>>Here's a crazy idea: Don't use analytics at all but focus on your product. If your success relies solely on "improving conversions" by tracking your users and then changing the position and color of your "Checkout" button then maybe try setting yourself apart such that customers want to buy your product even despite an obnoxious purchasing flow. Only then start optimizing it.
YUP!!
Any company, especially startups, should treat analytics they way they should treat MBAs - as a plausibly useful sub-function *after everything else in the product/service is running well at scale*.
Before that, the entire focus should be on the product and how it gets smoothly to the customer.
Only when there is lots of extra sales and production capacity, and lots of extra cash piling up, THEN is the time to start adding financial guys to efficiently manage it, and analytics to optimize your channels, etc.
Plus, NEVER let either of those tails wag the dog. Once a company's financial numbers start to rely on the finance department, or the sales numbers start to rely on channel optimization, the death spiral has started. It may take a while and look like an improvement at first (e.g., see GE), but it is still a death spiral.
YUP!!
Any company, especially startups, should treat analytics they way they should treat MBAs - as a plausibly useful sub-function *after everything else in the product/service is running well at scale*.
Before that, the entire focus should be on the product and how it gets smoothly to the customer.
Only when there is lots of extra sales and production capacity, and lots of extra cash piling up, THEN is the time to start adding financial guys to efficiently manage it, and analytics to optimize your channels, etc.
Plus, NEVER let either of those tails wag the dog. Once a company's financial numbers start to rely on the finance department, or the sales numbers start to rely on channel optimization, the death spiral has started. It may take a while and look like an improvement at first (e.g., see GE), but it is still a death spiral.
Focus on product and customers, period.