Hillwatch E-Impact Audit

Alex Langshur

Description

ee-ee-Impact BencImpact Benchmark ReReReReporrrrt A balanced scorecard approach to measuring and improving your return on web investments Hillwatch e-Impact Benchmark Report gives you a roadmap to on-line excellence Hillwatch Inc., #200, 334 MacLaren St. Ottawa, ON K2P 0M6 Tel [phone] Fax [phone] www.hillwatch.com e-Impact Benchmark Report Moments of truth A new standard for “site performance” Your web site may be the first point of contact with your Site performance has traditionally been measured through a organization. This first impression is a ‘moment of truth’ – it sets combination of technical reports, rudimentary traffic analysis, the tone, establishes perceptions and fixes expectations from that focus groups, surveys and usability studies. Too often, tactical point forward. It is critical that the interaction be successful, positive issues such as download times, links status, number of visitors, and engaging. pages accessed, and focus group reports dominate what should be a strategic discussion on site effectiveness. And all too often, Is your site making an impact? Are you setting yourself apart from subjective bias clouds the substantive debate on the appropriate your competitors? Are you assuming a leadership role in your peer metrics to evaluate site performance. group? Does your on-line communication support your organization’s initiatives? Do you have the right tools to measure Until now. your ...

Sujets

• management
• managers

Informations

• Publié par: Onje
• Nombre de lectures: 19
• Langue: English

Extrait

e-ImpactBenchmark  Report

A balancedscorecard approach to measuring and improving your return on web investments

Hillwatch e-Impact Benchmark Report gives you a roadmap to on-line excellence

Hillwatch Inc., #200, 334 MacLaren St. Ottawa, ON K2P 0M6 Tel [phone] Fax [phone]www.hillwatch.com

e-Impact Benchmark Report

Moments of truth

Your web site may be the first point of contact with your organization. Thisfirst impression is a ‘moment of truth’ – it sets the tone, establishes perceptions and fixes expectations from that point forward.It is critical that the interaction be successful, positive and engaging.

Is your site making an impact? Are you setting yourself apart from your competitors?Are you assuming a leadership role in your peer group? Does your on-line communication support your organization’s initiatives?Do you have the right tools to measure your site’s ability to meet these goals?

Your problems.Our answer

Governments, associations, advocacy groups, public policy organizations and corporate information sites have compelling reasons to measure their web site performance.Whether disseminating information on programs and/or services, or whether advocating a public policy position, your goal, as with retail organizations, is to engage visitors and move them towards an action.

However, when your site is issue-centric or community-driven and your product is information, a policy paper, an advocacy position or a membership-based service, the nature of the transaction is not as clear-cut. Yetyour organization has the same need to:

Determine if your site delivers value for money; Benchmark your site against competitors; Ensure effective communication of your message; and Develop a clear strategy for moving forward on-line.

The Hillwatche-Impact Benchmark Reportsophisticated brings analytical methodology to address these needs.

A new standard for “site performance”

www.hillwatch.com

Site performance has traditionally been measured through a combination of technical reports, rudimentary traffic analysis, focus groups, surveysToo often, tacticaland usability studies. issues such as download times, links status, number of visitors, pages accessed, and focus group reports dominate what should be a strategic discussion on site effectiveness.And all too often, subjective bias clouds the substantive debate on the appropriate metrics to evaluate site performance.

Until now.

Hillwatch has developed a sophisticated benchmark methodology that examines quantitative indicators and delivers cost-effective, objective results.What differentiates the Hillwatche-Impact Benchmark Reportapproach from the other methodologies in the marketplace is:

The cataloguing, quantification and measurement of best practices;

Site Rankings based on ‘issue neighbourhood’;

The ability to measure site strengths and weaknesses and generate multiple operational recommendations; and

The Balanced Scorecard reporting formats to support senior manager decision-making.

e-Impact Benchmark Report

What is the Hillwatch e-Impact Benchmark Report?

The Hillwatche-Impact Benchmark Report measuresthe performance of issue advocacy and public policy information sites using meaningful, consistent and quantifiable indicators.It adapts many of the evaluation tools and techniques developed for commercial web sites to the fields of communications, government relations, advocacy, community engagement and web site design to define best practices.We then benchmark a site’s performance against other sites that share an ‘issue neighbourhood’.

These indicatorsprovide a baseline against which clear, fact- based recommendations are developed.Given the innovative and constantly changing nature of the Internet, the criteria are regularly updated to reflect evolving industry standards.

Measure. Evaluate. Improve

To improve, one must first measure.The Hillwatche-Impact Benchmark Report isprimarily a measurement tool that incorporates more than 400 indicators grouped into 16 focus areas as follows:

Core Focus Areas Awareness & Profile Media Friendliness Organizational Transparency Content Credibility Policies Usability Design Visitor Patterns

Optional Focus Areas Corporate Relations On-line consultations Community/Grassroots Support Accessibility Extranets Intranets Interactivity

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Each focus area is composed of indicators reflecting recognized best practices based on comprehensive research.The indicators examine tactical elements (the details) of a web site to ensure that simple design, content, technical, and functional issues are not jeopardizing your site’s strategic goals.

Focus areas appropriate to the target site are selected and the indicators measured against a weighted scale. The results are presented as a series of figures by focus area along with a detailed analysis.We combine these into a Balanced Scorecard that provides management a succinct overview of web site performance and a baseline upon which clear, fact-based recommendations can be developed.

Our reporting format is another key differentiator of thee-Impact Benchmark Reportrelative to all other performance evaluation and measurement systems. We deliver five different report formats:

The Balanced Scorecard Report (BSCR): Modeled after the familiar Balanced Scorecard, thee-Impact Benchmark Reportgives a concise, though BSCR comprehensive, evaluation of the audited site.The four quadrants of the BSCR are weighted to reflect their relative importance for your business sector and stated web site goals.

Situational Awareness Reports (SAR): Hillwatch has developed a set of innovative methods to quantify and visually display your site positioning against international and domestic sites in your issue neighbourhood, including a mix of sites that oppose or support your goals, or are neutral.The result is a frank assessment of your competitive positioning. (See Appendix A)

e-Impact Benchmark Report

Focus Area Reports (FARs): We are committed to ensuring that you derive maximum benefit detailed reports These outline and analyze your site’s performance against afrom this Benchmark Report.As a result, Hillwatch consultants, series of metrics in each focus area.recognized leaders in their fields, are available to provide ongoing expertise and guidance.We will help you to develop Visitor Pattern Analytics (VPA): strategies and implement the changes that distinguish good  Hillwatchwinnows the through the site traffic logs to highlight key metrics andwebsites from great websites. combines these to deliver a unique perspective on visitor behaviour, interests and actions.We deliver these in a Contact us format that is both easy to understand and compelling. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please Action Items Matrix (AIM):provide you with a We contact: comprehensive set of recommendations that succinctly illustrate areas for site improvement. Scott Proudfoot Co-chairman Why should you consider an e-Impact Benchmark? Hillwatch Inc. tel: [phone] Whether you are developing a new site, considering re-designingemail: [e-mail] an existing site, or simply interested in evaluating your site’s performance, the Hillwatche-Impact Benchmark Report helps Michael Teeter you manage your site better.The Benchmark Report deliversCo-chairman lasting value by: Hillwatch Inc. tel: [phone] email:Objectively analyzing and benchmarking site performance;[e-mail] In the U.S.:Measuring your site’s ability to attract and hold an audience; Alex Langshur Evaluating the clarity of your message;Principal Hillwatch Inc. Positioning your site relative to issue competitors andtel: [phone] understanding its variance from those exhibiting best practicesemail:[e-mail] in their field; Developing baseline data on site performance to gauge future progress; and Hillwatch, Inc. 2003 All rights reserved Defining a clear framework through which strategic organizational goals can be translated into web site objectives. (pv5-03)

www.hillwatch.com

e-Impact Benchmark Report

Appendix A:Situational Awareness Reports

Competitive Positioning

The figure on this page illustrates the competitive positioning of a target site against 10 other sites in its issue neighbourhood. The horizontal axis measures Transparency & Credibility; the vertical axis measures Engagement. The size of the site balloon measures Awareness & Profile. The larger the site balloon, the greater the site’s ability to draw an audience.

The most effective sites are those in the Best Practice Quadrant (upper right- hand corner of the figure).In this particular benchmarking exercise, the more successful sites included two government sites and two antagonistic sites (see groups 1 and 2). The high-ranking antagonistic sites were as effective as the government sites despite a fraction of the financial investment. The target site and the other industry sites ranked lower across almost all focus areas. This report provided 51 specific recommendations for the target site. Thirty-one of these recommendations were simple and inexpensive to implement; the remaining recommendations were prioritized and the client was advised to implement them as resources permitted.

Other Situational Awareness Reports include: Quartile Analysis: site variance to quartile distribution across each focus area. Credibility Factors: radar graph combining the five key focus areas that relate to user perceptions of site credibility. Loyalty assessment: evaluation of the elements that contribute towards site loyalty.

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Peer Analysis - Issue Space Positioning

Group 2

Group 1

Best Practice Quadrant

Group 3

Transparency & Credibility

supporters competitors Neutral Government target site