Good Article, Bad Timing

Here's an article from the Omniture Blog (a decent vendor-based web analytics blog), with some interesting tidbits about Borders and online analytics. Too bad the interview features improvements at Borders, just one day after Borders announced sweeping management changes amid significant sales declines.

One of the big challenges for our industry is to prove that software or analytics improved business at a time when the rest of the business cratered. It is 100% possible that software/analytics made a difference. It has been my experience that almost nobody wants to hear that message.

Update: 11:36am 1/6/2009: This article suggests that customers at Borders maintained spend in Nov/Dec 2008, compared with 2007. If you are to believe this, then in order to achieve a -13% comp, new customer traffic had to completely fall off the table.

Vendors: Above I mention two articles that demonstrate flat or improved performance, at a time when the company is struggling mightily. If our industry is going to improve credibility, if anybody is going to believe in us, we have to find a different way to communicate.