Information Tracking

When you shop online at Amazon.com or Dell.com, for example, any information you give online is entered into their database.  When you log in to their site (or you may be recognized by your IP address), you may be greeted by name.  And you may have a selection of products offered you that are similar to products you have purchased in the past, or have shown an interest in. When you visited product pages that information was tracked and entered into their database.

Greeting the customer by name and presenting them with favorable products and services makes the shopping experience personalized, pleasant and convenient for them.  It also increases potential sales for your business.  The customer information you collect can also be used to assess who your customers are in order to predict their future behavior.

Data Mining

Through data mining you can determine customer categories such as types of purchases and spending tendencies, where they live and when they buy (demographics).  Data Mining analysis can make predictions as to which groups of customers will tend to behave in what manner.  This helps your company save money by only advertising to customers that you know will have a high inclination towards certain products /services. 

Data Mining (continued)... Data Mining gives you information to help you offer to your customers the products/services they are most likely looking for (because you will know their behavior tendencies and past buying patterns).  The following link is a power point data analysis presentation based on Data Mining of all graduates of Southern Oregon University prior to 2007. 
Southern Oregon University Graduate Analysis & Prediction Presentation

The Process

Forms to collect the information, a database to hold the information, and PHP (or other language) to transfer and use the information on your website are at a minimum needed. Several types of Special Data Mining software are used (clustering, data trees, neural networks, regression testing). The expertise to use the software and interpret it is an art based on marketing perspective as well as a technical ability.

Understanding and Using the Results of Data Mining

We can help you assess your needs for information tracking and data mining, and give you an estimate of cost to implement the process. We can also personally present the data mining results in a visual, easily understandable manner to you. We will offer our interpretation of the data results and answer your questions, so you can make your own assessments and business determinations.   We can then put in place the  programming changes to improve services to your online customers. We can use the data to also help you in other marketing/advertising services such as targeted email, direct mail and media placement.