Web Analytics Consultant

I’m a big fan of Dave Ramsey.  In one of his recent shows he took a caller whose parents were wanting to change his status from employee in the family business to contractor.  Dave’s response surprised me.  It was illegal in his case and constituted tax fraud.  Wait…WHAT?!?

The thought never crossed my mind.  I just took job classifications at face value.  They either want someone short term or they don’t.  After realizing this, it is apparent that many web analysts are getting cheated.  Cheated out of health coverage, retirement, etc.

Believe it or not, the IRS makes it clear what defines a contractor vs. and employee.  The one point that I think is really the issue in our industry is the location of work performed.  I’ve taken so many calls for short-term web analytics contracts that required the analyst to be on site when there clearly was no technical reason he or she couldn’t perform the lion’s share of the work at home.  Face it, I am an employee of one of the largest brands in the world (IBM) and yet I perform all of my work from home.  I also did so when employed by Sun Microsystems.  If these massive companies can manage to make it technically possible for me to perform my obligations from home as an employee, then so can these much small, trying-to-cut-costs companies.

Honestly, I’m not asking for all these contracts to be reclassified as employed positions.  I like the contracts.  Let’s just get real.  You don’t need a web analyst in the short cube next to you.  There’s lots of talk about how amazing technology is these days.  So let’s use it!  Get on Skype!  If the analyst needs to present data, then I’m sure she won’t mind visiting on site for a couple hours.  You like the flexibility of contractors and contractors like the flexibility of being one.  Being able to control their location is part of what defines their role and allows them to be more successful.

A final added bonus to letting contractors be contractors is that your candidate pool just grew exponentially!  Your welcome.

On Sunday, May 1st, I made my departure from Sacramento, CA, to attend Unica, an IBM Company’s Marketing Innovation Summit (MIS 2011).  My first conference as an official IBM employee.  Pretty cool!

Here are some takeaways that I gathered (and tweeted):

• Yuchun Lee made an excellent mathematical observation that showed that you really can’t spend enough money to overtake what he referred to as “earned media”.  I don’t remember the numbers off-hand.  Earned media is loosely defined as what people are saying on social networks.  It’s not something you pay for, but rather freely provided by loyal or unhappy customers.
• Yuchun Lee provided a very good reason for the competition to look out.  He said he’s not about winning the money, but rather, winning the market.  I think he’s got the right prize in mind!
• We were almost overtaken by Craig Hayman’s response as to the importance of Unica’s innovation.  He started by saying that IBM didn’t support it…instead, IBM is reliant upon it!
• Elana Anderson was the first I’ve heard to make the comparison of IBM’s fusion of Coremetrics and NetInsight as IBM’s arranged marriage.  I found this to be an amusing comparison.  So does that make me a groomsman, a ringbearer, or an usher perhaps?
• The most innovative conference swag award from me goes to Covalent Marketing – a stain remover pen.
• One presentation showed that companies are quite out of touch with the intended use of social channels.  Customers are really checking out social channels for discounts and to make purchases.  One airline has even made it possible to book a flight right on their Facebook page.
• The most amusing story I heard was about the CMO of Air France who had boarded his flight and then received a text message from Air France that his flight had been canceled.  He bewilderingly approached the pilot about this who confirmed that the flight was still scheduled to depart.  Moments later, the pilot came back to the CMO and relayed the news that he had just received – the flight was canceled!  They were both surprised how quickly the company was able to provide up to the minute flight information.
• ING was able to use Unica’s tools to drastically improve one conversion.  It required visitors to print, sign and mail a form to complete their process.  They discovered that visitors were dropping at the print step.  So they setup a campaign that automatically provided the visitor’s phone number to the call center who then called and offered to mail the form.  50% improvement!  Amazingly, customers saw this as a service, not marketing!  This is a concept that got a lot of attention.  If you do your marketing right, the end result is that it is perceived as a service and not marketing.
• Another point that I think is vital to a social marketer’s success – participate!  If you don’t have a facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc. account, then how can you really understand how to leverage those channels?
• Rockwell introduced a new term to me – web anthropology.  Pretty cool!  I like being a web anthropologist!
• Another great point is that we’re ALL in sales.  If you don’t like it, nobody cares.  You are in the business of selling.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week at the Unica, an IBM Company Marketing Innovation Summit (MIS2011).  I highly recommend it.  Mark Jeffries was an incredible host.  He had so many great ideas to take in.  I’m already looking forward to MIS2012!  You can take a look at all the #MIS2011 tweets on Twitter search.

“What type of contracts do you prefer – part-time or full-time?” This is a question I have become particularly interested in since beginning consulting in 2009. In fact, I ask this question to every consultant I meet (if I remember to).

I liken this to renting out rooms in a house versus renting out the whole house. If you rent out the rooms, then it’s much easier to make ends meet if you lose one renter. If you rent the entire house, then it can be frightening if you lose your one renter.

Full-Time Contracts

Onesies are for those who appreciate some security, focus and a deeper level recognition.

• One consultant responded that he usually knows when his contract will end so preparing an exit strategy is easier.  Of course, finding the next gig may not happen in a timely manner, so have three to six months of cash reserves if it takes you a little longer than expected to find your next contract.
• Some people like the idea of working for themselves, but still want to or can only focus on one thing at a time.  Full-time contracts provide focus on one project for an extended period of time.  Usually just long enough to captivate the consultant until they are ready to move on.
• Having large projects under your belt does wonders for landing your next full-time contract.  Enough said.
• A full-time, extended contract usually means that your involvement is more mission critical and you will be spoken of highly by those who speak highly.  A glowing review does wonders when asked for references.
• Lastly, a full-time contract provides much stability and security.  Your payment schedule is steady and there are no other projects crowding you.  Your client is reliant upon your success and is not likely to bail.

Part-Time Contracts

Given cushion, part-time contracts afford the variety and engagement that the on-the-move, trend-catching consultant needs.

• As mentioned, variety is a mainstay of part-time gigs.  You may be involved in search engine optimization for one client, social analytics for another and web analytics implementation for a third.  You will never be bored.
• The ability to network is richer as you are likely to meet many more movers in various industries.  It is easy to please your clients quickly and land new gigs with those in their network.  It is also easy to upset them and have opportunities dry up around you.
• Projects are usually easier.  You may also end up with ongoing maintenance which can afford some stability.
• Developing strong time-management skills is a great part of part-time contracts.  Being able to manage multiple clients successfully will speak volumes to prospective clients.

Whatever your fancy, either method of consulting provides great flexibility and independence.  Most companies won’t appreciate you working in your pajamas or working on Saturday so you can take Wednesday off.  You are the ruler of your destiny!

Thinking about consulting?  Got consulting bruises to share?  Add your thoughts below!