The third big question looks at consumer motivation. It’s a far softer science than analytics. While analytics might offer tantalizing clues to why visitors tried to do something on your site, you’re still left guessing. The only way to be really certain is to ask visitors directly.
On the Web, answering the question of “why” is done through VOC services—surveys that solicit visitor opinions, either within the site itself or through a third-party survey. Respondents are recruited (by mail, for example) or intercepted as they visit the site. They are then asked a series of questions.
With the emergence of online communities, website analysts have new ways of understanding consumers. Web marketing is much more of a two-way conversation than print or broadcast media. As a result, analysts can talk directly with their market and understand its motivations, or analyze its sentiments by mining what communities are discussing.
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