End-to-end analytics: how it works, why it's needed, and how to set it up

Contents:

• What is end-to-end analytics and what is it for?
• How businesses use end-to-end analytics
• How to choose end-to-end analytics tools
• End-to-end analytics and sales
• Who should do end-to-end analytics?

Head of Product and Marketing Analytics at the medical company Gemotest. Lecturer in marketing analytics courses and speaker at conferences on business, web analytics, marketing, innovation, and product management. Participated in events such as Go Analytics, RIF + KIB, the Open Innovations forum, and the Strategic Innovative Marketing Forum. He also teaches the Marketing Analyst program at Skillbox, where he shares his knowledge and experience in analytics and marketing. Sergey explained how end-to-end analytics can be beneficial for businesses. It provides a complete picture of how customers interact with a company's products and services. End-to-end analytics allows you to track all stages of the sales funnel, from initial contact to purchase. This helps identify the most effective customer acquisition channels and optimize marketing strategies. It can also be used to analyze user behavior, which helps improve customer service and increase conversion rates. Implementing end-to-end analytics allows businesses to make more informed decisions based on data, which ultimately contributes to profit growth and the company's sustainability in the market.

• What is end-to-end analytics in examples;
• What end-to-end analytics provides for a business;
• How to use end-to-end analytics to increase sales;
• Who should set up end-to-end analytics.

What is end-to-end analytics and what is it for?

Imagine that you are launching a store specializing in selling T-shirts for TV series fans. You have a selection of T-shirts, as well as lists of popular series, thematic forums, and online cinemas. By combining all these elements, you can create the largest resource for fan merchandise. To do this, you order ten specialized articles for forums, each dedicated to a separate series, and plan advertising integrations in online cinemas. These commercials, only ten seconds long, will feature cats in T-shirts designed in the style of various series, dancing under neon lights. This approach will attract the attention of the target audience and increase interest in your store.

After this, three scenarios are possible.

• Your advertising is successful, the entire batch is sold out. You are a brilliant marketer and are already sending out case studies to fashionable Moscow conferences. You are even looking for a place to sell your merch there. You need end-to-end analytics for beauty.
• No one liked your advertising, you received a claim from the Federal Antimonopoly Service for the illegal use of film images, and fans say they have never seen cotton worse than yours. Your company is closing.
• The most plausible scenario: you sold one or two T-shirts for each of the ten TV series. You also sold six more T-shirts for series that weren't included in any of your advertising integrations. You've also received emails asking if you have leggings and if it's possible to order mugs with a photo of Paris for the office for the company's birthday. You don't understand what's going on and are trying to figure it out. Your biggest concern is whether your advertising was any good. You're also concerned: is Paris a reason to scale up the product line, or is it just your imagination?

When searching for information on Google, you often come across the repeated answer: "You need end-to-end analytics." This underscores the importance of end-to-end analytics for business. End-to-end analytics allows you to track all stages of customer interaction, from initial contact to completion. It combines data from various sources, providing a deeper understanding of user behavior and the effectiveness of marketing strategies. Investing in end-to-end analytics helps optimize costs and increase profits, as well as make informed decisions based on actual data.

For a business to function successfully, end-to-end analytics is necessary at all stages of its development, especially in moments of decision-making uncertainty. End-to-end analytics is a methodology that integrates various analytical systems, providing a holistic view of data. This approach allows entrepreneurs to more effectively analyze information and make informed decisions, improving overall performance and strategic planning. End-to-end analytics is not a complex system, but its implementation can significantly enhance the understanding of business processes and enhance a company's competitiveness. A cloud-based checkout is a simple and clear example of end-to-end analytics. When a customer makes a purchase, information about it is sent to the bank. The funds are debited from their account and credited to the merchant's account. During the transaction, a receipt is generated, which is immediately sent to the tax office. The order contents, as well as contact information, address, and other details, are stored in the merchant's order management system. This approach ensures transparency of financial transactions and simplifies accounting, allowing businesses to optimize their processes and improve customer interactions. The system integrates multiple participants, recording specific information. When an event, such as a purchase, occurs, a chain of mandatory procedures is automatically triggered, transmitting the necessary information to all participating agents. This ensures instant information and synchronization of actions, significantly increasing the efficiency of interactions between participants. End-to-end analytics is a methodology, not a specific service or software. It is an integration process that enables the unification of various systems for deeper data analysis. End-to-end analytics helps companies gain a holistic view of customer interactions at all stages of their journey, from first contact to completion of the transaction. With this approach, organizations can optimize their business processes, increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and improve the user experience. Working out on a treadmill with a fitness tracker allows you to track calories burned and save this data on your smartphone. The system provides recommendations, such as increasing water consumption and mindful breathing, which is an example of end-to-end analytics. Messaging to access information on another device also illustrates cross-device data sharing, confirming the presence of end-to-end analytics. Creating a personal account using a phone number in an online store, applying for a passport through the Gosuslugi platform, and monitoring a SIM card balance through an operator's website are all actions that also relate to end-to-end analytics. The use of such technologies improves the user experience and ensures more accurate data management.

How Businesses Use End-to-End Analytics

End-to-end analytics in marketing is the integration of advertising spend data from various sources. This approach allows a company to evaluate the effectiveness of its marketing campaigns more comprehensively and accurately. By analyzing the relationship between advertising costs and results, companies can make informed decisions about budget allocation, optimize advertising strategies, and increase overall return on investment. End-to-end analytics helps identify the most profitable channels, which helps improve marketing performance and increase sales.

• website revenue;
• offline store revenue;
• call and form analysis on website pages;
• application processing;
• call center processing statuses;
• product availability monitoring in warehouse, delivery status monitoring and management;
• automated mailings and communications;
• user communication chains;
• personal data storage;
• linking personal data and loyalty programs;
• history of compensation and internal currency accrual;
• promo code issue and the status of promo code application by a specific user in a specific order;
• creation of a single repository of all this information for study and automatic reconciliation with the accounting system and enriching it with new information.

The data collected and combined by a business is largely determined by its scale. Small companies may focus on basic customer and sales information, while larger organizations may collect more complex data, including analytical reports, user behavior data, and financial metrics. Business size directly impacts the volume and type of data collected, which in turn allows for a better understanding of customer needs and optimized business processes. Effective use of data facilitates company growth and development, providing a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Microbusinesses often rely on simply recording revenue, expenses, phone calls, and processed applications. This basic approach doesn't always allow for effective resource management and business development. To achieve sustainable growth, it's important not only to record financial indicators but also to analyze data to identify trends and optimize processes. Using modern tools for automated accounting and analysis can significantly improve the efficiency of microbusinesses and facilitate their development. Small businesses are showing active interest in integrating warehouse management and delivery systems. Effective integration of these processes allows for streamlining logistics, reducing order processing times, and improving customer service. Modern technologies offer a variety of solutions that help small businesses manage inventory, track products, and organize delivery with maximum efficiency. These integrations are becoming key to the growth and competitiveness of small businesses in the market. Medium and large businesses are actively implementing process automation, which streamlines communication chains and increases operational efficiency. Loyalty programs are becoming an important tool for customer retention, and analyzing personal data helps better understand audience needs. It's also important to consider that modern technologies open up new opportunities for customer engagement and improving service quality. An integrated approach to automation and data analysis contributes to business growth and strengthening its position in the market.

Marketing activities detail micro and small businesses. In marketing, end-to-end analytics is a set of tools that allow you to integrate revenue and expense data into a single system. This also includes detailing which advertising activities attracted a certain number of customers to the site. The market for ready-made services and solutions successfully addresses this challenge, offering no-code solutions for quick setup and simplified processes. This approach helps businesses better understand the effectiveness of their marketing strategies and optimize advertising costs.

If you sell concert tickets or provide access to paid services, you won't need anything extra. For data analysis, simply use Yandex.Metrica, which is easy to integrate and completely free. Since 2021, this system has included the ability to combine information from various sources into a single report. This includes call tracking, significantly simplifying the analysis of the effectiveness of your marketing channels. Using Yandex.Metrica will allow you to more effectively track user behavior and optimize sales.

Paid tools such as Roistat, Owox, and Bitrix24 offer similar features, but they support a variety of advertising channels, many of which are not in demand in Russia. Yandex.Metrica allows you to integrate data not only from advertising sources but also from call tracking, amoCRM transactions, information from Tilda, and other systems. Unlike competitors, end-to-end analytics in Yandex.Metrica is available for free, making it an attractive choice for businesses seeking effective analysis and optimization of marketing campaigns.

Last mile analytics is An essential tool for companies with long sales cycles. It is especially relevant for businesses that offer goods with delivery and cash on delivery, such as dental veneers, high-ticket items including cars and real estate, and B2B products and services. It is important to consider not only expense information but also service statuses and the actual amount of funds received from customers. This approach allows for effective process management, improved customer experience, and increased business profitability.

Complex customer management systems can cost companies more than a presidential flight into space. This applies to situations where it is necessary to track purchase frequency, determine the number of bonus rubles to accrue, analyze the time of the last purchase, and identify favorite product categories for offering increased cashback. There are no ready-made solutions on the market for effectively accomplishing these tasks, despite the promises made on various company websites.

There are systems that allow for the implementation of data aggregation functionality, but the process of connecting is still not as simple as assembling IKEA furniture. Since 2021, Yandex.Metrica has offered the ability to integrate advertising channel data with data from CRM systems such as amoCRM and Bitrix. Implementing this feature successfully requires minor software modifications, as outlined in the instructions provided. This will optimize the analysis of the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and increase the level of interaction with clients.

Business monitoring for medium and large companies is an important aspect of successful management. Large companies often have sufficient budget for the implementation of complex tools, but face a lack of labor resources necessary to ensure the quality of data transmission. Furthermore, having qualified marketers who can effectively leverage existing capabilities is critical. Without the involvement of developers, architects, and analysts, it's impossible to create a comprehensive monitoring system that will optimize business processes and enhance competitiveness.

End-to-end analytics provides a deep understanding of customer needs, enables planning effective promotions, and assessing business performance. However, an important aspect is the need for integration with a control system to achieve tangible results. Without such integration, data remains purely theoretical, preventing the development of effective business development strategies.

Integrating end-to-end analytics with an accounting system is a crucial step in optimizing business processes. It is essential that the accounting system adapts to new functionality at each stage of business development. When spending money on advertising, it is necessary to ensure that these expenses are properly reflected in accounting. This will not only allow you to control financial flows but also analyze the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. End-to-end analytics helps combine data from various sources, which contributes to a deeper understanding of the business and improves decision-making. Effective integration of these systems will ensure transparency and improve financial control, which in turn contributes to profit growth and sustainable development of the company.

• Where to record income for the same activities;
• How to account for the amount of bonus rubles or order cancellations;
• How to calculate free deliveries;
• How to combine product SKUs for promotions;
• How to sell several products in one set at a discount;
• How to reflect all this in accounting.

The main task is to avoid the creation of parallel accounting with distorted data when implementing modern tools. End-to-end marketing analytics indicators and accounting system data may not match, which creates the risk of inaccurate information. A business that successfully overcomes this gap becomes data-driven. This approach allows for more informed decision-making and effective financial management. It is important to integrate analytical tools with accounting to achieve accuracy and transparency in financial indicators.

Connecting the accounting system to advertising accounts, data warehouses, loyalty systems, as well as product and order accounting requires the participation of qualified technical specialists. Marketers don't have the necessary skills to implement such integration. It's important to confidently explain to the employer that questions about advertising out-of-stock products should be addressed to the IT department. Clarify that effective advertising and accounting management requires collaboration between marketing and technical specialists.

How to Choose End-to-End Analytics Tools

Before implementing end-to-end analytics, it's important to assess the size of your business. This aspect is critical, as investments in automation systems may not lead to a significant increase in revenue if sales volumes are low. A proper assessment will allow you to choose the optimal tools and approaches that will meet your needs and facilitate business growth.

At each stage, it is important to achieve a certain level of development of the analytical infrastructure. Many companies seeking to implement end-to-end analytics to increase sales profitability can achieve significant results simply by eliminating existing errors in the current infrastructure. Building complex and sophisticated systems often seems more appealing than identifying and fixing issues in your own advertising accounts. However, ignoring these problems can lead to reduced advertising campaign effectiveness and, consequently, revenue losses. Optimizing your analytics infrastructure should be a priority for businesses striving for sustainable growth and increased competitiveness.

End-to-End Analytics and Sales

Let's imagine that we've successfully completed the first stage of implementing end-to-end analytics and activated key features in Yandex.Metrica. At the initial stage, the implemented end-to-end analytics system allows for deeper analysis of product assortment and user segmentation. This, in turn, provides the opportunity to create personalized special offers, which contributes to improved marketing effectiveness and increased sales. With end-to-end analytics, companies can better understand customer needs and tailor their offerings, ultimately leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

When redesigning a website, it's important to consider placement at the top and bottom of the screen, as well as the content of the homepage. These issues arise due to the limited visual space and the user's ability to remember information. It's also important to consider the aesthetic aspects of the design. Proper content distribution helps improve the user experience, makes the website more attractive, and contributes to achieving business goals.

In complex situations, ABC analysis is an effective tool, allowing you to quickly prioritize various items. This method is widely used in merchandising and for evaluating product assortment. ABC analysis helps identify bestsellers, items with constant demand, and those items that generate virtually no revenue but remain in stock. This approach helps optimize sales and improve inventory management, which ultimately contributes to overall business performance.

The concept of classic research is to find three combinations of products. These combinations are key to understanding consumer preferences and help identify the most attractive offers on the market. The study focuses on analyzing various aspects, such as quality, price, and functionality of products. The correct choice of combinations contributes to a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and helps companies adapt their strategies to improve competitiveness.

• Combination A. 80% of revenue in the period under review was generated by sales of 20% of the product range.
• Combination B. 15% of revenue in the period under review was generated by 30% of the product range.
• Combination C. This is the remaining 50% of the product range, which brought in 5% of total revenue.

It is a mistake to think that group C includes only unnecessary goods and services. In fact, this category includes products that create the illusion of choice, as well as goods that should be available regardless of current demand. In addition, luxury goods and high-price goods fall here. Although such products are rarely purchased, their presence contributes to the formation of long-term customer loyalty, which is an important aspect of a successful business strategy.

ABC analysis is an effective tool for optimizing inventory and resource management. It allows you to categorize products or items by their importance, which helps companies focus on the most significant aspects of their business. Using ABC analysis, organizations can determine which products generate the greatest profit and require special attention, and which products can be controlled with less intensity. This leads to increased operational efficiency, reduced costs, and improved customer service. ABC analysis can also be useful for inventory planning, purchasing management, and logistics optimization, which ultimately leads to improved financial performance.

• Understand which business benefits should be mentioned more widely;
• Decide what information to communicate only in special cases;
• Evaluate other objects, such as advertising activities.

Our advertising activities can be segmented in a similar way. We can conduct additional research based on revenue or expenses. Each advertising campaign will be assigned to segment A or B based on revenue generated, as well as to segment ABC in the cost assessment, where segment A includes advertising campaigns with the largest budgets. This will allow for more effective management of advertising costs and optimization of strategies to increase profitability.

Audience segmentation provides numerous tactical opportunities for budget optimization. It facilitates the creation of effective product and value selections, which allows you to better meet customer needs and increase sales. Using targeted segmentation helps you fine-tune your marketing strategies and increase your return on investment.

A loyalty program expresses gratitude to our customers for choosing us and provides additional incentives for frequent purchases. This not only strengthens customer relationships but also helps increase their engagement and satisfaction. Our program offers exclusive offers and privileges, making every purchase more profitable and enjoyable.

Loyalty programs play a vital role in reducing tension in two opposing situations. First, they facilitate customer retention by offering them additional benefits and discounts for repeat purchases. This fosters long-term relationships between business and consumer, which in turn strengthens the customer base. Second, loyalty programs help attract new customers, creating a positive company image and stimulating interest in its offerings. Through various rewards and bonuses, customers feel more valued and motivated to make purchases. Thus, loyalty programs not only improve the customer experience but also contribute to business growth.

• We would like to give a compliment.
• We need to apologize.

Compliments are an art that requires a certain mastery. They must be appropriate, beautiful, and deserved. It is important that compliments are personal and sincere, as well as restrained, without unnecessary pathos. Too few compliments can seem insincere, while too frequent ones will lose their value. The art of giving compliments lies in finding balance and appropriateness in each specific case.

An apology is a complex and important gesture. It must be sincere and not perceived as an attempt to discount what happened or avoid solving the problem. A gift as an apology should not be perceived as a bribe, as this could exacerbate the situation. Typically, situations requiring an apology do not arise openly; more often than not, the need for an apology must be recognized independently, which can be quite difficult. The right approach to apology can significantly improve relationships and facilitate conflict resolution. Customer segmentation using RFM analysis helps effectively resolve complex situations and develop action strategies for various scenarios. RFM analysis is based on three key metrics: purchase frequency (Recency), purchase volume (Frequency), and monetary amount (Monetary). This approach allows you to identify customer groups based on their behavior and preferences, which facilitates more targeted marketing and increases customer satisfaction. Using RFM analysis helps companies optimize their resources and improve customer interactions, which in turn contributes to sales growth and strengthens customer loyalty.

• R — recency;
• F — frequency;
• M — monetary, revenue.

Each client in our database undergoes a scoring process, as a result of which they are assigned a score from 1 to 4 based on various criteria. This rating allows us to more accurately assess the needs and preferences of our clients, as well as improve service quality and personalize offers. Scoring helps us effectively manage our customer base and improve customer satisfaction.

• For recency, 1 means customers who purchased something a long time ago, while 4 means those who purchased something recently.
• For frequency, 1 means they made one or two purchases, while 4 means they made a lot of purchases.
• For monetary, 1 means they spent a little money, while 4 means they spent more than others.

Each customer receives a unique three-digit segment that reflects their category. For example, segment 444 represents the "Champions" category. This means that the customer makes regular purchases, has recently completed transactions, and has spent a significant amount on products. This approach allows for a more accurate analysis of customer behavior and optimization of marketing strategies aimed at retaining and attracting customers.

There are several additional categories worth considering.

• loyal visitors;
• potentially loyal;
• recently visited;
• need to be reminded of us;
• gone forever - not in touch with us;
• at risk - we may lose.

By collecting and analyzing data about our guests, conducting research once a month or quarter, we can draw many useful conclusions. For example, we can identify customers who were previously active in shopping, but have recently sharply reduced their activity. It is also possible to discover those who have recently made large purchases, as well as regular customers who place frequent orders for small amounts and take advantage of deep discounts. This data will help us better understand customer behavior and optimize marketing strategies.

For each target audience segment, we can develop a unique communication strategy, which will significantly increase revenue. For example, for some clients, we can completely stop notifications about sales. This will help us focus on more effective communication channels and offers that match the interests of different groups.

Who should perform end-to-end analytics?

To organize end-to-end analytics for your business, you need an internal analyst. This specialist will be able to perform all tasks related to data analysis, with the exception of loyalty system integration. Having an internal analyst will allow you to better understand customer behavior and optimize business processes, which in turn will increase the efficiency of your company.

A marketer will not be able to set up end-to-end analytics on their own, since their task is usually related to integrating expenses into Yandex.Metrica. Therefore, it is important to engage an analyst with development experience and the relevant knowledge. Large companies often employ a dedicated developer and analyst, as high-quality analytics requires significant resources and investment. Having a qualified analytics specialist can significantly improve the effectiveness of marketing strategies and enhance your understanding of customer needs. Skillbox Media offers a wealth of resources on analytics. It features articles, research, and practical guides that will help you gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles and tools of analytics. Explore various aspects of this field, including key data collection and processing methods, as well as modern approaches to data analysis and visualization. Learn about best practices and real-world case studies that demonstrate how analytics can support informed business decisions. Don't miss the opportunity to expand your knowledge and skills in analytics using Skillbox Media resources.

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