WebSideStory and comScore Launch HitBox(R) Benchmarker to Help Businesses Emulate Strengths.
Marketers Can Improve Business Results by Comparing Online Performance Of Referral Programs, Promotion Response, and Site Design To That of Other Web Sites
WebSideStory, Inc., the world`s leading provider of outsourced e-business intelligence services, and comScore Networks, Inc., the world`s leading provider of data-based Internet infrastructure services, today jointly announced the launch of HitBox® Benchmarker, a unique service that provides—for any client—a detailed analysis of visitor behavior at virtually any other site on the World Wide Web.
The new service combines the power of WebSideStory`s HitBox Enterprise outsourced visitor analysis technology with data sourced from comScore`s Global Network of 1.5 million Internet users—the largest opt-in consumer measurement platform in the industry. HitBox Benchmarker(www.hitboxbenchmarker.com)
allows businesses to compare their own site`s performance against industry peers across key variables such as referral sources, promotional activity, and usage patterns. With this information businesses can develop a better understanding of their markets, helping them to acquire more customers, improve conversion rates and visitor loyalty, and better prioritize resources and site enhancements.
HitBox Benchmarker can be activated instantly and requires no implementation whatsoever. Analytical reports are delivered through an intuitive, graphical, and convenient online interface.
Industry-leading clients using HitBox Benchmarker include Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - news), the number one specialty retailer of consumer electronics, personal computers, and entertainment software; and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT - news), one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world.
Barry Judge, Vice President of Marketing for BestBuy.com, praised the service as “an exciting addition to Best Buy`s ongoing and innovative efforts to more accurately understand our customers` needs and behavior, both at BestBuy.com and other consumer electronics and entertainment sites.”
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“Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., is fully committed to exceeding the needs of our guests. Part of this process is offering our customers the highest level of service, both offline and online,” said Matt Ingber, Director of Interactive Marketing for Starwood. “Fully realizing that a large percentage of our customers access Starwood offerings via the Internet, it is paramount for us as a company to have the most relevant, most reliable data pertaining to the online behaviors of our customers. It is my expectation that this offering from comScore Networks and WebSideStory will enable Starwood to better position itself in the online space as a direct result of utilizing this tool on a daily basis.”
HitBox Benchmarker reports on the online activity of a large, representative sample of Internet users. It reveals the top paths taken through a site; time spent; most requested pages; content groupings; referring domains, URLs, and search engines; search keywords; new and returning visitor counts; and much more. The data that fuels HitBox Benchmarker is drawn from comScore`s Global Network of 1.5 million opt-in members who have allowed comScore to confidentially monitor their Web-wide Internet activity. WebSideStory provides the statistical analysis and reporting.
Using HitBox Benchmarker, businesses can more effectively:
—Acquire More Customers—Understand which Web sites, referral programs, search engines, and keywords deliver the most desired visitors and buyers to other sites in their industry and beyond. Using this information, sites can better develop and target marketing and advertising campaigns to acquire the most valuable customers.
— Improve Site Usability and Visitor Loyalty—Analyze the structure and benefits of other sites, including paths that most frequently lead to purchases, registrations, and so on. Assess patterns and opportunities in visit duration, preferred content, and overall conversion rates.
—Learn from the Investments of Industry Peers and Other Sites of Interest—View the results of other sites` marketing activities as they occur, including online and multi-channel promotions. Such knowledge sharply reduces the cost, time, and effort associated with trial and error experimentation.
—Understand Prospective Markets—Gain a deeper understanding of new markets by analyzing visitor behavior on the sites of established market leaders. Determine the products and services that consumers most often buy, and the research patterns that lead to such purchases.
“Based on the unique information we provide, comScore clients have already experienced the benefits of understanding detailed consumer visiting and buying behavior at any site on the Web,” said Magid Abraham, President and CEO of comScore Networks. “With HitBox Enterprise, WebSideStory`s clients are able to access and analyze their own site data in real time. By bringing these two leading technologies together in HitBox Benchmarker, we can help clients see the inner workings of nearly any site on the Web with unprecedented speed and simplicity. We believe that HitBox Benchmarker will help our clients achieve greater levels of efficiency and effectiveness in online and multi-channel marketing.”
“Many companies are developing an understanding of visitor behaviour on their own sites, but we can now add the invaluable dimension of behaviour on peer sites and across the Web—in near real time. HitBox Benchmarker changes the rules of the game for our clients in their efforts to drive significant business results through their Web presence,” said John Hentrich, President and CEO of WebSideStory.
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