The Problem
The various event funnels in Site Catalyst (e.g., Custom Events Funnel, Purchase Conversion Funnel) are not real funnels. That is, they do not utilize previous-level dependency to reduce the data as you progress down the funnel (as a Fallout report (which is basically a funnel) does with page data.)
For example, let's say that person X visits a site and triggers event1 followed by event2 (during the same session.) Then, person Y visits and triggers just event1. Finally person Z visits and just triggers event 2 (without triggering event 1 first.) The current event "funnels" in Site Catalyst would show these data as:
Event1: 2
Event2: 2
With 100% progression between event1 and event 2
For a true funnel, these data are incorrect since it is counting both instances of event2, even though person Z did not trigger event1 first. The correct, dependent, "fallout" funnel presentaiton of these data should be:
Event1: 2
Event2: 1
With a 50% progression between event1 and event2
So, the current event funnels are, at minimum, very misleading in name and presentation. After all, in every other application and context, a "funnel" only allows entry at the top. (What kind of funnel allows water to enter halfway down?) This misperception is made worse by the green funnel graphic that is used in the funnel reports since this visually reinforces the fact that dependency is utilized in processing the data.
As such, I find the current funnels virtually useless. They are merely a place to display totals for more than one event on a single screen. But I can't share that screen with anyone in the organization because they assume the data are dependent.
The Request
Would you please alter the event funnels in SITE CATALYST so that they include dependency? I'm not asking to include events in the page Fallout report. (I recognize how difficult this would be given the SC database structure.) But, I don't see why you couldn't implement dependency relatively easily within the events data. After all, you have a date/time stamp for every single event that comes in.
The Benefit
This would be a huge benefit to anyone who uses Site Catalyst on websites where events are fired without a corresponding unique page load. (If the site has unique page loads, this is not an issue and they could just use the Fallout report. But Site Catalyst is a robust tool designed for more sophisticated websites, yes?)
Questions:
1) Does anyone agree with this request?
2) Does anyone see why non-dependent event funnels should be kept as-is?
3) Does anyone see why this couldn't be done from a technical standpoint?
4) Is the response from Omniture going to be "You need to pay for Discover"?
Thank you for reviewing and considering this request.
