I’ve interviewed Stéphane Hamel, Cardinal Path, about his upcoming presentation at eMetrics Stockholm in September.

Tell those who, unlike me, don’t know you a little about yourself.

It could be a long story! I started nearly 25 years ago as a software developer, analyst, system administrator and DBA for a research project—with access to the Internet. When the web came out, I had the chance to install a server so we could document our research, and I naturally looked at log files—just like any other IT system.

Be it in my days at the Montreal Stock Exchange, at Softimage, a break-through 3D animation software company, at Bombardier Recreational Products manufacturing, or Desjardins financial & insurance services, and many others, I gained experience listening to business requirements and striving to come up with original, yet optimal and realistic, solutions.

To strengthen my skills I completed an eBusiness MBA, and on top of my role as Director of Strategic Services at Cardinal Path I also teach a graduate-level course on digital analytics from a managerial perspective, have been tutoring the UBC web analytics program for years, do R&D on both the technical and conceptual aspects of web analytics: WASP (now owned by iPerceptions), gaAddons, the Online Analytics Maturity Model (OAMM for short)… I served on the Web Analytics Association board of directors, I’m quite active in the web analytics community on Twitter, Google+ and locally.

You’re going to talk about your Online Analytics Maturity Model. What compelled you to create it, and why should organizations use it?

It was a coincidence based on two things: first, there was a debate amongst my peers about whether web analytics was hard or not—a topic that surfaced again in the last couple of days! Second, I was completing my MBA and was looking for a good topic. At first, the University asked me if I could create a course on web analytics, but I asked to spend more time and looked into why so many organizations are failing at web analytics while some of them really become analytical competitors, as Tom Davenport would put it. I did interviews, leveraged my own experience as a practitioner and consultant, looked at other disciplines such as marketing, finance, business analysis, business intelligence, etc. It turned into a much better course and a proposal for the OAMM.

Models are no magic, they are imperfect and evolve over time, and that’s OK. That being said, OAMM is an incredible opportunity to take a step back and think about your, and your organizations’, strengths and weaknesses. Lots of people would like to use it as a benchmark, but I recommend doing an introspection before looking at others. Engage your managers and business stakeholders in the process, and use it as a change management tool and a great way to spark discussions!

Who should listen to your presentation?

I would be tempted to say “everyone”! From junior analysts, to senior executives, the concepts exposed in the OAMM will help web analysts better understand how they are contributing to the overall business, and executives will get a better grasp on why the web analyst role is really one of change agent.

What role does eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit play in the field of web analytics and testing?

eMetrics is the must attend event for anyone in the field. eMetrics is our de-facto industry event, and the official event of the WAA where practitioners, consultants, vendors and anyone gravitating around our field get together. I first attended in 2007 and I’ve since been every year, speaking over 15 times in San Francisco, Washington, Toronto, London, Paris and for the first time, Stockholm!

At eMetrics I met people who inspired and helped me in my crazy projects: Jim Sterne, Avinash Kaushik, and Bryan Eisenberg. I met people who I’m now closely involved with at Cardinal Path: John Hossack, Alex Langshur, and Justin Cutroni. I met some of the 700+ students I tutored at UBC over the years, and I met clients and prospects. In fact, I’ve met so many people that I should stop here!

You have spoken at eMetrics in many locations, and been a key driver for eMetrics Toronto. What do you hope to get out of eMetrics Stockholm?

The challenges we face in our web analytics practices are pretty much universal. Sharing my work in Stockholm is a great opportunity to continue to gather feedback from the field that will contribute and encourage me to continue working on this long and tedious project. Of course, in the same vein as the previous question, I’ll get to meet people I’ve only met virtually and renew with old acquaintance: yourself, Brian Clifton, Steve Jackson, and many others.

So, once and for all, is web analytics hard or easy, and should we talk about marketing optimization or business optimization?

Building a cathedral during the middle ages was hard, landing on the moon was hard and complex, resolving the economic crisis is pretty darn hard… Running a business is hard. As analysts who are supposed to measure and optimize; analyze a complex business environment and processes, we’re not very credible if we keep running around complaining our job is hard! Go ahead, ask anyone at your workplace if their job is hard—any disciplines—from the guy sweeping the floor at night up to senior executives. Guess the answer! (Hint: if they don’t say it’s hard.. they should be fired!)

Yes, indeed, web analytics is hard when we don’t address and keep a balance between the six critical process areas exposed in the OAMM! So, is web analytics easy? Maybe not, and that’s why our field is so interesting! Stop complaining and do something about it today! Register for eMetrics Stockholm!

Marketing optimization or business optimization? I believe our job as analysts is to understand a business context, get the facts— the data, understand the process, and come up with the most optimal and realistic recommendations (and yes, creativity plays a role in here too!) That begins with our ability to understand our own job and the process of doing analytics. Next, you’ll certainly agree marketing is a process..

Voilà! I prefer to think in terms of business optimization just as much as I think of analytics rather than the more narrowly focused “web analytics.”

Believe me, the future is bright for analytics and business optimization!

I decided to ask web analytics authors Jim Sterne, Brian Clifton, and Steve Jackson three questions about their upcoming presentations at eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit in Stockholm, September 19–20.

What are you going to talk about?

Jim Sterne: Social media metrics are the mechanistic tabulation of online activity in a realm that is more social than it is media. Not only are we trying to capture numbers about human interactions, we then have to present those numbers to other people in a meaningful way. Both of sides of this equation requires a great deal of human understanding.

Brian Clifton: A couple of areas this time: “What GA can and cannot do”, and “Measuring Success in Social Media” (with Google Analytics). I am also interested in discussing the issues raised by the new EU Privacy law that came into effect on May 25th. This has a huge impact on how website owners handle visitor privacy, yet many are either unaware or confused with the poorly worded guidance issued so far by the privacy bodies of the EU member states.

Steve Jackson: What I’ve learned over the past 2–3 years and about how my role has changed since 2000. In the early days it was about improving the campaign funnel from acquisition to sales. Now it’s about learning about the whole customer life cycle and the variety of touchpoints (social, search, display, e-mail, SMS, MMS) in order to predict what the best channel is to attract the most loyal customers. I am now either developing or utilizing RF & RFM models on a daily basis across customer data as well as applying predictive analysis to plan marketing activities. It’s not about any single tool (like web analytics) anymore, it’s about being able to adapt and integrate a wide variety of tools and present information that works for the business.

Who should listen to your presentation?

Jim Sterne: Anybody who is engaged in social media for business and everybody who is trying to quantify the results of their social media marketing efforts.

Brian Clifton: Clearly my focus is on Google Analytics, though my methodologies for social media tracking are applicable to any web analytics tool. Historically, there have always been two types of people involved in web measurement—implementers (webmasters, developers) and end-users (marketers, PR professionals, content creators). What I attempt to do is bridge that gap by getting end-users to provide the direction for the implementors, i.e. work with them so each can make informed decisions. Not as easy as it sounds. Essentially, I am saying both types should come along and listen in!

Steve Jackson: Anyone who is struggling to make sense of multi channel and wants to answer the question “where is my marketing effective and why?” 

What role does eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit play in the field of web analytics and testing?

Jim Sterne: While social media lets us all engage from all over the world, meeting face to face is the heart and soul of human interaction. For many years, the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit has been the gathering place of people interested in improving their online marketing—and now all of their marketing—through measurement. It’s the marketing analytics watering hole of record.

Brian Clifton: The key for any conference series in this field, is education. People, including myself, want to learn and grow their knowledge. From best practice tips and tricks, to learning by other people’s mistakes (showing mistakes as a learning aid, something that is often underrated by speakers, perhaps for fear of looking dumb—but it shouldn’t be). For new people to the web measurement industry, it’s often about being able to understand and set their own expectations. For example, what does a tool cost, how long does it take to install, what training do I need, when can I start getting insights, can I do this by myself or do I need a team? So it’s all about the learning..

Steve Jackson: For me it is the only event I regularly learn from in the industry. New ideas are presented here. New perspectives from strong practitioners who understand what they’re talking about. I have yet to see a presenter at the eMetrics flap over or avoid a question, there is always some form of answer, and if it’s not right there from the podium it is discussed in depth from the networking. Other events in my mind don’t hold the same form of prestige from a speaking perspective. From a learning perspective I would say the summit has a major influence worldwide on what is adopted and what goes by the wayside in terms of analytics and testing. 

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The entire conference will be held in English. Are you interested in web analytics, testing, conversion optimization, and increasing the ROI of your marketing efforts and website? Then this is the conference for you, no matter where you’re from. Why not combine the conference with some days off to explore the beautiful city of Stockholm?

Register now!

(the discount code INUSEINSIGHTS011 will get you a 15% discount)

eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit will be taking place in Stockholm September 19–20, together with Search Marketing Expo (SMX) and Internet Marketing Conference (IMC).

The agenda for eMetrics Stockholm has been released and you can get the super early bird rate until July 15.

Read about pricing or register. You can buy a combined ticket if you want to attend more than one conference.

Expect presentations from the following people on this year’s agenda:

• Jim Sterne
• Brian Clifton
• Steve Jackson
• Jiri Brazda
• Mia Jung
• Predrag Nikolic
• and many more

You’ll also find case studies from Hurtigruten, FINN.no, SoundCloud, Yle.fi, Hi3G, Operation Smile, Doctors Without Borders, Web Guide Partner, and more.

eMetrics Stockholm is held entirely in English and is focused around web analytics, testing, marketing optimization, and continuous digital improvements. Its target audience consists of web analysts, CMOs, marketing managers, sales managers, CEOs, etc.

I’ve spoken at eMetrics Stockholm 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. There will be a presentation by my company inUse Insights this year as well, but it’ll be held by Antoaneta Nikolaeva (Web Analyst, inUse Insights) instead. inUse Insights has done some great work for several organizations. It’ll be great!

I’m also Chair of the advisory board, gold sponsor, and blog partner.

You can watch a video from previous eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summits below.

>> Buy your ticket now to get the lowest price possible! <<

(the discount code INUSEINSIGHTS011 will get you a 15% discount)

Don't miss Web Analytics Wednesday after eMetrics.