Executive summary:
Witt-Gruppe, a leading European fashion and lifestyle retailer, faced challenges with their expanding data analytics and reporting needs. Seeking a robust alternative to their existing manual reporting processes, they adopted Funnel, a solution that efficiently managed large data volumes and provided advanced analytics capabilities without requiring complex coding skills. This change enabled Witt-Gruppe's team to focus on more strategic projects, resulting in innovative data analyses that significantly improved customer engagement and operational efficiency. The collaboration with Funnel marked a major advancement in Witt-Gruppe’s data handling capabilities and overall growth trajectory.
Key results:
- Automated data collection saved Witt-Gruppe 90% of the time spent on manual data collection from online marketing partners.
- Online reporting frequency increased from weekly to daily, enabling quicker decisions and campaign adjustments.
- Transparency improved with 100+ stakeholders regularly receiving reports on online marketing activities.
Company profile:
Witt-Gruppe is a dynamic European fashion and lifestyle retailer headquartered in southern Germany. As part of the Otto Group, Witt-Gruppe consists of eight brands, including Witt, Sieh an!, and Creation L, among others. Catering primarily to women aged 50 and above, Witt-Gruppe operates 20 online shops in multiple countries and around 110 physical stores across Germany, while also distributing a significant volume of print catalogs. Since its inception, Witt-Gruppe has evolved to become a prominent player in the multi-channel retail sector.
The challenge: Labor-intensive online marketing reporting
Witt-Gruppe’s online marketing reporting processes were highly manual and time-consuming, involving the collection of data from various marketing partners, which was then compiled into Excel sheets for analysis. This method of data preparation also presented a constant risk for input errors, particularly as the company expanded its digital presence across multiple countries and brands and the number of data sources increased. The need for more frequent and accurate reporting became increasingly evident, as the company sought to optimize its marketing channels and enhance overall performance.
Johannes Hösl, Web Analyst at Witt-Gruppe, described the pre-Funnel reporting process as labor-intensive, with data being manually extracted from marketing platforms and consolidated into weekly reports. "You had to collect the data from the marketing partners and log in the account, take out the data or the figures, and paste it into an Excel sheet," Johannes explained. The rapid growth in online marketing activities and the increase in the number of data sources made this approach unsustainable, prompting the need for an automated solution.
The solution: Increased transparency throughout the organization
Witt-Gruppe discovered Funnel through a recommendation from another brand in its parent company that had deployed Funnel. Witt-Gruppe decided to also implement the platform to streamline their data collection and reporting processes. Funnel's ability to manage large-scale data without the need for coding knowledge made it an ideal choice for Witt-Gruppe.
René Schmalzl, Marketing Manager at Witt-Gruppe, highlighted that the transition to Funnel significantly alleviated manual work for the 30+ team members their marketing organization, whilst also increasing the frequency and transparency of its reports:
"Increasing the frequency of reporting helps our teams react fast to campaign results and adjust tactics as needed. It also allows us to be more expansive and award extra budgets to well performing campaigns, and restrict spending on campaigns that are less successful" René stated.
Funnel's extensive connector library enabled comprehensive reporting across all platforms, while Funnel’s custom-built connectors addressed the unique needs of the company. The integration with BigQuery further enhanced their data analysis capabilities, providing a seamless workflow from data collection to visualization in Looker Studio.
The results: 90% reduction in online marketing report preparation
The implementation of Funnel brought immediate and significant benefits to Witt-Gruppe’s online marketing team. By automating the data collection process, the team saved approximately 90% of the time previously spent on manual tasks. This freed up resources to focus on more strategic activities, such as spending more time on optimizing marketing campaigns and exploring new channels.
The frequency of reporting increased from weekly to daily, allowing the team to make more timely and informed decisions. René Schmalzl explained, "Especially with the growth of our group, it's important to have up-to-date data to react quickly to market changes and campaign performance."
The enhanced visibility and accessibility of data also facilitated better collaboration across departments, with over 100 stakeholders now receiving regular reports. Johannes notes: "The ability to share data easily across teams helps spread insights and elevates knowledge of our digital marketing activities across our entire group”.
The streamlined online marketing reporting process and advanced analytics capabilities provided by Funnel have significantly contributed to Witt-Gruppe’s operational efficiency and growth.
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