More often than not, when two people or groups are trying to compare metrics, they do not match because the comparisons are not “apples to apples.”  Without consistent definitions for data points across an organization, this struggle will be far too common of an occurrence.

This can be quite apparent when reviewing performance with your CMO or CFO.  Imagine that you are in a performance review with multiple internal groups and when it comes time to talk numbers, the tracked revenue from your side does not match your finance department’s figure.  Usually in this situation, the marketing folks will lose out on what the “official” number is because the finance team is more likely to serve as the official source of revenue data.  What is really happening here is that the teams are not generating a true “apples to apples” comparison.  There could be differences such as: is sales tax included, currency conversion issues if your company is multinational, different opinions of what constitutes the web, or even both systems measuring the same exact thing but in two different ways.  Any of these things can create differences in measuring your KPI’s.   This doesn’t necessarily mean that either data set is wrong, per se, it is just that they are each unique ways of interpreting and translating the raw information.

Besides revenue, another area where companies struggle in solidifying data definitions is the standardization of the visit metric.  While most web tracking software defines a visit the same, the devil can be in the details of latency.  The industry standard is considered to be a 30-minute window but should take into consideration the type of site you are responsible for (ecommerce vs. informational), as well as site architecture and user behavior.   If your online advertising team feels that a 45-minute window is appropriate but Web Analytics wants a 30-minute time-frame, this most basic of KPI’s will never align.

These are just two relatively common examples of KPIs not aligning between groups.  If your company or group has to align to different internal reporting systems, there are plenty more that are abound.

When it comes time to develop the rules by which these KPI’s are measured it is important to include the correct groups, partners, clients and agencies in the fold.  Not all KPI definitions will be determined by the Web Analytics or any one group.  Some will come from your Demand Generation team, Finance, Operations, IT or your leadership.  With effective, detailed communication between groups, you can begin to align definitions of the KPI’s to match your unique business and objectives.

Because of the different business needs between groups (and different goals), this sometimes can be difficult to overcome.  There are many tools that are quite useful at helping to create a starting point or getting your organization through the last push to consistent reporting and analysis.  Start by laying out a road map of where you are when where you need to be.  Ask around for recommendations or investigate a current reference guide  (http://amzn.to/tTZK5x) on your industry’s standards.  Most importantly, consult with other groups within your organization to review best practices and stick with consistent definitions to help ease the confusion of whether or not the goals of your project are being met.

Eric Westen is a Senior Analyst, MI at Organic