Anyway, where was I…uh, yes, so I was about to try and create an analogy between poker and marketing. I’ve heard some poker stars say that, ‘Anyone can learn poker, but it takes a lifetime to master’. The same goes for online marketing. Anyone can jump in this space quite easily. They can become a marketing manager and direct a design, hire a team to build an application or even be an ‘SEO Consultant’. But the ultimate question is whether they are driving revenue?

Though I’ve only dabbled in poker myself, there are a few things that stick out in my mind about the good players.

• They are good with numbers
• They know the game inside and out
• They’re very attuned to patterns within the game
• They have good instinct (and understand human behavior)
• They’ve got a serious amount of hours logged on a table

With the web, it is very similar. Those who are really good in the online space:

• Know the (online) game inside and out
• They have intimate knowledge of how people use the web
• Very atuned to patterns & trends
• They understand the importance of analytics (numbers)
• They have an obscene amount of hours spent online.

In the end, good poker players end up blending their instinct and ability to read people with their grasp of statistics. Some lean towards the ‘feel’ side while others lean towards the ‘numbers’ side. Whether they realy on their intellect or perception, they’ll move towards their stregnth. But the point is that ALL of them have these two primary pieces in common.

The same goes for the web, but online this comes in the form of analytics, and a variety of metrics, whereas with cards it boils down to statistics & probability.

If you are a marketer that isn’t embracing analytics there is a problem. Sure there are a lucky few who have launched a great product at the right time, spent no time measuring anything and become a zillionaire. But if you are an Ad agency, creative design shop or Interactive group you’ll have to embrace the numbers to make a difference.

Note of caution: As with anything else, too much of something can be bad. Be careful not to get lost in the numbers. This can lead to paralysis by analysis.

While many of us have had great ideas over the years, we have also lost a lot of opportunities for improvement by not paying enough attention to user behavior. Google Analytics, Yahoo Web Analytics and HaveaMint just happen to provide us with these tools free of charge. Despite the fact that analytics is a deep & dark tunnel and has the capability to consume an enormous amount of hours, there is some very valuable information within.

In the end though the equation is simple. You need to get your website visitors to do what you want them to. If you do this on a consistent basis, you will never lack of clients.

The key is to effectively blend your intuition with data.

Yes, I realize that in some cases the store might have to pay for certain transactions and not the other (but this begs the question, ‘why ask the question in the first place?’). There are also consumers that will freak out about typing in their pin # for their debit card and would prefer to validate their identity with the person behind the counter checking their ID. Still, this strikes me as a great example (albeit a small one) of a non-digital study in user experience.

Here’s some random thoughts that come to mind:

• My guess is that more than 50% of people don’t care (i.e. ‘ just swipe the darn card’ mentality)
• This question, to me, gets annoying after a while.
• The store would be better served by instead asking something customer service oriented. (How’s your day going?)
• People don’t like to think during a routine purchase.
• Neither do consumers like to fiddle with non-standard buttons, touch pads, little plastic pointers, finger or no finger, green button or ‘yes’ button.
• By just swiping the customer’s card and not asking, the store is simplifying the purchase.
• At the end of a Starbucks purchase, I’m relieved that it was so quick and painless.

I guess that what I’m ultimately getting at here is that little things count. And I know that Starbucks spends a LOT of time focusing on these little things. Speaking of which, have a look at Starbucks’ customer-focused idea site: mystarbucksidea.force.com. Another small customer-service gem is how they personalize the process of selling a coffee – where they call you out by first name when your drink is ready.

Anyway, I think Starbucks has it right. And I think this applies to all things online or offline. That is, if we don’t need to ask a question, don’t. If we don’t need to add that page or section, don’t. If we don’t need to add a graphic…don’t.

Just ‘swipe the card’ and instead focus on customer service.