his breed is; a mixed probably) & Clark (dachshund)… God knows how much I love those two but together, I wish I could just pretend I don’t own/love them…

The thing is when Clark was given to me (my dad bought it as a gift), he’s always around me and he’s a very sweet puppy. Billy, being the oldest dog among them, didn’t really mind having a new dog at home. So the 3 of us lived in harmony for a while.

Growing up, Clark started to change. He doesn’t like people (most of them), other dogs (except my 2 female dogs, he’s fine with those two), cats (even killed my kitten, Skitty the 1^st), bikes, motorcycles, and probably all other moving things that he considered a “threat” to him. Maybe, he started to think that he’s the “Alpha Male” of the house.

Anyway, one day (it’s night pala nun…haha) I decided to walk Clark & Billy together and I regretted it from the moment I opened Clark’s cage. Clark kept biting Billy, & at first, Billy just ignored him but eventually he got pissed and fought back. I can’t run away that time since 1. they are my dogs, therefore my responsibility and 2. I’m too stunned and scared for myself, for other people, and for my dogs. Stupid thing since that night turned out to be the 1^st time am actually been seriously bitten by a dog, it was Clark who accidentally bit my leg since I was caught in between them trying to keep them apart.

Moving on to what happened tonight… I woke up and went to Billy. I noticed that he got his chain stuck in the floor of his dog house (again!). I called for Mama to help me. So she gave me Billy’s other chain then went back to the house since Clark kept barking, she thought he needed to pee or something.

While I was busy trying to hold Billy and trying to get the chain unstuck, Clark came charging at Billy! The horror!!! And it is as bad as it sounds! Grabe! I kept screaming like a 5-year old kid, kept calling Mama! (as in natili ako ha!) I was so scared since I’ve been there, done that! (And am not planning for history to repeat itself. Thank you very much!)

So while they were snarling away, I kept screaming and holding Billy while hiding at the back of his dog house [not an easy thing to do, if I may (or is it supposed to be “might”?? haha!) add] since I can’t let him loose and I also can’t get myself in the middle of a freaking dog fight (again!).

Anyway, thank God, Clark listened to me when I told him to go away. (Did I mention while all of those things are happening, my mom was just watching doing ABSOLUTELY nothing?!?! And to think that with all my screaming, some of our neighbors actually went out of their house to look!)… Moving on, she finally caught Clark and I practically yelled at her to take him to his cage! For about 5 or 10 minutes my knees just won’t stop shaking and I actually have to lean on something to be able to stand. Damn!

Anyway, I got over it and went inside the house and I really, really wanted to strangle my mom. Thank God I didn’t since I happen to be a sane & controlled person. Pero grabe! I was so mad at her! Haaay…anyway, that’s pretty much it… buti nalang ‘di ako nakagat kahit aksidente lang…whew! >,<

talking about "chair"...haha XD

when i finished my datamin-blog-of-the-week, i suddenly found myself listening to songs instead of just sleeping like any sane person (w/o insomnia) would probably do. i guess am not that sleepy since i slept for 5 or 6 hours ata kanina. hehehe...

anyway, this entry will probably contain a lot of stuff and spoilers from Gossip Girl (season 2). So if you're a fan and haven't watched it, i suggest you stop reading right NOW.

i finished watching it last Tuesday night (i think...). and... OMG! i love the ending for my favorite character, Ms. Blair Waldorf. ha!

(the exchanged that happened b/w chuck & blair at the end of the season, episode title: "The Goodbye Gossip Girl")

Chuck: I was a coward running away again. But everywhere I went, you caught up with me. So I had to come back.

Blair: I want to believe you, but I can't. You've hurt me too many times.

Chuck: Then believe me this time.

Blair: That's it?

Chuck: [pauses] I love you, too. (they kiss)

Blair: Can you say it twice? (laughs) No, I'm serious, say it twice.

Chuck: I love you, I love you, I love you. (kissing)

awww... what a perfect ending. that's all we, Chair (chuck & blair) fans, could ever hope for! XD LOL.

(btw, what's up w/ the gifts? here's the answer..)

"Blair walks down the street and finds Chuck waiting for her with a bouquet and a gift. "Why aren't you in Europe?" He says he was in Paris... and Germany... to get her favorite macaroons and stockings." (awwww....XD hahahaha)

i never liked Chuck Bass... but i like him when he's w/ Blair... hopefully, the next season will be better and will have more surprises waiting for us, fanatics. hahahaha 'till then. ciao.

(am sleepy na! yey! XD)

The Age of Discovery: In the Realm of the "Miners" (THE data miners)

DATA = a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn
MINING = the act of extracting

Now, when we combine these two words we form "DATA MINING" (Note: which also happened to be a one of our subjects under Mr. Mon Duremdes). Based on the definition given above, Data Mining simply means "extracting facts/data to be able to form conclusions". But a more profound meaning can be seen in an article of Mr. Kurt Thearling.

In his article entitled "Discovering hidden value in your data warehouse", he defined Data Mining as "the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases and is a powerful new technology with great potential to help companies focus on the most important information in their data warehouses."


Tools in Data Mining can help businesses predict future trends and behavior "allowing businesses to make proactive, knowledge-driven decisions". This being said, we can now conclude that Data Mining, indeed, adds value to information that your company has gathered.

These Data Mining techniques are divided into two sectors namely:

• Classical Techniques: Statistics, Neighborhoods and Clustering

• Next Generation Techniques: Trees, Networks and Rules

(more information can be found in Kurt Thearling's Data Mining techniques web page. Since I can't help you much about those things 'cause even someone like me, a Data Mining student, is having trouble understanding the whole Data Mining thing. LOL.)

Basically, these are just processes that can help you find the essential information you need in your pool of data. It's like putting all those data to undergo a "purification process"; taking value while cutting/dropping all the other cr**.

And dropping all those cr** is a very tricky thing to do. Everybody's scared of being the one to decide who goes in and who goes out. 'Cause, you see, if you let the right one out and let the wrong one in, it may be the reason for your downfall.

Data Mining is the solution to that. Instead of manually managing and analyzing those files like this: I'd rather go


I mean I'd rather be like this:

Since I happen to know this and will be able to use this process:

(Now, I will suddenly change my topic.)

Of course all these readings that my group (me, Deedin, Chabby, Ikah, and Julie; by the way, you can also check out their blogs since we pretty much talked about the same topic.) has been doing has something to do with our chosen field of study for our Data Mining class, Telecommunications.

Our professor, I think, wants us to use Data Mining to be able to find information that can be used by Telecommunications companies (especially SMART Telecom) which I'd gladly use once my group and I find all necessary information (and once we fully understand the subject and the process. LOL.)

Back to the matter at hand (which is the importance of Data Mining, I think... LOL.), here are some examples of the industries that had luck with Data Mining (taken from Mr. Thearling's Data Mining web page):

• A pharmaceutical company can analyze its recent sales force activity and their results to improve targeting of high-value physicians and determine which marketing activities will have the greatest impact in the next few months. The data needs to include competitor market activity as well as information about the local health care systems. The results can be distributed to the sales force via a wide-area network that enables the representatives to review the recommendations from the perspective of the key attributes in the decision process. The ongoing, dynamic analysis of the data warehouse allows best practices from throughout the organization to be applied in specific sales situations.

• A credit card company can leverage its vast warehouse of customer transaction data to identify customers most likely to be interested in a new credit product. Using a small test mailing, the attributes of customers with an affinity for the product can be identified. Recent projects have indicated more than a 20-fold decrease in costs for targeted mailing campaigns over conventional approaches.

• A diversified transportation company with a large direct sales force can apply data mining to identify the best prospects for its services. Using data mining to analyze its own customer experience, this company can build a unique segmentation identifying the attributes of high-value prospects. Applying this segmentation to a general business database such as those provided by Dun & Bradstreet can yield a prioritized list of prospects by region.

• A large consumer package goods company can apply data mining to improve its sales process to retailers. Data from consumer panels, shipments, and competitor activity can be applied to understand the reasons for brand and store switching. Through this analysis, the manufacturer can select promotional strategies that best reach their target customer segments.

Each of these examples have a clear common ground. They leverage the knowledge about customers implicit in a data warehouse to reduce costs and improve the value of customer relationships. These organizations can now focus their efforts on the most important (profitable) customers and prospects, and design targeted marketing strategies to best reach them.

I know what you're about to say.... "pretty cool, huh?"... Yup, I totally agree. And with that being said, I, therefore, finally conclude my blog and wish my readers a good/fun day! See yah at school!

"Much I Do About Nothing"

Damn… tinamad na ko mag-kwento about yesterday’s events kaya never mind…. Hehe lucky you, I won’t bore you with my kwento… the problem is… I can’t think of a topic now and I want a topic ‘coz I want to blog about something… and I want to blog ‘coz I just want to…. I don’t have anything else to do…hehe

“The world is made for people who aren’t cursed with self-awareness.”

(I read this in “Undead & Unworthy” by Mary Janice Davidson… The gay doctor, Marc, there quoted Susan Sarandon in her movie, “Bull Durham”… which am not really familiar with… so if the book just made that up, I wouldn’t know…hehe)

Anyway, does this mean that the world’s not made for me? Hehe ;p just kiddin’…

And that pretty much concludes my blog…hahaha sucks... i know…hehe

NOTE: Got the title from a Gossip Girl episode in Season 1...hehe XD am really bad w/ titles kc e...hehe >,<