Web analytics enhancing Project Planning: the case of Digital Marketing campaigns : Qualitative study of structured Web analytics data in Project Management

Abstract: Due to the increasing relevance conferred to a digital based approach to sales, moreorganizations are looking for a profitable way to exploit the value of the information they are able to collect during Digital Marketing campaign projects. These data are called Web analytics and are generated at the passage of the user on the Web page. Despite the value entailed by this information, previous academic literature points out the lack of a structured approach to Web analytics and rarely the subject was observed in connection with Project Management.The purpose of our study is therefore to bridge the existinggap, by aiming to assess how a structured approach to Web analytics could enhance the planning phase of a project. The focus on the planning phase is due to the critical relevance attributedto it. About this, researchers want to answer the following research question:Project planning in digital marketing campaigns: which is the role of a structured use of Web analytics?Given the exploratory nature of the study, guided by a positivist stand point and considered time and space constraints, a qualitative approach to the research was selected as the most suitable. The literature reviewperformed in the secondchapter allowed the authors to drawa conceptual framework, showing the connections between the research areas involved. At the end of the chapter a model of use of Web analytics, built from previous researchers, is presented. This last one lacks of an explicit connection with thesubject of Project Management, which we will develop along the thesis work. Empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews that involved with managers from a digital marketing company and consultants dealingwith Web analytics, working in two different companies.Research findings indicate therole of Web analytics to beextremely important while planning a Digital Marketing campaign project, but also revealed their use and relevance along other project phases. Also, the role of Web analytics historical data emerged during the interview process and is widely commented in the conclusive chapters.Interviewees provided coherent answers that we grouped in four main clusters and analyzed: structured use of Web analytics, project phases in marketing campaigns, use of Web analytics in the planning phase of a project and contextualization.Results reveal interesting implications both at a managerial level and for future academic research. Indeed, a new model that connects a structured use of Web analytics with the planning phase of a project is presented, including the role of historicaldata. Suggestions are provided to managers in terms of possible investments, while in case of academics we recommended other ways to test the validity of the study.