I am definitely no June Li – I don’t claim to be an expert in Web Analytics either. However, when I first set out to find an Online Analytics Consultant I didn’t realize how much mis-perception there is about what this role is and what skills are required – both by interested candidates as well as recruiters.
I started looking almost 4 months ago, and have got many resumes from candidates skilled in various analytics disciplines – but no experience in how to improve business online. The candidates, who I’m sure are talented in their disciplines, felt that they would just need to learn a new tool – after all numbers are numbers right? Wrong! Measuring your marketing effectiveness and online usability is so much more than numbers.
I came across two articles at clickz.com which I feel did an excellent job of summarizing what the role is really about, and what to look for when you are hiring. Check out the link and let me know your thoughts. Hopefully these articles will help you the way it helped me!
Now that you are armed with this info, the lack of available talent in this field and finding candidates in Toronto is cause for a whole other post!
I am going through the same process, we are consultants, and indeed it is difficult to find people who can do more than read the numbers and provide piecemeal interpretation of the data.
Hi Salima,
Two more resources that may be useful –
ClickZ article Analytics Staffing, and this post by Avinash Kaushik Top Ten: Signs You are a Great Analyst.
Why the challenge in finding resources? In an nutshell, to be an effective Online Marketing Analyst, one has to both diagnose opportunities AND suggest relevant workable changes in search engine marketing, email marketing, offline drive to Web, content management and user experience design…and more. With online marketing continuing to evolve, hiring such broad “field” experience is difficult to find.
For many companies, growing your own Web analyst may be the most effective staffing route. If this is the route for you, check out the Online courses at UBC. All of the aspects above are touched on in 4-course program, as well as process and organizational change. Analysts who are not sensitive to these “softer” issues can quickly find themselves hitting a brick wall, no matter how compelling their recommended improvements may be.
Would love to discuss this further at the AIMS Web Analytics Event on November 30th.
~June