Several years ago, I worked at a company who bought an enterprise Web analytic packages with implementation services and training. The analytics company sent a consultant to help with the implementation and deliver the training. The training was three and a half consecutive days. For almost the entire time, we went through the configuration options, page by page. It was a frustrating experience since I felt that I was perfectly capable of clicking into each page, reading what was available, and figuring out how I wanted to configure things. The consultant knew the ins and outs of the product and I felt a bit gypped since we didn’t really get the benefit of his knowledge and experience. We just got a walk-thru of every option.

I ended up truly learning the product by a combination of reading the manual, using the product, and trial and error. In talking with others who have been through this type of situation, my experience was definitely not unique.

Fast forward a few years and I was the one providing the training for a web analytics product. We took a lot of time putting together a training program designed to be helpful, not just showcasing the features of the product. We wanted the training to help the users understand how to use the product to do a better job and make them more successful.

I felt that the first session laid a good groundwork about what one needed to know, especially if they were new to analytics. The first few times of delivering the session, I was impressed that people seemed to ‘get it.’ There were not a lot of questions asked and when I asked if everyone understood, I got a positive response. However, I learned when beginning the next session that the silence and positive response was not always a good indicator. In talking with other co-workers who also delivered the training, we realized that we needed to take it back even a bigger step.

This was a eye-opening experience to me. The bottom line was that we were in analytics day in and day out - but the reality is that most marketers are not, and will never be. So, we went back to the drawing board and revamped the training.

It was quite a change. The first session became much more interactive, customers asking more questions. As much as our customers were learning about analytics, we were learning about what they didn’t know, what concepts were very complicated, and what they were able to pick up quickly. It was a great experience and it helped us to continually evolve and improve our training.

A few more years have passed and more and more and more marketers are now being held accountable for proving ROI on campaigns, understanding what visitors are doing on their Web sites, and knowing how to use analytics. Unfortunately from what I hear, many analytics vendors have not changed their approach to training. It is still a ‘one-size fits all’ situation. This is very disappointing because it puts the person who is expected to learn the product at a real disadvantage and may even turn them off from analytics completely.

A good analytic training should begin with understanding the business needs and goals of a company. And the program should be tailored to the level of the people being trained. Not everyone knows the KPIs of their company, or even what a KPI is. At Serengeti, our approach to analytics training is creating a customized training program based on your very specific needs. Click here to learn more or to get started now.

Updated Note: As more analytic tools become free it it is important not to assume that the tools are simple and easy to use.  Training for free tools is just as important as training for a solution that you purchase.

Filed under: Analytics, Education and Training on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 by Joy Brazelle |
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