Leading online directory: using data analysis to understand their customers better

Quite often, data analysts seek an answer to that same nagging question that every parent of a small child knows intimately: ‘Why?’

Why do customers behave in a particular way? Why are they buying more of one product or less of another? Why is a product that proved hugely popular last season no longer being added to cart?

At Station10, we relish being able to use the latest data tools and techniques to answer ‘why’ for our clients, and we enjoy the process of discovery just as much as delivering insightful, actionable results.

So, when the UK’s leading online business directory noticed a pronounced decline in the number of customers registering for free listings in 2021, they came to us for help. Free listings are the company’s entry product, though they supply products such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising and video listing promotions to small and medium sized businesses across the UK.

How We Helped

Using Adobe Analytics, our multi-skilled project team sifted through a huge amount of transactional and third-party data to pinpoint the problem.

Our technical review found no fault with our client’s website that would discourage visitors from completing the registration process. While our scope of work was fulfilled at this point, our goal at Station10 is always to exceed expectations in everything that we do, so we decided to push on with further analysis.

Our curiosity and extra effort was rewarded. We identified a clear correlation between periods where lockdown restrictions eased and the number of people registering for a free business listing dropped off. There were several possible explanations – more people had returned to offices, so were not at home working on plans for new businesses; meanwhile, work for small businesses picked up, so owners were too busy fulfilling orders to focus on marketing. Seasonality was also a factor – less people registered over Christmas and Easter, for example.

Station10’s analysis had a two-fold benefit for our client:

• peace of mind that technical issues with their website were not costing them customers, and
• a data-driven analysis of how macro social trends impacted free directory registrations.

We went well beyond the ‘why?’, but that’s what we do.

If you want to better anticipate and meet the needs of your customers through data-driven insights, we would love to chat.

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